Canadian Coast Guard News

The international study on remote pilotage launched by the International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA) and its partners in the summer 2024 is now reaching out to manufacturers and system integrators to solicit their participation in the trials phases of the study.IMPA’s partners include the Canadian National Centre of Expertise on Maritime Pilotage (NCEMP) and the Canadian Coast Guard. Together, they are exploring remote pilotage to evaluate its feasibility, readiness and impacts on safe navigation practices and systems.It is designed to deliver unbiased…

Palfinger Marine, an Austrian manufacturer of hydraulic lifting, loading, and handling systems for marine applications, been selected to supply its Polar Class lifeboats and davits package for the first fleet of ships in the Canadian Coast Guard’s Multi-Purpose Vessel (MPV) renewal program.The contract covers the delivery of equipment for the first six of up to 16 vessels.The collaboration further extends Palfinger Marine’s long-standing partnership with Seaspan and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG).

Five people were rescued from a tug that lost steering in heavy seas off the coast of La Push, Wash., Friday afternoon.At 4:10 p.m., the 130-foot commercial tug Luther lost steering and was beset by weather while towing a concrete barge 10 miles off the coast of La Push and requested assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard. On scene weather conditions were 10- to 14-foot seas and winds of 45-knots.A 47-foot Motor Lifeboat (MLB) crew from Coast Guard Station Quillayute River, an MH-60 Jayhawk crew from Coast Guard Air Station Astoria…

Genoa Design International has been providing production design and 3D modeling services to shipbuilding and offshore industries from Newfoundland and Labrador for nearly 30 years. With a team of more than 200, Laurie Balan, COO, Genoa Design International, sees ample opportunity for future growth, with defense budgets booming around the world and the recently signed Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (“ICE PACT”) between the Canada, Finland and the U.S. which is a trilateral arrangement…

MAN Energy Solutions has won the order to deliver the propulsion systems for two Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) for the Canadian Coast Guard as part of a consortium with GE Power Conversion.MAN will deliver the engines, shafts and propellers for the AOPS’ integrated diesel-electric propulsion systems and is also providing a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system with each engine.Each vessel will feature 4 × MAN 6L32/44CR engines, each engine delivering 3,600 KW and using MAN’s most advanced common-rail electronic injection system…

The Canadian Coast Guard has called off a search for a crewmember believed to have gone overboard from one of its icebreaker vessels off Newfoundland's northeast coast. The CCGS Vincent Massey crewmember, who was reportedly last seen aboard the ship on Sunday evening, was reported missing at 8:15 a.m. on Monday when the vessel arrived in St. John's.An "extensive" search involving Canadian Coast Guard vessels, aircraft and vessels from other federal sources was launched but proved unsuccessful.

Seaspan on Thursday announced its Vancouver Drydock has completed a Vessel Life Extension (VLE) program for the 38-year-old Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker vessel CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier. After undocking at the end of April 2024, the vessel completed an in-water work period in preparation for ship commissioning and sea trials, finally departing Seaspan on August 17, 2024.According to Seaspan, the ship repair and overhaul project was the largest and most complex ever undertaken at Vancouver Drydock.The entire project consisted of more than100 separate upgrades including…

Canada and Norway have signed a deal to expand cooperation between the two allied nations' coast guards, in a move to boost marine safety and environmental protection in high latitudes.The Canadian Coast Guard this week announced it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the Norwegian Coast Guard "formalizing joint efforts in data analysis, education and training, decarbonization, and Arctic scientific research, and setting the stage for enhanced capabilities in marine security…

Alternative fuels are not top of the list of naval requirements for gensets, but they are inching their way up.The naval world is largely exempt from the decarbonization pressure faced by commercial shipping, but it can’t ignore it entirely. As a famed naval strategist once said: “Fuel stands first in importance of the resources necessary to a fleet.”Navies must therefore consider their fuel supply options carefully given that commercial shipping is currently rewriting supply and demand dynamics.Indeed…

The International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA), which represents over 50 member countries, is partnering with the Canadian National Centre of Expertise on Maritime Pilotage (NCEMP) and the Canadian Coast Guard to evaluate the feasibility of remote pilotage.The work aims to provide authoritative insights into the current and potential use of remote pilotage on conventional ships and those that might be navigated remotely or by software with autonomy in the future.The project will study pilotage as a socio-technical system and the impact of any new protocols on risk…

Canada’s Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Diane Lebouthillier, has released the names of the Canadian Coast Guard’s two future Polar Icebreakers: the CCGS Arpatuuq and CCGS Imnaryuaq.The vessels’ names were chosen in collaboration with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami for their cultural significance to Inuit. The CCGS Arpatuuq references Akpatok Island, an uninhabited island in Nunavik, on the northern coast of Quebec. The island is an important geographical landmark in Ungava Bay that has been used by Inuit of Nunavik for centuries.

