- 5 weeks ago
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00:00This time of the year, everything is heavy, it's froze.
00:05Get the pan of oyster!
00:06Boy, that's an iceberg.
00:08You got a lot of icebergs around.
00:09One of those pieces hitting your boat
00:11will cause a lot of damage.
00:13We're expecting a big storm, 50 to 60 centimeters of snow,
00:16so it's going to be nasty here for a couple of days.
00:26It's early spring,
00:28but a deep freeze has set in across Newfoundland.
00:32The island's been hit with a relentless wave
00:35of minus 25 degree temperatures,
00:38their coldest stretch in decades.
00:41But even in these frigid conditions,
00:45skipper Paul Dalton is hard at work in Conception Bay.
00:49You got to go right ahead, huh?
00:51He's preparing to assist a large oil tanker into dock
00:54at a local power station.
00:57Watch your straps.
01:00It's cold.
01:03So the past couple of weeks now,
01:05we've had a lot of harbor ice.
01:07It's been so cold.
01:08The local harbors have been freezing over.
01:10So when I have work in some of those bays,
01:14I can't get out.
01:15So the ice is a big hindrance for us to complete our job.
01:18Most of Paul's tugboat fleet is iced in.
01:23But he keeps an arsenal of small tugboats on trailers.
01:26These boats are ready to go.
01:28We got them plugged in,
01:29a bit of heat in them.
01:30And if something comes out quick,
01:32we can mobilize them.
01:35It allows him to move and boom these boats
01:37into the water in any harbor along the Avalon Peninsula.
01:40Anyway, boat is in, everything's good.
01:43Fortunately, we're able to get some open water space down here
01:46to get the boats in the water.
01:50Osprey, the docked interceptor.
01:52How are you making out in there?
01:53We're going to take their cells, cleared all the way in.
01:56This is a two-boat operation.
01:58And to help the tanker dock safely,
02:01the interceptor will be working with the North Atlantic Osprey.
02:05Designed to cut through ice,
02:07its primary role out here is to provide tug services
02:09to the region's energy sector.
02:15We're getting to the ship.
02:16You can see the anchors being pulled up here now.
02:19Now we got to proceed approximately eight miles away.
02:23Together, they'll travel 15 kilometers
02:25to the end of the bay where they will try to secure
02:27the tanker to shore.
02:30We're going to proceed up.
02:33The ship is here to deliver fuel to the Holyrood Refinery,
02:37one of the province's largest power generating stations.
02:41They still have oil, I mean, but they're trying to keep ahead of it
02:44because where it's been so cold,
02:46I mean, they're going through a lot of oil.
02:49The power plant provides up to 30% of the island's energy
02:52during peak winter months.
02:54They need oil to keep the turbines running.
02:57It's like the gas for your car.
02:58I mean, if you don't have gas, the car shuts down.
03:05I'm trying to get up now close to the thugs.
03:06This ice is coming down around, right?
03:09They're only a couple kilometers into the voyage
03:11and ice is already an issue.
03:13You see the ice that's coming out here now at the harbour, look?
03:16So I'm trying to get up close to the thug here now
03:17because he's creating a channel.
03:20Like a lineman blocking for a running back in football,
03:24the North Atlantic Osprey is clearing a path for Paul's
03:27interceptor, which isn't built to cut through ice.
03:30The heavier pack ice, we got to watch if we don't hit that
03:35because we can do damage to our motors.
03:37One hit to his exposed outboard motors
03:40could mean an early end to his day.
03:43If you do damage to the props, you're shut down.
03:50Frigid weather has been wreaking havoc across the province.
03:53Up in Trinity Bay, locals banded together to rescue dolphins
03:58trapped by a crush of sea ice.
04:04And the conditions aren't any better in St. John's Harbour.
04:10Listen, I got to get your team to clear out that area
04:13by the forward crane so the ship can tie up?
04:15Yep.
04:18OceanX's assistant peer superintendent,
04:20Johnny Coombs, is on standby.
04:23We're getting ready for the OceanX Avalon.
04:26It's due in at 6pm tonight.
04:28The harbour is full of ice right now.
04:31That's after coming in with the tide.
04:33Even St. John's Harbour is chalked full of ice.
04:37It's been about five years, if I had to guess,
04:40since I've seen ice in the harbour like this.
04:42It slowed commercial traffic and made it difficult
04:44for ships to dock in port.
