Devastating Fire Leaves Uummannaq Without Power
On Monday, a fire broke out at the power plant in Uummannaq, casting a shadow over the community as the outage also affected three local fish factories dependent on halibut. As of Wednesday afternoon—48 hours post-incident—power had yet to be restored.
At the Sigguk ApS fish factory, the effects of the outage are dire. Factory manager Ole Andersen described the situation as nothing short of a disaster, stating, “Right now, we still don’t have electricity. The heart of Uummannaq has stopped.” He expressed frustration at the unforeseen catastrophe that left many employees impacted—around 20 were sent home due to the lack of power.
The fire, which ignited around noon on Monday, forced the factory to discard goods that had been produced earlier that day but were now unsalvageable. “We still have fish that we were working on Monday morning, but many have completely thawed. We must consider them lost—about five tonnes,” Andersen added somberly.
A Potential Loss of 100 Tons
The crisis extends beyond fish to longline bait, at risk of spoiling. “We still have around 100 tonnes of bait in the freezer. Thankfully, our large freezer is still at minus 15 degrees, and we hope to regain power before it’s too late,” Andersen noted. The bait in question consists of capelin and polar cod.
At Avannaa Seafood ApS, production manager John Møller echoed similar sentiments. They, too, are grappling with the effects of the prolonged power outage. “Unfortunately, we already have fish that must be discarded due to quality degradation. This isn’t just a ton; we’re talking several tons,” he lamented.
While he couldn’t specify the exact amount of halibut at risk, he estimated that around 10 tonnes produced between Sunday afternoon and the fire on Monday morning could be lost.
A Silver Lining Amidst the Chaos
Amid the turmoil, there was a modicum of relief as the Royal Arctic Line’s ship, Maleraq, arrived in Uummannaq, bringing essential equipment for the noodle plant and salvaging some frozen goods. “Fortunately, they transported over 100 pallets of our frozen items to Denmark,” Andersen said, relieved.
Avannaa Seafood shared in this sentiment, thankful for the timely intervention that preserved their finished goods as well. “The Royal Arctic Line’s ship left with our cold storage products while it was here, and we are very grateful for that,” Møller noted.
In addition to the private facilities, Royal Greenland operates a production site in Uummannaq, which faced similar challenges. Production manager Jakob Mathiassen acted preemptively, ensuring 60 pallets of frozen halibut were transported to Saattut before the full impact of the outage was felt. “They remain frozen and untouched,” he confirmed, although their plant’s operations are currently on hold, with its reopening contingent on the repair work by Nukissiorfiit.
As the community grapples with the aftermath of the fire and the resulting power outage, the resilience of Uummannaq’s fishing industry and its workforce will undoubtedly be tested in the days to come.