Seaspan Shipyards (Seaspan) launched the Canadian Coast Guard’s flagship science vessel, CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk.The fourth ship designed, built and launched by Seaspan under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, the Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel (OOSV) is a floating laboratory that will serve as the primary oceanographic science platform for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. As a Polar Class 6 vessel, it will be a highly advanced ice capable ship equipped with the latest scientific research systems.

Two new Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) under construction for the Canadian Coast Guard were named during a ceremony at Irving Shipbuilding's Halifax Shipyard. The July 31 event also marked the official keel laying for AOPS 7, and celebrated construction start of AOPS 8.AOPS 7, the first AOPS for the Canadian Coast Guard, will be named CCGS Donjek Glacier after the Donjek Glacier located in Kluane National Park in Yukon. AOPS 8, the second vessel for the Canadian Coast Guard and the final AOPS…

The Canadian Coast Guard has launched a new offshore oceanographic science vessel to be named the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Naalak Nappaaluk.As the Canadian Coast Guard’s largest dedicated science vessel, the new ship will provide increased capability and capacity to support ocean science missions on Canada’s east coast. It will accommodate up to 34 crew and 26 Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists and will be stationed at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth…

The Canadian government on Tuesday announced it has awarded a pair of contracts to Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd. (VSY) to initiate the next stages of procuring the first flight of Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPV) for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG).These contracts, which are worth $490.6 million combined (taxes included), following completion of the vessel’s basic design review in late 2023 and allow VSY to undertake pre-construction work, such as selecting specific pieces of equipment…

Canada is removing a trio of "problem" vessels that have been abandoned in Nova Scotia's Port of Bridgewater.The three vessels—Hannah Atlantic, Cape Rouge and Rupert Brand VI—all showing signs of disrepair, have been moored at a privately owned wharf on the LaHave River for a number of years, posing a threat to the marine environment.The Canadian Coast Guard's Marine Environmental and Hazards Response team is leading a six-month operation to remove, deconstruct and dispose of the derelict vessels.

Steerprop announced it has been chosen to provide a Polar Class 4 (PC 4) propulsion package for the Canadian Coast Guard's Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPV) renewal program.The contract entails the supply of propulsion packages for the initial six MPVs, integral to Canada's National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS). Steerprop's solution comprises two tunnel thrusters for auxiliary propulsion and two Contra-Rotating Propulsors (CRP) for main propulsion, engineered to meet the operational…

The St. Marys River has reopened to vessel traffic after a U.S.-flagged Great Lakes freighter struck a channel light in the waterway.At approximately 1 a.m. on Thursday, the 730-foot bulk carrier American Mariner suffered a marine casualty and went bow-first into the Munuscong Junction Light, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The incident occurred in Munuscong Lake, which is a section of the St. Marys River in Michigan state.The American Steamship Company-owned vessel is operated by Grand River Navigation under a bareboat charter.

Irving Shipbuilding has awarded Bardex Corporation a contract for a 165-meter shiplift drydock to support its River-class destroyer shipbuilding program for the Royal Canadian Navy.With a capacity of over 27,000 metric tons, the OmniLift Shiplift will include fifty-six 575-metric ton chain jack lift stations. According to Bardex, the shiplift drydock will be the largest in the Americas.“A reliable, long-term shiplift asset is vital to the success of the River-class program and partnering with the world class Bardex Corporation to implement this project is the first step.

Vestdavit landed its biggest-ever order, a deal to deliver  davits for six multi-purpose vessels being built for the Canadian Coast Guard at Seaspan Shipyards in Vancouver. It will initially provide a total of six FF-15000 davit systems - one for each vessel - with options for another 10 units. This follow an order that it won last year with Seaspan to supply RHIB davits for the Polar Icebreaker also under construction for the Canadian Coast Guard.The hydraulically operated FF-15000…

Spire Global, a provider of space-based data, analytics and space services, announced it has been awarded a CA $1.41 million contract by the Government of Canada for the provision of global automatic identification system (AIS) ship tracking data.The one-year contract includes options for two additional years, extending the total potential contract value to nearly CA $4.23 million, Spire said.Under the contract, Spire will share its real-time global ship tracking data, providing visibility in both open oceans and high-traffic zones.

Finnish technology group Wärtsilä reports it will supply the engines for a new Canadian Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker being designed and built at Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards.The 158 meter-long multi-mission Polar Icebreaker will operate under PC2 conditions with four 16-cylinder and two 8-cylinder Wärtsilä 31 engines, delivering 47 MW of power. The engines will be fitted with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems for IMO Tier III environmental compliance. Wärtsilä will also supply the center shaft line with a stainless-steel ice-class propeller…

Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards has presented its progress towards completing the functional design on the first heavy Polar Icebreaker in Canada in over 60 years at CANSEC, Canada’s leading defense and security tradeshow.The functional design of the vessel is now more than 70% complete, and 3D modelling of the vessel is well advanced, setting the stage for Seaspan to cut steel on the flagship of the Canadian Coast Guard’s icebreaking fleet before the end of the year.With Canada’s current largest Icebreaker, the CCGS Louis S.