CCGS ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'' is a light

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

and major navaids tender of the

Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; ) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues in Canadian waters, such as navigation aids and i ...

. Built in 1986 by Canadian Shipbuilding at Collingwood,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, she was the last ship constructed there. The ship has been based out of Victoria,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Description and design

Designed as a light

and

buoy tender A buoy tender is a type of vessel used to maintain and replace navigational buoys. This term can also apply to an actual person who does this work. The United States Coast Guard uses buoy tenders to accomplish one of its primary missions of main ...

, ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'' displaces fully loaded with a and a . The ship is long overall with a beam of and a draught of .Saunders, p. 95 The vessel is propelled by two fixed-pitch propellers and

bow thruster Manoeuvering thrusters (bow thrusters and stern thrusters) are transversal propulsion devices built into or mounted to either the Bow (watercraft), bow or stern (front or back, respectively) of a ship or boat to make it more manoeuvrable. Bow th ...

s powered by three

Alco The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer that operated from 1901 to 1969, initially specializing in the production of locomotives but later diversifying and fabricating at various time ...

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 ...

3306 emergency generator. This gives the ship a maximum speed of . Capable of carrying of

diesel fuel Diesel fuel, also called diesel oil, heavy oil (historically) or simply diesel, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a re ...

, ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'' 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 Bridgemaster navigational radar operating on the I band. The vessel has a cargo hold. ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'' has a

flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface on which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters ...

and

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

which originally accommodated 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 ...

or Bell 206L 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. It is a twin-turbine helicopter that has been ...

EPI were acquired by the Canadian Coast Guard to replace the older helicopters. The ship has a complement of 27, with 10 officers and 17 crew. ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'' has 26 additional berths.

Workboat/lifeboat

''Sir Wilfrid Laurier''s workboat/lifeboat No. 1 was re-purposed as a training boat/work boat that has been operated by the Maritime Affairs Committee Navy League of Canada – Outaouais Branch since 1995. The boat was named ''Fred Gordon'', in honour of (ret'd) Fred Gordon, EM, CD former Regimental Sergeant-Major for Le Régiment de Hull (RCAC) 1967–1971. Fred Gordon was a member of the Hull Legion who supported the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

Sea Cadet Corps la Hulloise (CCMRC No. 230) sponsored by the Outaouais Branch of the Navy League of Canada.

Operational history

The ship was constructed by Canadian Shipbuilding at their yard in Collingwood,

with the yard number 230. Named for a former

prime minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...

, ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'' was launched on 6 December 1985 and entered service on 15 November 1986. The ship is registered in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Ontario, and homeported at Victoria,

. The ship was initially assigned to the Laurentian Region, but transferred to the Western Region. ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'' is a multi-tasked vessel which carries out a wide variety of Coast Guard programs including buoy tending, search and rescue, science work, lightstation re-supply, beacon maintenance, radio repeater site maintenance, and icebreaking/escorting, aids to navigation and science work during summer patrols in the Arctic. CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier at Cambridge Bay

CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier at Cambridge Bay

The vessel has been employed on research voyages and the rescue of survivors of the car

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

. In 2014 the ship was part of the search for

John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator. After serving in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, he led two expeditions into the Northern Canada, Canadia ...

's ships, and , during the Victoria Strait Expedition. ''Erebus'' was found on that expedition. In 2016, ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'', accompanied by the

vessel , carried archaeologists to the site for further research. The two vessels also continued the search for ''Terror''. ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'' arrived at Seaspan’s Vancouver Drydock in North Vancouver in November 2023 to undergo an extensive refit through April 2024, as part of a Vessel Life Extension. In September 2024, ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'' departed Canada and arrived at Yokohama, being the first CCG ship to make a port call and speak to personnel from the

Japan Coast Guard The is the coast guard responsible for the protection of the Geography of Japan#Composition, topography and geography, coastline of Japan under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It consists of about ...

and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries while having the ship open to the public. During the voyage, ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier''s officers conducted several anti- IUU fishing operations. The ship returned to Victoria on 28 October.

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sir Wilfrid Laurier, CCGS Martha L. Black-class icebreakers 1986 ships Ships built in Collingwood, Ontario