CCGS Alfred Needler

Last updated

CCGV Alfred Needler-640.jpg
CCGS Alfred Needler conducting fishery research off Canada's Atlantic coast
History
Coastguard Flag of Canada.svgCanada
NameAlfred Needler
Namesake Alfred Needler
Owner Government of Canada
Operator
Port of registry Ottawa, Ontario
Builder Ferguson Industries Limited, Pictou
Yard number211
Launched19 December 1980
CommissionedAugust 1982
Decommissioned9 February 2023
HomeportCCG Base Dartmouth (Maritime Region)
Identification
StatusDecommissioned
General characteristics
Type Fisheries research vessel
Tonnage
  • 958.9  GT
  • 225  NT
Length50.3 m (165 ft 0 in)
Beam11 m (36 ft 1 in)
Draught4.9 m (16 ft 1 in)
Installed power1,600  kW (2,200  bhp)
Propulsion1 × Caterpillar 3606 6-cylinder diesel engine
Speed14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Range3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Endurance30 days
Complement21

CCGS Alfred Needler [note 1] is an offshore fishery science vessel formerly operated by the Canadian Coast Guard. The vessel entered service in 1982 with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, stationed at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. In 1995, in order to reduce the number of ships and combine tasks, the Fisheries and Oceans fleet and the Canadian Coast Guard fleets were merged under the Canadian Coast Guard. The ship was decommissioned from Canadian Coast Guard service in 2023.

Contents

Design and description

Alfred Needler is a stern commercial trawler design that is 50.3 m (165 ft 0 in) long overall with a beam of 11 m (36 ft 1 in) and a draught of 4.9 m (16 ft 1 in). The ship is similar in design to Wilfred Templeman, but with different machinery, power and speed. [1] [2] The ship has a 958.9  gross tonnage  (GT) and a 225  net tonnage  (NT). The research vessel is powered by one Caterpillar 3606 six-cylinder geared diesel engine driving one controllable pitch propeller creating 1,600 kilowatts (2,200  bhp ). The vessel is also equipped with one Caterpillar 3306 emergency generator. This gives the vessel a maximum speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). Alfred Needler carries 209.50 m3 (46,080 imp gal) of diesel fuel, has a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and can stay at sea for up to 30 days. The vessel has a complement of 21 composed of 7 officers and 14 crew and has 3 additional berths. [2]

Service history

CCGS Alfred Needler, in St. John's Harbour, Newfoundland, Canada 18-07-20 CCGS ALFRED NEEDLER - IMO 7907104 17-10-08.jpg
CCGS Alfred Needler, in St. John's Harbour, Newfoundland, Canada

The research vessel was constructed for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in 1982 by Ferguson Industries Limited at their yard in Pictou, Nova Scotia with the yard number 211. [3] The ship entered service in August 1982. [3] [4] She was named after Canadian fisheries marine biologist Alfred Needler, a former Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Oceans who developed a method of accurate fish counts from small surveys. [5] [6]

In 1995, in an effort to combine tasks, administration and making savings in both ships and funds, the Fisheries and Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard fleets were merged under the command of the Canadian Coast Guard. Alfred Needler was given the new prefix CCGS as a result. [7] The ship was based at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia although she is often alongside at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. She was one of several fishery research vessels operated by the Government of Canada to monitor migratory fish stocks in the North Atlantic. Alfred Needler was used by Canada and the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) to conduct fisheries surveys; as such, she retains the configuration of a commercial trawler, although her fish holds are converted to laboratory space. The samples collected are used to study the population and health of various species of ocean life. [6]

Alfred Needler experienced an engine room fire on 30 August 2003. There were no casualties although the ship sustained $1.3 million in damage. The cause of the fire was an oil leak in an incorrectly repaired turbocharger.[ citation needed ] In September 2009, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced invitations for contracts to replace several of the Coast Guard's research vessels, including Alfred Needler. [8]

In July 2016, Alfred Needler discovered the wreck of a ship while trawling the waters off Nova Scotia. The vessel had been conducting an annual survey of the Georges Bank for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. [9] Alfred Needler began a $558,000 refit at St. John's Dockyard in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador in January 2018. The refit was scheduled to be completed in six weeks on 14 February, but additional steel work pushed the completion date to 1 April. CCGS Teleost was scheduled to replace Alfred Needler on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' fisheries survey off the coast of southern Nova Scotia in late March. [10] During the annual summer fisheries survey on the Scotian Shelf in 2018, she had several mission critical equipment failures, forcing the cancellation of the survey. This marked the first time in 48 years that the survey was not completed. Teleost was used to complete an abbreviated version of the survey. [11] After suffering a number of significant mechanical and structural failures the ship was decommissioned in February 2023. [12] [13]

Related Research Articles

CCGS <i>Samuel Risley</i> Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker and buoy tender

CCGS Samuel Risley is a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker and buoy tender assigned to the Great Lakes area. Lead ship of her class, the vessel is named after Samuel Risley, the 19th century maritime inspector and first head of Board of Steamship Inspectors for Upper Canada and Ontario. Based in the Great Lakes, CCGS Samuel Risley is responsible for keeping an ice-free passage between Port Colborne, Ontario and Thunder Bay, Ontario.

