Company type | Aktieselskab |
---|---|
Industry | Transport |
Founded | 2004 |
Headquarters | Ilulissat, Greenland |
Area served | Disko Bay, Greenland |
Key people | Ole Dorph |
Products | Coastal trade and passenger ferry |
Parent | Topas Travel (partial) |
Website | diskoline.gl |
Disko Line A/S is a passenger, freight and tourism ferry line in western Greenland. [1] It was founded in 2004 [2] as a small freight company. Disko Line is Part of Topas Explorer Group [3]
Diskoline provides sea transport services on contract with the Government of Greenland, serving towns and settlements of the Disko Bay region in western Greenland, from Aasiaat Archipelago in the south, through Disko Island and southern Nuussuaq Peninsula in the north, to the eastern coast of Disko Bay in the east. The routes are operated during spring, summer, and fall, when the bay is navigable, complementing the air connections operated by Air Greenland during winter, also on governmental contract. The line also provides various tourist charter services in the region.
As of 2010, Diskoline operates 7 ships [4] able to carry between 10 and 60 passengers. [2] Routes served: [5]
Image | Vessel | Capacity | Routes |
---|---|---|---|
Najaaraq Ittuk | 60 | Ilulissat − Aasiaat − Qeqertarsuaq | |
Ilulissat − Qeqertarsuaq | |||
Ilulissat − Qeqertarsuaq − Aasiaat | |||
Ilulissat − Qasigiannguit − Aasiaat − Qeqertarsuaq | |||
Ilulissat − Uummannaq | |||
Aleqa Ittuk | 36 | Ilulissat − Ilimanaq | |
Ilulissat − Oqaatsut − Qeqertaq − Saqqaq | |||
Aviaq Ittuk | 36 | Aasiaat − Kangaatsiaq − Attu − Iginniarfik − Ikerasaarsuk − Niaqornaarsuk | |
Aasiaat − Akunnaaq − Ikamiut − Qasigiannguit | |||
Aasiaat − Kitsissuarsuit − Qeqertarsuaq | |||
Aasiaat − Kangaatsiaq | |||
Aasiaat − Ikamiut − Qasigiannguit − Ilulissat | |||
Sapangaq | 36 | ||
Nanuaaraq | 23 | Ilulissat − Ilimanaq − Qasigiannguit | |
Ilulissat − Oqaatsut − Qeqertaq − Saqqaq | |||
Ilulissat − Qeqertarsuaq | |||
Nanoq | 12 | ||
Ulu | 10 |
Diskoline is the only passenger line linking Disko Bay with Uummannaq in the Uummannaq Fjord region after the Arctic Umiaq Line sold M/S Sarpik Ittuk, one of its two large passenger ships, in 2006 [6] −leaving the regions without a maritime connection.
Extension of the service from Uummannaq to Upernavik was studied in 2007, however in light of the DKK 13 mln subsidy from the government required to make the route operating at a break-even level, the subsidy was refused, and the plans were scrapped. [7]
As of 2010 transport services between Upernavik Archipelago and the Uummannaq Fjord region are provided by infrequent cargo/ferry ships of Royal Arctic Line, [8] and by Air Greenland via Upernavik Airport, Uummannaq Heliport, and the transfer point at Qaarsut Airport. [9]
Qeqertarsuaq is a port and town in Qeqertalik municipality, located on the south coast of Disko Island on the west coast of Greenland. Founded in 1773, the town is now home to a campus of the University of Copenhagen known as Arctic Station. Qeqertarsuaq is the Kalaallisut name for Disko Island and is also now used for several other islands on Greenland, including those formerly known as Upernavik and Herbert Island. Qeqertarsuaq means 'the big island' in Kalaallisut.
Air Greenland A/S, also known as Greenlandair, is the flag carrier of Greenland, owned by the Greenlandic Government. It operates a fleet of 28 aircraft, including 2 airliners used for transatlantic and charter flights, 8 fixed-wing aircraft primarily serving the domestic network, and 18 helicopters feeding passengers from the smaller communities into the domestic airport network. Flights to heliports in the remote settlements are operated on contract with the government of Greenland.
Uummannaq is a town in the Avannaata municipality, in central-western Greenland. With 1,407 inhabitants in 2020, it is the eighth-largest town in Greenland, and is home to the country's most northerly ferry terminal. Founded in 1763 as Omenak, the town is a hunting and fishing base, with a canning factory and a marble quarry. In 1932, the Universal Greenland-Filmexpedition with director Arnold Fanck released the film S.O.S. Eisberg near Uummannaq.
Uummannaq Island is a small island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. Located in the south-central part of the Uummannaq Fjord, it is home to the most prominent mountain on the Arctic coast of western Greenland and to Uummannaq, the largest town north of Ilulissat.