04:46But Johnny's prepared for the worst-case scenario
04:49and has the tools in place.
04:50We have excavators and dump trucks and loaders on site
04:54just in preparation of the vessel not being able to get to the dock.
04:59But the excavators will basically sit dockside and reach down and grab what they can
05:03and shove the ice back and forth.
05:05And the vessel will get tighter, tighter, tighter, tighter until you get close enough.
05:09To remove ice with these machines is a huge undertaking.
05:14So the last time we had the issue with the ice, I mean, we were pulling up chunks of ice.
05:18It was actually amazing and scary at the same time when you lift it up and see how big it was.
05:23You know, the size of SUVs and small trucks.
05:25You know, it's a long job, but it works.
05:29But hopefully we haven't got to do it.
05:34Up on the northern edge of the island, near Trinity Bay.
05:38As we can see now coming down to Pearl again, let's see how the ice is in.
05:41Is it nipped in pretty good?
05:43It looks pretty tight.
05:45OSC Mariner Captain Ron Curtis is taking stock of the icy harbor.
05:50If any more ice comes in this harbor and jams up like that, you're not going to be able to move those boats, right?
05:56It's as bad here as it is on the rest of the island.
06:00And Ron is worried about the start of crab season.
06:04If the boats can't get out of the harbors and they're ready to go fishing, they can't get moving.
06:08It's just going to be a delay.
06:09And delays are never good when it comes to crab season.
06:12Crab season runs from mid-April to the end of July.
06:18But as ocean temperatures warm in June, the crab shells soften and they drop in value.
06:25So a fast start is critical for Ron and other crab fishers.
06:30Crab, that's our main breadwinner.
06:33So you want to hit the ground running sort of things, so you don't want any delays.
06:36Back in Conception Bay...
06:37It doesn't look like much when you're in and around, but you look at some of them pans, they're five or six inches thick.
06:49Captain Paul Dalton is trying to reach the Holyrood refinery dock to help secure an oil tanker to shore.
06:55But the ice has made it difficult.
06:58So I'm trying to get up close to the thugs.
07:00The North Atlantic Osprey is here and we have about one mile of sea ice to get through.
07:05And we have to stay close to her and just be wary of pieces of ice coming back.
07:10To avoid any damage to the interceptor, Paul has to be on his toes navigating this icy minefield.
07:15If he hits it hard, you could tear the leg right off the back of her and there you are, shut down.
07:21This time of the year, everything is heavy, it's froze.
07:24The cold just makes everything a little tougher.
07:30So there's the jetty.
07:34They've traveled 15 kilometers and reached the small landing dock where the oil tanker will offload its fuel.
07:40Yeah, Bill, it's Paul around the interceptor. You copy?
07:45Go ahead.
07:47I'll just come up around the jetty there now and just see what it is getting in there.
07:50Yeah, Paul.
07:52Although the water opened up during the last part of the voyage, the ice is still packed in around the jetty.
07:59Jetty, interceptor.
08:01And now Paul has to assess how serious the ice conditions are.
08:08Go ahead.
08:09Yeah, it seems that she's cleared her, coming up through the south mooring there, I guess, yeah.
08:16The ice is everywhere, but it's thin enough to allow Paul to navigate these waters.
08:23This is a large coordinated operation involving a massive ship.
08:28So the tug is going to assist the ship in slowing down and maneuvering around.
08:33Paul's boat is far too small to push the tanker.
08:36That's the North Atlantic Osprey's job.
08:39Osprey, you can square up there, please.
08:41The tanker is over 184 meters long, the equivalent of one and a half football fields.
08:48It carries over 300,000 barrels of crude oil, so it takes an incredible amount of force to move this behemoth.
08:57Osprey on very easy.
08:59Osprey on very easy.
09:01Osprey on very easy.
09:02So the tug is out there pushing in.
09:05Captain now asked him to give her a little push so I can squeeze her in ever so slightly at the dock.
09:10Two and a half metres.
09:12Two and a half metres astern, OK.
09:15Certainly this jetty is old and stuff, so they've really got to be careful as they're docking the ship or pushing the ship on.
09:24Osprey stop.
09:26Osprey stop.
09:28Now that the North Atlantic Osprey has pinned the tanker to the jetty,
09:32it's Paul's turn to help finish the job.
09:37Our job is when the ship is ready to pass down lines for us to get them ashore, to get them secured.
