As protesters clog a new corridor built to transport the massive building blocks of a new oil sands mine, a small Northwest Territories company has suddenly found itself showered with interest by Asian companies looking for an alternative.

It remains early days, and the realities of Arctic ice could well keep the plan from succeeding. But their goal is simple. They want to transform the Arctic into a new thoroughfare for the industrialization of Western Canada - and turn the Mackenzie River into a kind of Mississippi for the oil sands.

Though sailors have long discussed the possibility of Arctic transportation, thinning sea ice and oil sands companies' growing use of overseas manufacturers for major components are suddenly conspiring to make it a far more attractive possibility.

In the past two months, Northern Transportation Co. Ltd., a Hay River-based barge company owned by northern Inuit, has received numerous inquiries from foreign freight and logistics experts who want to know if they can ship huge industrial components to Fort McMurray by way of the Far North.

"In one day this month, we had six people say how much would it cost to bring these modules down? Once we gave them the pricing, they said, 'oh could you do twice that amount?'" said Martin Landry, the company's Calgary-based manager of business development.

"To me, it sounds like a no-brainer."

NTCL has had so many inquiries that Mr. Landry has planned a trip to Seoul to meet with South Korean manufacturing and transportation companies in early December. The interest comes from companies working to supply both the oil sands and non-petroleum projects in Western Canada.