CCGS Hudson
 Canadian Coast Guard Ship Hudson | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Canada | |
| Name: | Hudson |
| Namesake: | Henry Hudson, explorer |
| Operator: |
|
| Port of registry: | Ottawa, Ontario |
| Builder: | Saint John Shipbuilding and Drydock Ltd, Saint John, New Brunswick |
| Yard number: | 320936 |
| Completed: | 1963 |
| Commissioned: | 1964 |
| In service: | 1963–present |
| Refit: | 1990 |
| Homeport: |
|
| Identification: | CGDG |
| Status: | in active service |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Offshore oceanographic and hydrographical survey vessel |
| Displacement: | 3,740 tonnes (4,122.64 short tons) |
| Length: | 90.373 m (296 ft 6.0 in) |
| Beam: | 15.24 m (50 ft 0 in) |
| Draft: | 5.75 m (18 ft 10 in) |
| Ice class: | 100A |
| Propulsion: | Diesel electric DC/DC - (4 × ) Alco 16 cyl engines |
| Speed: | 17 knots (31 km/h) |
| Range: | 23,100 nmi (42,800 km) |
| Endurance: | 105 days |
| Boats & landing craft carried: |
|
| Complement: | 37 |
| Aircraft carried: | 1 × MBB Bo 105 helicopter |
| Aviation facilities: | Hangar |
The CCGS Hudson is an offshore oceanographic and hydrographic survey vessel operated by the Canadian Coast Guard.[1][2]
Hudson is Canada's oldest operational ocean research vessel. Originally, constructed and funded by the Federal Department of Energy Mines and Resources. She was constructed in the early 1960s for the [Canadian Oceanographic Service], coinciding with the opening of the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. Formerly the CSS Hudson, she was the largest vessel built at that time specifically designed for research purposes. For over five decades, Hudson has made significant contributions to knowledge about the oceans through hydrographic surveys and oceanographic research. Particularly important was a 1970 voyage around both North and South America, the first time a ship made a voyage that transited the Americas. This research voyage established many benchmarks in marine observations, and demonstrated that navigation through the Northwest Passage was fundamentally dangerous because of uncharted undersea mountain peaks and undersea ice-cored features, pingos, in the Beaufort Sea. This monumental voyage, in which over 100 scientists participated during various stages, was documented in the 1973 book "Voyage to the Edge of the World" by Alan Edmonds (ISBN 0771030673). She also has several notable search and rescue/recovery taskings. Some examples are: The 'Cape Freels' rescue off the coast of Newfoundland about March 1976. Hudson's Officers and Crew saved all 24 members of the MV Skipper 1 in the North Atlantic on April 29, 1987. The Hudson contributed significantly during recovery operations during the aftermath of the Ocean Ranger semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit that sank in Eastern Canadian waters on February 15, 1982. Hudson contributed to the recovery operations during the recovery operations of Swiss Air Flight 111 in the waters off of Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada during the autumn months of 1998. Suffice to say that Hudson has a long and distinguished service, both in the field of scientific discoveries and marine incidents for more than fifty years. The Government of Canada announced several new shipbuilding projects for the Canadian Coast Guard in 2007, including a replacement for Hudson to be delivered by 2016 (delivery date - delayed),[3] giving her over 52 years of operational service to Canada.
Notable events
- CCGS Hudson played an important role in searching for the debris of Swissair Flight 111. She has also been involved in several search and rescue missions, most recently rescuing the seven man crew of the fishing vessel Ocean Commander which burned and sank on July 6, 2009.[4][5]
- CCGS Hudson conducted the 11 month Hudson 70 cruise - the first ever circumnavigation of North and South America. Scientists from many countries obtained valuable chemical data in the Atlantic, physical data in the Chilean fjords, gravity data in the Pacific and geophysical data in the Arctic.[1]
- CCGS Hudson conducted the 9 month Hudson 81 cruise - the circumnavigation of North America from east to west via the Panama Canal and the Northwest Passage, without icebreaker support. Commanding Officers during the cruise were: permanent master mariner - F. W. Maugher MM; relieving master - L. A. Strum MM; relieving master - N. S. Norton MM. Anthony David (Tony) O'Connor: ...was Hydrographer-in-Charge and Chief Scientist on board CSS Hudson [CCGS Hudson] for the major cruise [Canadian Arctic portion of Hudson 81] to the Beaufort Sea and Northwest Passage.
- CSS Hudson retrieved a number of bodies from the oil rig Ocean Ranger which capsized and sank in the Atlantic Ocean on February 15, 1982.
Replacement plans
In September 2009 the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) invited contracts for a vessel to replace the Hudson.[6] Her replacement will also be 90 metres long, and will be staffed by a crew of 28, and can carry 31 additional scientists. Her anticipated completion date was expected in 2014, however DFO says the date has been pushed back to 2016.[3]
CGS Base Dartmouth
Other Coast Guard vessels at the station:
- CCGS Sir William Alexander - light Arctic Class 2 icebreaker
See also
- CCGS John P. Tully - CCGS other research vessel on the West Coast.
References
- 1 2 "Research Vessels: CCGS Hudson". Bedford Institute of Oceanography. 2009-07-15. Archived from the original on 2009-08-02. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
- ↑ "Fleet: CCGS Hudson". Canadian Coast Guard. 2008-03-31. Archived from the original on 2009-09-12.
- 1 2 "Scientific ship's replacement delayed". CBC News. July 4, 2012.
- ↑ "U.S. Navy sends new underwater detection system to Halifax". United States Navy. Archived from the original on 2009-08-02. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
- ↑ James McLeod (2009-07-07). "'Smoke, fire and a life-raft, that's all' Rescue Crew safe after fishing vessel burns at sea". The Telegram. Archived from James McLeod," The Telegram, St. John's, July 7, 2009 the original Check
|url=value (help) on 2009-09-12. - ↑ "Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel and Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel: Joint Solicitation of Interest and Qualifications". Canadian American Strategic Review. September 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-09-12.