09:42There's a lot of ice now, say, from the jetty to the land,
09:46which that's the way we've got to haul in our lines is get into the land with the big line.
09:50So we'll just see how it all goes.
09:53Back in Conception Bay at the Holyrood Refinery.
10:04So he's in place now, and the targets there aren't easy just to hold him in place.
10:09The North Atlantic Osprey has successfully pinned the oil tanker.
10:13Now it's up to Paul Dalton to finish the job.
10:21Yeah, I think so.
10:23Paul has to retrieve a line from the land crew so that the ship can be secured.
10:29Our concern is what's between the jetty and the land.
10:31For us to get in, if there's ice blacking us from getting in, that could be an issue.
10:36Oh, f***.
10:38Get the pan of ice there.
10:41Paul has no choice but to try and push the big pieces of ice out of the way.
10:48There's big pieces of ice here, and we're only a small boat without a motor,
10:51so we're just edging the land.
10:53Okay, Jamie, you watch me there now.
10:56Just going in, nice and slow.
10:58To avoid damage to his boat, Jamie will act as an extra set of eyes
11:03to spot any dangerous pieces of ice.
11:08You see the bottom, Jamie?
11:09Yeah, lots of it.
11:11Yeah, the visibility ain't great looking through this ice.
11:17Paul has a lot of faith in Jamie.
11:19Jamie, he's been around, you know, me the last five, six years.
11:25Works for Coast Guard.
11:26Good guy on the water.
11:27Very knowledgeable.
11:30Yes, let it rip.
11:35Hook it in, Jamie.
11:36Hook it in.
11:39They've retrieved the line from shore,
11:41but Paul knows they're not out of the woods yet.
11:45Very dangerous.
11:46You just got to take your time,
11:48and, you know, if you can do it safely, fine.
11:50If you can't, you just got to say,
11:52boys, this is not good today.
11:54We just got to shut this down.
11:55They need to carry the line back
11:57and get it up to the crew on the tanker.
12:00You got to have your head on a swivel days like today.
12:06Where do you want this?
12:11Okay.
12:12I'll butt right to it, Jamie.
12:13Yeah.
12:13Okay.
12:18The ice, it was as good as it could be.
12:23We were able to operate.
12:25If it had to be thicker or more solid,
12:28we wouldn't be able to complete our job,
12:29which was tying off the ship,
12:31getting the ropes into the beach.
12:36Yeah, I'm backing up,
12:37and we're going ahead to get out of the rope.
12:38Yeah.
12:39Watch the back of it.
12:40Come on down, Jamie.
12:41Walk down with it.
12:41Look.
12:45Should be clear.
12:46We're clear.
12:52We're clear.
12:53Okay, good job.
12:55With the line connected to the tanker,
12:57the land crew can now secure it with a winch,
13:00and Paul can go home to get ready for his next call.
13:04Job went well.
13:06The ship got secured.
13:07Up in Harbor Grace,
13:14the Atlantic storm is getting ready for crab season.
13:18Well, we took her out of the water,
13:20and we had to get all the underwater done,
13:22all the zinc plates under the boat,
13:25and check the blades and the rudder,
13:27and the hinges on the fins,
13:30and paint in the bottom.
13:32Captain Paul Duguay hoped to have his boat
13:35in the water early this season,
13:37but the icy harbor has put his plans on hold.
13:40We was hoping to put her down yesterday,
13:43but there was wind and ice on the go,
13:45so we back it off a little bit.
13:47With more ice forecast for his home port,
13:50Paul is looking to launch from a different harbor.
13:54Usually we go in Bay de Verde,
13:55but then again this year,
13:57with the ice that's coming around,
13:59go in there, get stuck in there,
14:00wouldn't be a good deal either.
14:01So I think I'm going to take her right to St. John's.
14:05Bigger harbor and wider entrance and all of that.
14:09While Paul waits for the ice to clear
14:11and crab season to get going.
14:16We go out there in a little clearer spot now.
14:19His son Josh has taken advantage of this short break
14:22to do a little ice fishing with his buddy Ben.
14:24Must get a couple of holes done in now
14:26and get this brandy started.
14:30The weather's not so bad today.
14:32I mean, it's nice and sunny.
14:33Super blue sky.
14:34The wind isn't too bad either,
14:36but I mean, it's just cold.
14:38But I don't mind it.
14:39It gets me out of the house.
14:40As long as I'm out of the house, I'm content.