CCGS Cape Roger is the lead ship of the Cape Roger-class fisheries patrol vessels operated by the Canadian Coast Guard. The ship entered service in 1977 and was assigned to monitor the Atlantic fisheries. During the Turbot War, Cape Roger took part in the detainment of the Spanish fishing trawler Estai. The ship is currently in service.

CCGS <i>Frederick G. Creed</i>

CCGS Frederick G. Creed was a hydrographic survey vessel operated by the Canadian Coast Guard on behalf of the Canadian Hydrographic Service, a scientific agency of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The ship was built in 1988 by Swath Ocean Systems Incorporated of San Diego, California and entered service the same year. The ship was taken out of service in March 2020 and sold for scrap.

CCGS <i>Bartlett</i>

CCGS Bartlett is a Provo Wallis-class buoy tender in operation by the Canadian Coast Guard. The vessel entered service in 1969 and was modernized in 1988. In 1982, the ship commanded the recovery efforts following the Ocean Ranger sinking off the coast of Newfoundland. The vessel is assigned to the Pacific Region and is based at Victoria, British Columbia.

CCGS <i>Sir Wilfred Grenfell</i> Canadian Coast Guard vessel

CCGS Sir Wilfred Grenfell is a Canadian Coast Guard vessel based in Victoria, British Columbia. Designated an "Offshore Ice Strengthened Multi Patrol Vessel", the former offshore supply vessel is named after the medical missionary in Labrador, Sir Wilfred Grenfell. Constructed in 1984–1985, Sir Wilfred Grenfell was purchased by the Canadian Government and converted for Coast Guard service. In 1994, she played an important role in the fishing conflict known as the Turbot War in the Atlantic Ocean.

CCGS <i>Leonard J. Cowley</i>

CCGS Leonard J. Cowley is an ice-strengthened fisheries patrol vessel of the Canadian Coast Guard. The ship entered service in 1984 and is still currently in service. During the Turbot War, the patrol vessel took part in the detainment of the Spanish fishing vessel Estai. Leonard J. Cowley's home port is St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

CCGS <i>Cygnus</i>

CCGS Cygnus is a Cape Roger-class fisheries patrol vessel of the Canadian Coast Guard. The ship entered service in 1981 and is used to monitor the fisheries along the Atlantic coast of Canada. During the Turbot War, Cygnus was among the Coast Guard vessels sent to monitor the European fishing fleet on the Grand Banks.

CCGS <i>John P. Tully</i> Offshore oceanographic science vessel

CCGS John P. Tully is an offshore oceanographic science vessel in the Canadian Coast Guard operating out of Pacific Region at CGS Base Patricia Bay in Sidney, British Columbia. Prior to 1995, the ship was assigned to Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The vessel entered service in June 1985 with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on the West Coast of Canada. In 1995, the fleets of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard were merged under Canadian Coast Guard command and John P. Tully became a Coast Guard vessel.

CCGS <i>Parizeau</i>

CCGS Parizeau was a Canadian Coast Guard research vessel that served from 1967 to 2001. Initially serving on the West Coast of Canada from 1967 to 1991, in 1992, the ship transferred to the East Coast of Canada. Taken out of service in 2004, the ship was later sold and converted to a yacht and unsuccessfully used for drug smuggling as Destiny Empress.

CCGS <i>Hudson</i> Canadian Coast Guard research vessel

CCGS Hudson was an offshore oceanographic and hydrographic survey vessel operated by the Canadian Coast Guard. The ship entered service in 1963 with the Canadian Oceanographic Service, stationed at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, called CSS Hudson. The ship made several significant scientific voyages, among them the first circumnavigation of the Americas in 1970. The ship was transferred to the Canadian Coast Guard in 1996 and decommissioned in 2022. A replacement is not scheduled for delivery until 2024–2025.

CCGS <i>W. E. Ricker</i>

CCGS W.E. Ricker was a Canadian Coast Guard offshore fisheries research vessel. The ship was originally constructed as the commercial fishing trawler Callistratus, but was purchased by the Government of Canada in 1984 and converted to a fisheries research vessel and renamed W.E. Ricker. The vessel entered service with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in 1986 and was transferred to the Canadian Coast Guard in 1995 after the two fleets were amalgamated. The ship was assigned to the West Coast of Canada and was decommissioned on 14 March 2017.

CCGS Brant was a Canadian Coast Guard vessel in service between 1928 and 1966. Stationed on the East Coast of Canada, Brant was deployed as a navigation aids tender. Brant was the last coal-burning vessel in Canadian government service.

