As a result of the high cost of flying goods to Greenland, Nuuk and other towns in Greenland are connected to Denmark by cargo vessels which sail mainly from Aalborg during the warmer months after the winter ice has melted. They bring clothing, flour, medicine, timber and machinery and return with deep-frozen shrimp and fish. For most of the year, Nuuk is served twice-weekly by the coastal ferry of the Arctic Umiaq Line, which links the communities of the western coast.