14:46And 21-year-old Joshua Duguay knows
14:48once the crab season starts,
14:50there's no spare time.
14:51It's long hours, very long hours,
14:5518, 20 hours sometimes on deck or even longer.
14:57I'm after being on deck so long as 22, 23 hours.
15:02This is why he doesn't waste any of his downtime.
15:06It goes a little bit stir-crazy
15:08if I just sits down at the house all day.
15:09So I do a lot of hunting on my off-season.
15:13Hunting rabbits and grouse and ducks
15:15and whatever I can hunt, really, I'm hunting it.
15:17And it's fun, too, getting something to eat,
15:20catching your own food.
15:22It's the best way to do it, living off the land.
15:23Oh, baby!
15:26Oh, yeah.
15:29Nice little landlocked salmon.
15:36Captain Paul Dalton is back in Long Pond,
15:39where he'll boom his boat out of the water.
15:42Oh, there's a big pan right here.
15:45You can see that there.
15:46That's about eight inches thick.
15:47So you don't want to hit that.
15:49And until they reach shore safely, Paul is focused.
15:54On the water, the most important thing for me and all our crew is the safety.
15:59So we've got to just manoeuvre a little bit in here.
16:02Now there's still a bit of clumps of ice.
16:04I'm just idling along, touching it so we can push it aside.
16:10When you're on sea, different weather conditions, anything can happen.
16:14People have lost friends, lost people overboard, and never recovered.
16:18And I hope it never happens to us.
16:21Sea can be your best friend, and it can be your worst enemy.
16:23I'm just going to butt her into it, Jamie.
16:29Yeah.
16:35These boats are going on the trailer.
16:37One is going home, and we need to keep her here for when the tanker goes out of Hollywood.
16:41Once the interceptor is hauled and up on the trailer, she'll be ready for their next adventure.
16:47Ice or no ice, I mean, we don't stop.
16:49We've got to keep going.
16:50We try to, whatever, improvise.
16:53Hopefully next week the weather comes southerly, it comes warmer.
16:56This ice gets to break up and move out.
16:57Back in St. John's Harbour, icy times call for icy measures.
17:11So the Canadian Coast Guard has been called into action by federal authorities to help assist marine traffic into port.
17:18We have the Coast Guard vessel Terry Fox basically doing donuts in the harbour,
17:23freeing up the ice and, you know, alleviating some of the pressure.
17:27The CCGS Terry Fox is one of two heavy icebreakers in the Coast Guard's fleet.
17:32It's equipped with a lubrication system that uses air bubbles to help reduce friction between the ship's hull and whatever it's sailing through.
17:40It's highly maneuverable and can cut through four feet of ice.
17:45It's the ideal vessel for the harbour and OceanX.
17:49Hopefully the Avalon will be able to dock tonight.
17:56Back in St. John's Harbour, the Terry Fox is still cutting up ice, but it isn't working alone.
18:06Steady up, one, four, five.
18:08The Louis S. St. Laurent, the Canadian Coast Guard's largest icebreaker, is also on duty in the harbour.
18:16Hard to starboard again now, Greg.
18:18And Captain Windross Banton is commandeering today's ice reconnaissance run.
18:23Generally, around the St. John's area, you don't see the ice conditions.
18:29Certainly penetrate the harbour.
18:30It's not a normal event.
18:32The ship's home port is St. John's, but she spends most of her time elsewhere.
18:37The bulk of her time is spent in the Arctic.
18:40She can operate in the polar waters.
18:42In actual fact, she's done at least three trips to the North Pole.
18:46Having a ship of this magnitude to monitor the icy harbour is good news for commercial traffic in and around St. John's.
18:56And for OceanX.
19:00This service from the Coast Guard means they can get the overdue Avalon into port.
19:04Terry Fox is much more manoeuvrable for the harbour conditions and where they've got to get that ship to.
19:10So they'll be coming out to escort him in.
19:16The ship's arrival is a relief for the team at OceanX.
19:20So we just got the OceanX Avalon tied up.
19:23We did not need to use the excavators to clear the ice, thanks to the work of the Coast Guard and Terry Fox.
19:28The ice may have slowed things down, but Johnny Coombs knows the clock never stops at OceanX.
19:34So our operations are just getting underway now.
19:40We've got about 10 to 12 hours work ahead of us this evening.
19:43And if Johnny hopes to stick to his schedule, he'll need a break from the brutal weather conditions.