CCGS <i>N.B. McLean</i> Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker

CCGS N.B. McLean was a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker. Constructed in 1930 at Halifax Shipyards, she entered service as CGS N.B. MacLean and served in the Department of Transport's Marine Service, using the prefix "Canadian Government Ship". The ship was transferred into the newly created Canadian Coast Guard in 1962. She served in the St. Lawrence River and Gulf of St. Lawrence until she was decommissioned in 1979, and taken to Taiwan to be scrapped in 1989. She was replaced by CCGS Pierre Radisson.

CCGS Wilfred Templeman was a Canadian Coast Guard fisheries research vessel that entered service 1981 with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. In 1995 the Fisheries and Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard fleets were amalgamated and Wilfred Templeman joined the Canadian Coast Guard. The research vessel patrolled the coast off Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2011, the vessel was taken out of service, sold to commercial interests and renamed Blain M.

CCGS <i>Teleost</i>

CCGS Teleost is a Canadian Coast Guard fisheries research vessel. The ship was originally constructed in Norway in 1988 as a commercial fishing trawler named Atlantic Champion. In 1993, the Canadian government purchased the vessel and after a competition among schoolchildren, the vessel was named Teleost by the winner. The vessel was converted to an offshore fisheries research vessel in 1994–1995 and entered service in 1996 with the Canadian Coast Guard. The ship is currently in active service.

CCGS Earl Grey is a Samuel Risley-class light icebreaker and buoy tender in the Canadian Coast Guard. Constructed in 1986, the vessel serves a variety of roles, including light ice-breaking and buoy tending, as well as being strengthened for navigation in ice to perform tasking along the shores off the Atlantic coast of Canada. Like her sister ship, CCGS Samuel Risley, she carries a large and powerful crane on her long low afterdeck for manipulating buoys. Earl Grey is the second icebreaker in Canadian service to carry the name.

CCGS Simon Fraser was a buoy tender operated by the Canadian Coast Guard. The vessel entered service in 1960 with the Department of Transport's Marine Fleet, before being transferred to the newly formed Canadian Coast Guard in 1962. The buoy tender served on both coasts of Canada and was used for search and rescue duties along the West Coast of Canada. The ship was loaned to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 2000 and transited the Northwest Passage, circumnavigating North America in the process. The ship was taken out of service in 2001 and sold to private interests. In 2006, the vessel reappeared as a yacht using the same name.

CCGS Provo Wallis is a Provo Wallis-class buoy tender that served with the Canadian Coast Guard. The vessel entered service in 1969 and was classed as a Medium-endurance Multi-tasked Vessel. Provo Wallis spent the majority of her career on the Atlantic Coast of Canada before transferring to the West Coast. Ice-strengthened, the ship was used mainly for maintaining navaids in shipping lanes. The vessel was taken out of service in 2011 and laid up.

CCGS <i>Matthew</i>

CCGS Matthew was a Canadian Coast Guard mid-shore scientific research and survey vessel, based at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, that entered service in 1990. The ship operated within the Canadian Coast Guard Maritimes region. Matthew was primarily used to carry out hydrographic survey work primarily for the production of nautical charting products on the East and West Coasts, but could also be used for stock assessment using sonar. In 2016, the ship was taken out of service and put up for sale. In 2019 the vessel was sold and renamed Miss MJ.

<i>Samuel Risley</i>-class icebreaker

The Samuel Risley-class icebreakers are a class of two icebreakers and buoy tenders constructed for and operated by the Canadian Coast Guard. The two ships are based on offshore supply tugboat design and entered service in the 1980s. Samuel Risley is deployed to the Central Region, operating mainly on the Great Lakes of North America, while Earl Grey is posted to Atlantic Canada, working off the east coast of Canada.

References

Notes

Citations

  1. ↑ Maginley & Collin 2001, p. 235.
  2. 1 2 "CCG Fleet: Vessel Details – CCGS Alfred Needler". Canadian Coast Guard. 4 February 2015. Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Alfred Needler (7907104)" . Miramar Ship Index . Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  4. ↑ Saunders 2004, p. 102.
  5. ↑ Maginley 2003, p. 257.
  6. 1 2 "Research Vessels". Bedford Institute of Oceanography. 2001. Archived from the original on 4 April 2003.
  7. ↑ Maginley & Collin 2001, p. 119.
  8. ↑ "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 7 October 2009.
  9. ↑ Stagg, Carly (26 July 2016). "Canadian Coast Guard discovers shipwreck off Nova Scotia coast". CBC News. Archived from the original on 16 April 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  10. ↑ Withers, Paul (16 March 2018). "Aging coast guard ships stuck in refits put crucial fisheries survey at risk". CBC News. Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  11. ↑ Withers, Paul (25 October 2018). "Coast guard ship breakdown ends 48-year science survey streak". CBC News. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  12. ↑ Canadian Coast Guard (9 February 2023). "Statement from the Canadian Coast Guard: Decommissioning of the CCGS Alfred Needler" (Press release). Government of Canada. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  13. ↑ Jones, Lindsay (2 March 2023). "Decommissioning Coast Guard vessel leaves fisheries scientists without a ride". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 13 November 2023.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.