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Saputi fishing vessel now fully Inuit-owned

The Qikiqtaaluk Corporation now has full ownership of the fishing vessel Saputi.

The corporation, which used to co-own the ship, finalized a deal on Tuesday to buy the other 49 per cent of the vessel from Nataaqnaq Fisheries in Newfoundland.

"Having 100 per cent ownership will give us ability to do what we need to do in hiring and training Inuit, which … was kind of lacking in the past," said Harry Flaherty, president of the Qikiqtaaluk Corporation.

He added revenue coming out of the operation will stay in Nunavut. The deal will also allow the corporation to put more focus on marketing products from Nunavut, while operations and management will now be run out of Iqaluit, said Flaherty.

Ludvig Siegstad
Ludvig Siegstad

"The only difference is that we don't have a deep water port here in Nunavut, and that will prevent the ship from anchoring here. But it will still go to Bay Roberts [in Newfoundland] to unload and crew change and fuel up," Flaherty said.

"We're very proud."

Flaherty wouldn't reveal how much the deal was worth. That's because the corporation is a private company with "no obligation to disclose any of its financial information to any person," said Tudja Noah, Flaherty's executive assistant, in a statement to CBC.

However, Qikiqtaaluk Corporation stands to see "millions" of dollars more in revenue, Flaherty said.

The deal took years to negotiate, he said.

The Saputi underwent a million dollars worth of repairs two years ago, after hitting ice in the Davis Strait.

With files from Nick Murray