19:48Newfoundland's harbours are the gateways for most of the commercial enterprises on the island.
20:01Frigid winter weather keeps all of the province's industries on high alert for any dangers that could impact shipping or offshore operations.
20:09And the biggest threats are icebergs.
20:11It's why an elite team of experts is relied upon to keep track of these hazards.
20:22Starting one.
20:27Clear left.
20:29Clear and right.
20:32Located at St. John's International Airport, PAL Aerospace specializes in using advanced surveillance systems to track icebergs from the air.
20:43Bravo, Mike. Backtrack line up. Runway 29er and run up in position 29er.
20:49Is a firm.
20:51Captain Terry Childs is piloting this iceberg reconnaissance mission.
20:56Our ice department sends us a map and we follow the map as per their request.
21:03Prime altitude is about 3,500 feet.
21:06It allows us to pick up the icebergs in the water.
21:10Terry has over 25 years of experience.
21:13She's flown hundreds of surveillance missions.
21:17Good to go?
21:18Good to go.
21:18It's quite maneuverable.
21:23We can slow it down.
21:23We can speed it up a little.
21:26We can fly down to 100 feet off the water.
21:29And it's big enough to carry the equipment that we need to get the job done.
21:34This flight will take four and a half hours and cover 700 nautical miles.
21:38Enough ground to spot any icebergs that could pose offshore risks.
21:48There's the helicopter guys.
21:51Hebrons are at 114 for six and a half miles.
21:54The Atlantic Griffin is at 142 for 22 and a quarter mile.
21:58Michael Labonte is the sensor operator on this flight.
22:03He'll monitor today's targets.
22:05This route tries to maximize radar coverage.
22:09We have to track icebergs and the pack ice, which are a danger to offshore oil operations.
22:16There's lots of activity offshore.
22:18It's a pair that it's maintained, looked after, and watched.
22:22We also do it to make a decision whether the rig needs to move.
22:28If the ice gets too close and the risk runs too high, they will move them.
22:32They can unhook and float away from the danger.
22:34They can go into places like Conception Bay, and they can anchor there temporarily until they can get back on site and resume production or operations.
22:41To monitor the icebergs, they rely on their on-board state-of-the-art equipment.
23:06We have a multitude of tools on board the aircraft. Primarily, we're using the older radar.
23:12Lidar is similar to radar and sonar, but instead of using radio and sound waves to measure distance, it uses light.
23:22The unit fires hundreds of thousands of pulses per second.
23:25These light waves bounce off of the target and return to the unit's sensor, which can then produce precise three-dimensional images and vital data about an iceberg's shape, size, and location.
23:40Unless the iceberg is really, really large on a clear day and you see the white glow, the radar usually takes over before the human eye does.
23:51There, looks like an iceberg. Boy, that's an iceberg.
23:55You got an iceberg?
23:56Yeah, there's an iceberg at 052, 15 and a half miles.
24:02052?
24:02Yeah, I'd go towards him.
24:03Okay.
24:15Iceberg Alley stretches from the coast of Labrador all the way to the southeast tip of Newfoundland.
24:21It holds over 400 massive pieces of ice each year and draws thousands of visitors.
24:29Whether it's to observe their beauty or evade their wrath, icebergs have become a major industry in the province.
24:36It's also forced Newfoundlanders to come up with different ways to help reduce the threats they pose.
24:42And one place at the forefront of this type of work is Extreme East Rigging.
24:48What we do is we manufacture lifting slings, so steel cable slings, like anything for overhead lifting or securing.
25:00And what we're doing now is we're fabricating an iceberg tow net.
25:06Liam Corbett is the manager at Extreme East Rigging, and today he's overseeing a tow net project.
25:13So we're contracted to build this iceberg net by an oil company offshores.
25:18Well, they need to be towed out of the way if they think it could be potentially on a collision course with an oil rig.
25:28In order for the nets to work, the ropes must be able to withstand the rigors of an iceberg.
25:33So what they're doing now is putting a protective jacket on over the floatation so it doesn't chafe off when it rubs up against the iceberg because the iceberg is really sharp and there's all kinds of edges to it.
25:46The technique used to tow icebergs is similar to seine fishing, which employs a net, floats, and weights.
25:54This is polyester rope, which floats, and the foot rope is premium polyester, which sinks.
26:00So it's designed so the top of the net will float and the foot rope will sink.
