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NTCL tug and barges stuck near Lutselk'e, N.W.T.

An NTCL tug, and the barges it was pushing, are stuck near Lutselk'e, N.W.T.

The vessels got stuck earlier this week after resupplying the remote Great Slave Lake community.

Nathan Graham, Chief Corporate Officer of the Inuvialuit Corporate Group, said in an emailed statement the Kelly Ovayuak tug went aground about four kilometres outside Lutselk'e on Tuesday night.

He said there have been no reported injuries or fuel on the water.

He said Transport Canada and the Coast Guard have been notified and an NTCL emergency response team is in place to direct and co-ordinate the removal of the tug and barges and their return to Hay River.

NTCL made all its deliveries to Lutselk'e, including fuel to the N.W.T. government, before the incident, he said.

It's not the first time NTCL has lost control of a barge. Last year the company finally retrieved a 40-metre barge that had been drifting in the Beaufort and Bering seas for 10 months.

Also last year, an NTCL barge punctured its hull after grounding out on the Mackenzie River near Fort Simpson.