Transit Island in Aasiaat
Photo: Linda Kleist
From World War to fishing industry
The Transit Island – locally also known as Qeqertannguaq – is easily spottet from Aasiaat. The big storage buildings are now empty, but it is obvious that the island once was an active place.
During the Second World War, the Americans used the island as a transit harbour for their supply ships. This turned Aasiaat into an important harbour for the americans, which also resulted in them building a weather station on the neighboring island, Tupilak. Bluie West 5, as the station was called, was an imporant part of American defense during the war.
The American influence
The American soldiers were not allowed to interact with the locals, but of course it happened anyway, meaning that the people of Aasiaat was provided with American objects and food. Actually the war and the American presence in the area had quite a big influence on Aasiaat and the locals. For example a local movie theater was established, which was very popular during the war.
Another public inlet piece was in 1942, when an American airplane was forced to land on the shore of the Tipitooq Lake due to fog in Kangerlussuaq. All 11 American crew members survived the landing, and the plane was later cut up and reused – including a window from the plane, that to this day remains a part of a private house in Aasiaat.
From war storage to fish plant
After the war, the name of Transit Island stuck, even though the purpose of the island changed. Aasiaat turned into a fishermens town, and in the 1950’s the first fish processing plant was build on Transit Island. From the 1960’s, the buildings included fillet production and freezing plant.
Amongst the fish and whales also the many shrimps of Disko Bay was and is a great asset of Aasiaat. But due to the sea ice conditions in the area, the need for an plant with all year-access increased. In 1989 a new plant was builded on the main island away from the harbour, which over time lead to emptying the Transit Island leaving it as it is today – a storage for the local fishermens as well as an historical mark of Aasiaat.
Historical transit harbour
But sometimes the island is still used as transit harbour due to the optimal location. This happened for example in 2017, when the big wooden “Maud”, a ship that belonged to the explorer Roald Amunden, was kept safe on Transit Island during the winter, before being transported to a museum in Norway.