26:04As the ships approach the iceberg, they deploy their net, then circle and wrap around the object before picking up the other end.
26:12So it grabs the iceberg at the top and the bottom of it.
26:16So pretty much it's like a cradle that would go around the iceberg.
26:19Once securely in place, the boats begin to move these giant pieces of ice.
26:25The rope's maximum load is 180 tons.
26:28That's more than double the weight of a space shuttle.
26:32This is the original style, which is polyester rope, which is 920 meters long.
26:37And we're also fabricating some growler nets, which are towing small icebergs.
26:42The tow nets are 1,000 meters in length and take 450 hours to construct.
26:48The attention to detail and their expertise has allowed Extreme East Rigging to manufacture some of the sturdiest iceberg nets in the world.
26:55So over the years, we've made 18 of these nets.
26:58They last forever, like there's nets out there for 15 years.
27:05Back over the North Atlantic...
27:06There, looks like an iceberg.
27:09Boy, that's an iceberg.
27:10One and three-quarter mile.
27:12Let's fly to Red Helvert.
27:13Yep.
27:13The PAL flight crew have spotted an iceberg on their radar.
27:22One mile.
27:23One.
27:25Three-quarter mile.
27:26Three-quarters.
27:28Half mile.
27:29Half mile.
27:30Quarter mile.
27:31Now.
27:32Now.
27:33Now.
27:34Now.
27:38Good afternoon, OICC.
27:40Dave speaking.
27:40Hi, David.
27:41It's Terry calling aboard speeder 06.
27:44We picked up a medium to a large iceberg.
27:48Turned out to be a dry dust.
27:50We did take some video and photos along the way.
27:53We'll certainly take that information and we'll relay that to the platforms offshore.
27:57The flight crew has sent photos and video of the iceberg to the PAL command center.
28:03If there's anything else you need from us, just let us know.
28:06Okay.
28:07Thanks, Terry.
28:07Thanks, Terry.
28:10This is where we collect all the data from a variety of sources.
28:14We give an active eye on the ice situation as it's developing offshore.
28:18David Blunden is an ice environment specialist with PAL.
28:22He's on the ground at their coordination center and helps the crew plot targets and monitor
28:27the information they gather.
28:29So we can see in pretty much real time what it is that they're actually detecting offshore
28:33and if there's anything that we want them to further investigate.
28:35This looks to be a medium dry dock.
28:39A dry dock is an iceberg that erodes to form a U-shaped slot with two columns and extends
28:45near or into the water.
28:47It has an area of open water.
28:48So you can see that the sea is actually rolling right between these two pieces.
28:53It is deemed as a potential threat to the platforms.
28:55So that's why we're focusing on this particular iceberg at this point.
28:59And if there's one thing David knows a lot about, it's icebergs.
29:03Newfoundland is quite unique in the fact that we're on the receiving end of the icebergs.
29:08This is a graphic here that shows where the icebergs originate from.
29:1180 to 85 percent will come from the tidewater glaciers on the west coast of Greenland.
29:16They calve off the glaciers.
29:18Icebergs are affected by regular and surface ocean currents.
29:24Once they form, the Labrador current carries them along Baffin Bay,
29:28down the coast of Labrador, and towards Newfoundland's shores.
29:33They usually take anywhere from a year to three years to arrive here.
29:36And it basically is like a conveyor belt.
29:38Under the right environmental conditions, it can actually bring the icebergs directly to our area of interest,
29:44which is what has the potential to cause some issues for the offshore operators.
29:57Up in old Perlican, the ice conditions have not improved.
30:03Once you get out, I mean, it's only probably a few miles offshore, and then you're in clear water.
30:07But the thing is, you've got a lot of icebergs around, and they start to flounder.
30:12Small pieces start to break off.
30:14It just makes havoc for navigation when you can't see those small pieces and you're not picking them up on your radar.
30:21One of those small pieces hitting your boat going eight knots could cause a lot of damage.
30:27Ron's been around fishing boats long enough to know the kind of damage that ice can cause.
30:33Not designed to break ice.
30:34Now, they do have reinforced hulls that can go through ice.
30:38But to break it up like an icebreaker, they're not designed for that.
30:42So a piece of ice could puncture your hull or penetrate somehow under the boat that you can't see and cause a leak.
30:49And it's dangerous, too, right?
30:50You don't want to damage your boat, not this time of the year.
30:54But like most fishers in Newfoundland, he also understands that these conditions come with the territory.