Nuuk Airport is an airport serving Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. The airport is a technical base and focus city for Air Greenland, the flag carrier airline of Greenland, linking the capital with several towns in western and south-western part of the country, including the airline hub at Kangerlussuaq Airport. With connections to Iceland, Nuuk Airport is also one of six international airports in Greenland but serves only destinations within Greenland and Iceland. International connections are made with flights to either Keflavík International Airport in Iceland or Kangerlussuaq Airport.
Aasiaat or Ausiait, formerly Egedesminde, is a town in the Qeqertalik municipality in western Greenland, located on its namesake island in the heart of Aasiaat Archipelago at the southern end of Disko Bay. With a population of 2,980 as of 2021, it is Greenland's fifth-largest town.
Qasigiannguit, formerly Christianshåb, is a town located in western Greenland on the southeastern shore of Disko Bay in the Qeqertalik municipality. With 1,081 inhabitants in 2020, it is the thirteenth-largest town in Greenland. The main industry is shrimp and halibut fishing.
Kangaatsiaq is a town located in the Qeqertalik municipality in western Greenland. The town received town status as recently as 1986, though as a settlement it has existed much longer. It has 507 inhabitants as of 2023. Nearby settlements are Attu, Niaqornaarsuk, Ikerasaarsuk and Iginniarfik.
Niaqornaarsuk is a village in the Qeqertalik municipality in western Greenland, along the northern entrance to Arfersiorfik Fjord. Its population was 249 in 2020.
Nuussuaq, formerly Kraulshavn, is a settlement in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is the only mainland settlement in the Upernavik Archipelago, located near the western tip of the Nuussuaq Peninsula, on the northern coast of Sugar Loaf Bay, an indentation of Baffin Bay. It is most famously known as the official halfway point between Saskatoon and Helsinki as decided in the 2023 Concorde Drive halfway challenge. The settlement was founded in 1923 as a trading station, growing in size during the post-war consolidation phase, when hunters from several small villages in the region of neighboring Inussulik Bay, Sugar Loaf Bay, and Tasiusaq Bay moved into the larger settlements such as Nuussuaq and Kullorsuaq further north in Melville Bay. Today Nuussuaq remains one of the most traditional hunting and fishing villages in Greenland, with a stable population. The settlement had 181 inhabitants in 2020.
Kitsissuarsuit is a settlement in Qeqertalik municipality in western Greenland. The settlement was formerly founded in 1830 as Hunde Ejlande or Dog's Island, although it had already been used as a whaling station since 1817. Its population was 50 in 2020.
Ikamiut is a settlement in the Qeqertalik municipality in western Greenland, located on a small island in the Aasiaat Archipelago on the southern shores of Disko Bay. Its population was 86 in 2020.
Saqqaq is a settlement in the Avannaata municipality in western Greenland. Founded in 1755 as Solsiden, Saqqaq had 132 inhabitants in 2020. The village's Kalaallisut name is a translation of the Danish meaning "Sunny Side", in reference to its position relative to Livets Top.
Ilimanaq, formerly Claushavn, is a settlement in Avannaata municipality in western Greenland. It had 53 inhabitants in 2020. The modern name of the village is Kalaallisut for "Place of Expectations".
Oqaatsut, formerly Rodebay or Rodebaai, is a settlement in Avannaata municipality, in western Greenland. It had 29 inhabitants in 2020. The modern name of the settlement is Kalaallisut for "Cormorants". The village is served by the communal all-purpose Pilersuisoq store.
Arctic Umiaq Line A/S (AUL) or Arctic Umiaq is a passenger and freight shipping line in Greenland. Its name derives from the Kalaallisut word for the traditional Inuit passenger boat, the umiak, distinguished from the kayak, used for hunting. The sea connection provided by Arctic Umiaq provides supplies and communication to the entirety of western and southwestern Greenland. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal Arctic Line.
Ilulissat Airport ; is a minor international airport serving Ilulissat, Greenland, the entire Disko Bay Region, the North and West Greenland. It is the 59th largest airport in the Nordic countries with 83,000 passengers in 2012 and is the second airport built in Greenland for civilian travel partially funded by the EU Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund. It is the third-busiest airport in Greenland, and one of the busiest for international travel in Greenland.
Qaarsut Airport is an airport in Qaarsut, a settlement on the Nuussuaq Peninsula in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is a primary airport with a gravel runway, capable of serving STOL aircraft of Air Greenland in all seasons. There is a small cafeteria in the tiny arrivals/departures hall. It is connected by a 4 km (2.5 mi) gravel road to Qaarsut and is 13.5 nautical miles northwest of Uummannaq.
Nunavik Peninsula is a large peninsula in northwestern Greenland. It separates two cultural and geographical regions of northwestern Greenland: Uummannaq Fjord region in the southeast, and Upernavik Archipelago in the north.
Upernavik Archipelago is a vast coastal archipelago in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland, off the shores of northeastern Baffin Bay. The archipelago extends from the northwestern coast of Sigguup Nunaa peninsula in the south at approximately 71°50′N56°00′W to the southern end of Melville Bay in the north at approximately 74°50′N57°30′W.