CCGS ''Martha L. Black'' is the lead ship of her

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

of light icebreakers of the Canadian Coast Guard. The ship was built in 1986 in Vancouver, British Columbia by Versatile Pacific Shipyards Limited as part of the CG Program Vessels. The vessel was mainly designed as a high-endurance, multi-tasked boat. Most of her duties are along the St. Lawrence River and

St. Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Americ ...

as she is able to handle the ice thickness there.

Design and description

''Martha L. Black'', the lead ship of the of icebreakers, displaces fully loaded with a and a . The ship is

long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and ...

with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draught of .Saunders, p. 95 The vessel is powered by two fixed-pitch propellers and bow thrusters powered by three Alco 251F diesel-electric engines creating , and three Canadian GE generators producing 6 megawatts of AC power driving two Canadian GE motors creating . The ship is also equipped with one

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

C32 auxiliary generator and one Caterpillar 3306 emergency generator. This gives the ship a maximum speed of . Capable of carrying of diesel fuel, ''Martha L. Black'' has a maximum range of at a cruising speed of and can stay at sea for up to 120 days. The ship is certified as Arctic Class 2. The icebreaker is equipped with one

Racal Decca The Decca Radar company was a British manufacturer of radar systems. There were originally two divisions, Marine and Heavy Radar, with separate product lines. The latter was sold to Plessey in 1965, and the term "Decca Radar" normally refers to ...

Bridgemaster navigational radar operating on the I band. ''Martha L. Black'' has a crane capable of lifting . The ship carries two rigid-hulled inflatable boats and a self-propelled barge. ''Martha L. Black'' is equipped with a flight deck and a hangar which originally housed light helicopters of the

MBB Bo 105 The Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 is a light, twin-engine, multi-purpose helicopter developed by Bölkow of Ottobrunn, West Germany. It was the first light twin-engine helicopter in the world, and the first rotorcraft that could perform a ...

Bell 206L A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an intern ...

types, but in the 2010s, the Bell 429 GlobalRanger and

Bell 412 The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter of the Huey family manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212, with the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor. Design and development Development began in the ...

EPI were acquired by the Canadian Coast Guard to replace the older helicopters. The ship can carry of

aviation fuel Aviation fuels are petroleum-based fuels, or petroleum and synthetic fuel blends, used to power aircraft. They have more stringent requirements than fuels used for ground use, such as heating and road transport, and contain additives to enhanc ...

for the helicopters. The ship has a complement of 25, with 10 officers and 15 crew. ''Martha L. Black'' has 26 additional berths.

Service history

Constructed by Versatile Pacific Shipyards Limited at their yard in

North Vancouver North Vancouver may refer to: *North Vancouver (city), a city in British Columbia, Canada * North Vancouver (district municipality), a district municipality in British Columbia, Canada * North Vancouver (electoral district), a federal electoral di ...

, British Columbia with the yard number 108, the vessel was launched on 6 September 1985. The ship entered service on 30 April 1986. The ship was named for Martha L. Black, a woman from Chicago, Illinois who immigrated to Canada and was a pioneering settler of Yukon. She became the second woman to be elected a Member of Parliament in Canada in 1935. The ship is registered in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario, and homeported at Quebec City. The vessel was initially assigned to the Western Region, but swapped places with

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

. The ship's primary duty is a buoy tender and navigational aids support in the Saint Lawrence River and Seaway and Saguenay River. ''Martha L. Black'' also provides icebreaking services to the same areas. In 2012, the ship transported scientists on a research mission to the Labrador Sea. In January 2014, ''Martha L. Black'' was one of two icebreakers called into the Saint Lawrence River to aid two

passenger ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

which were prevented from crossing the river by ice. The ferries, which connect the Quebec communities of Sorel-Tracy and Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola, had been docked after ice conditions had become severe enough that the large icebreaker needed reinforcement. In 2016, ''Martha L. Black'' suffered damage to her three engines and remained out of service for three months, docked at

Cacouna, Quebec Cacouna () is a municipality in the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec. It is located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River along Route 132. The municipality of Cacouna was create ...

References

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External links

CCGS Martha L Black
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martha L. Black, CCGS Martha L. Black-class icebreakers Ships built in North Vancouver 1986 ships