31:01The weather always plays a factor in fishing.
31:03I mean, when it comes to storms and stuff like that, it always is just another situation where you've just got to work with it and work around it.
31:11Back in old Perlican, Quinlan Fisheries is gearing up for crab season.
31:27And while the harsh winter conditions have impacted sea operations, land operations are impacted as well.
31:34This is what you're dealing with in the wintertime, trying to get everything out of stock.
31:37Quinlan truck driver Todd Broderick needs to deliver new crab pots for the boats.
31:44Every boat gets two or three hundred new ones.
31:47Some of them got crab pots on them.
31:49Some of them got crab pans, you know, start of the season type thing.
31:54Two trailers are stocked here, so we're going to try to get them out now.
32:03Oh my God.
32:05This just happens in the wintertime.
32:07Everything goes to s**t.
32:08I can't wait for 25 degrees.
32:11There's a lot easier working around.
32:14And with crab season just around the corner, skippers need to have their gear in place and ready to go when it starts.
32:22Yeah, so we're just arriving here now where we store our gear off-season.
32:26Try to get a tally on everything, because when we go out, we want to take a thousand pots with us.
32:31So we'll get a good few days fishing and a good start on our first trip.
32:36Ron's been at Fisher for 30-plus years and knows you need to be well-organized, even during the off-season.
32:42We just want to get a quick start on it, you know, we don't want any major delays.
32:47When it comes to crab season, I mean, once crab season opens, I mean, everybody is go, go, go, right?
32:52I'm hoping everything is where we put it last year when we stored it away.
32:56I'm hoping for no surprises.
32:58How's it going, Mitchell?
33:06What are you finding, boy?
33:08Yeah, the patch, there's ropes up there.
33:10Yeah, we got all our rope putting blue tubs.
33:12Mitchell Loveless is the equipment manager for Quinlan.
33:15Yeah, I had a mark, actually.
33:16I oversee day-to-day operations of fishing vessels coming and going within the organization,
33:22getting vessels ready in the spring of the year when they change from fishery to fishery.
33:27I think we put the bad rope on a pallet and we marked it.
33:31And this is a busy time of year for Mitchell.
33:34Yeah, it's been pressure for the last three weeks now, actually.
33:36It's just like the momentum picks up faster and faster every day.
33:40Yeah, so all this 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
33:47We got enough rope here for 1,000 pats.
33:49So I'm assuming that's all mine right here in this spot here.
33:53Yeah.
33:54You're, you're, you're...
33:55I mean, they're all good pats, right?
33:57Yeah, and your balloons, those all in over the top.
33:59We counted on those guys to stow it away and they've done an excellent job.
34:02I mean, it's all right here.
34:04That's good.
34:06That's, that's perfect for me.
34:10Back over the North Atlantic...
34:15There's an iceberg right there.
34:16There's a little icy right there on your left wing.
34:18There's a little ice.
34:19Terry and her crew are on the last leg of their iceberg reconnaissance mission.
34:23All these little bergy bits.
34:25F1.
34:26Here comes another one.
34:28There you go.
34:28Bergy bits are medium to large fragments of ice, roughly the size of a grand piano.
34:35Bergy bits everywhere over there.
34:37Yeah.
34:37Although relatively small in size, these chunks of ice still pose risks.
34:43But it's the bigger icebergs that concern them most because of the damage they can do to ships.
34:49This is one of the major shipping lanes to the world between Europe and North America.
34:54Everything that you see in a store, it passes through these waters to hit North America.
34:59Maritime transport is the backbone of the global economy.
35:02More than 80% of international goods travel by sea and are carried by over 50,000 merchant vessels.
35:10If ice is unmonitored and the ice flows are tracking through the major shipping lanes,
35:18it can cause a great bit of damage to a vessel, to the extreme of sinking a vessel, as it did in the Titanic.
35:27Well, Titanic sunk around this region down here.
35:30We're currently flying right here.
35:31We're not so far away.
35:33Yeah.
35:33It's a stark reminder of how dangerous the sea can be.
35:40The ocean itself is an unforgiving place, and it's unfortunately taken a lot of people and a lot of assets never to be seen again.
35:49Today's mission is just one of many that this elite flight crew perform.
35:56We fly every day.
35:58Our airplanes are in the air most often than anyone else on the east coast of Canada.
36:04And if a call comes in for an emergency situation, we are often the first ones on scene.
