Marine Transportation Services will run its 2026 cargo service with a fuel surcharge unchanged from 2025 and otherwise a price increase of between 2.5 and 2.8 percent for most destinations.
The fuel surcharge first appeared for the 2022 season, when it was set at 24 percent in response to fuel price increases following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The surcharge dropped to 18 percent for the 2023 MTS sailing season and has remained there since.
More recently, the United States’ war with Iran has shut down a large number of fuel shipments, sending gas prices and the costs of other fuels soaring.
Airlines like Air Canada and WestJet, alongside northern providers like Canadian North and Air Tindi, have all announced some form of fuel surcharge in recent weeks.
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Marine Transportation Services, or MTS, is the wing of the territorial government responsible for barge shipments to communities who rely on summer freight via the Mackenzie River.
MTS published its 2026 rates on Thursday. Overall, they represent increases of between 2.5 percent and three percent on the 2025 equivalent.
Barge deliveries have been disrupted by low water levels in some recent years and recent government water monitoring bulletins suggest the Mackenzie River’s levels have barely shifted.
So far, MTS has not suggested it expects more disruption this summer. However, how the coming spring melt evolves may play a role in determining the success of the 2026 season.
“Each year, MTS works with hydrologists and monitors snowpack and river conditions to determine when it is safe and efficient to begin sailing,” the territorial government stated this week.
“Final dates are confirmed once water levels are better understood for the season.”