36:11In situations where there's search and assist as required, we've been on countless trips looking for those people,
36:18and some of them turn out well and others turn out not so well.
36:22So it's something that we all carry with us, but it's something that we've got to do as part of the job.
36:27What we do here matters.
36:29Matters a lot.
36:30And it's a very, it's a good privilege to be part of it.
36:37And approach, Jacqueline.
36:39Faps are approach.
36:40Confirmed.
36:41Notimeter 03004.
36:43Blur.
36:44Stowed.
36:44Monitor.
36:45Stowed.
36:46Pro checklist complete.
36:47Roger.
36:54Good one.
37:04For today's iceberg surveillance, it's mission accomplished.
37:08We had one bird that we did go have a look at, and quite a few birdie bits, but nothing of concern for the operation.
37:18And for Terry Childs, she'd be happy to do this every day.
37:23A lot of people pay to go see icebergs, and I get paid to go do it.
37:27So it's a pleasure to go.
37:39There's good news and bad news over in St. John's Harbor.
37:43Shifting winds and warmer temperatures have eased the ice conditions.
37:46But southwest winds have blown a brutal new weather system in.
37:57And that's the bad.
38:07We're expecting a big storm.
38:10We're looking at 50 to 60 centimeters of snow.
38:12You know, over 100 kilometer an hour, consistent winds, not just gusts.
38:16So it's going to be nasty here for a couple of days.
38:24So our operations this evening have come to a standstill.
38:27We had to stop due to the weather and the safety of our employees.
38:30And we'll resume when this thing lets off in a couple of days.
38:34To shut down total operations is a big decision.
38:36Every hour we're not working, it puts us behind.
38:39The storm's impact will mean delays for OceanX's schedule.
38:44The storm is overnight Friday here, right in through Saturday evening.
38:47And then we have the Sanderling arriving for 8 a.m. Sunday.
38:52We're going to need all hands on deck to get this place cleaned up
38:55to resume operations as none of this ever happened.
38:59The Sanderling is expected in less than 40 hours, and operations are shut down.
39:05Johnny still needs to come up with a plan.
39:07So we have snow clearing contractors on site.
39:09They'll work to keep up on the snow, you know, due to the size of our terminal.
39:15Allowing the snow to build up on the pier would make offloading the Sanderling impossible.
39:20So they'll need to work around the clock to keep it clear.
39:26We've got a lot of work ahead of us.
39:28Yeah, we try to keep ahead of the snow much as we can,
39:30because if we don't, it's going to be hard to push once it gets 40, 50 centimeters.
39:37And the most challenging part will come at night.
39:40In the nighttime when you're working, you can't really see much.
39:44It's hard to see the barriers when you're going into the edge of the wharfs and stuff,
39:49so it's getting a bit rough in there.
39:50This will be a long, drawn-out operation throughout the weekend.
40:02The storm has come and gone.
40:05Brian, when you second your cue, holla, stand away from the forward crane.
40:08We'll get the boys in there to scrape that out.
40:10And Johnny has shown up ahead of their next ship.
40:13A little nervous to come down and see how the pier was this morning
40:16and to get ready for the vessel's arrival.
40:18The Sanderling was due in this morning at 8 o'clock.
40:20He's about four to six hours late due to some heavy seas and winds out there.
40:25I guess the repercussions from the storm.
40:26So we're expecting him later this afternoon.
40:30Delays are never good when it comes to supplies coming on or off the island.
40:34But it's bought Johnny's snow removal crew a little more time to clear what's left.
40:45We've had snow clearing operations running around the clock since Friday afternoon.
40:50They're still ongoing here this morning on Sunday.
40:52They did a great job so far.
40:53We're down to the pavement.
40:55How's it going, Brian?
40:55Good, buddy.
40:56How are you?
40:57Good.
40:58How did things go over the weekend?
41:00It was good.
41:01It was a little bit of a challenge there Friday night once the wind picked up and everything,
41:04but we kept ahead of it.
41:06The snow may be gone, but Johnny still has to make up for lost time.
41:12We're two days behind with our trucking and removing containers from the pier.
41:16We'll probably end up taking on some extra night shifts.
41:19Ice, snowstorms, delayed shifts, and long shifts.
41:23It's all part of the deal for Johnny and the crew at OceanX,
41:27who always make sure the job gets done.
41:31We'll see you next time.
41:57We'll see you next time.
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