Parizeau was of steel construction, designed for offshore research and survey. The ship was 64.5 metres (211ft 7in)long overall and 56.5 metres (185ft 4in)long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 12.2 metres (40ft 0in) and a draught of 4.6 metres (15ft 1in).[1][2] The ship had a tonnage of 1,314gross register tons(GRT) and 676tons deadweight (DWT). The ship was powered by a geared diesel engine driving two controllable pitch screws and a bow thruster, creating 2,640 brake horsepower (1,970kW).[1][3] This gave the vessel a maximum speed of 14 knots (26km/h). The ship had a fuel capacity of 416m3 (92,000impgal) giving Parizeau a range of 17,500 nautical miles (32,400km) at 10 knots (19km/h). The research vessel had an endurance of 60 days.[3]
Parizeau served with DFO's Pacific Region from 1967 until 1991 at the Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, British Columbia when she was transferred to DFO's Maritime Region where she was attached to the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Parizeau served in the DFO's Maritime Region as a replacement vessel for her soon to be decommissioned sister CSSDawson. Following the transfer of the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) to DFO in 1995 and the merger of the DFO science and enforcement vessels into CCG, Parizeau's prefix was changed from CSS to CCGS, the superstructure colour scheme was changed from science vessel white, with a buff coloured funnel to the Canadian Coast Guard red hull and white superstructure colour scheme. Parizeau ceased government science programs in June 2000.[citation needed]
Decommissioning and sale
Parizeau was decommissioned in 2001 and renamed 2001–04 upon transfer to Crown Assets for disposal. The ship was sold to Premananthan Iyar, registered as a yacht at Montreal in January 2005 and renamed Destiny Empress.[2] The vessel then changed hands several times. In 2008, the ship was taken to Shelburne, Nova Scotia to be refurbished.[4]
December 2009 seizure
Destiny Empress initially became a target for surveillance after a UK police, executing a raid on a suspected drug house in connection with a narcotics and money laundering investigation in London, noticed a receipt for over £100,000 in ship repairs paid to Irving Shipbuilding, owner of Shelburne Ship Repair Ltd., a shipyard in Shelburne. Additional payments were subsequently identified and determined to be for the refurbishment of an ex-Canadian Coast Guard ship now named Destiny Empress. A joint task force including UK, Dutch and Spanish authorities initiated an extensive investigation which resulted in the arrest of 15 persons (separately, and in addition to the Destiny Empress' crew), seizing additional drugs, weapons and currency. Destiny Empress docked in Trinidad for some time for preparations prior to departing for Europe, including the building of a hidden compartment to transport drugs.[5]
On 22 December 2009, a joint European law enforcement team, including Spanish Police and Italy's Air Maritime Exploration Squadron Guardia di Finanza (a special flight Squadron of the Italy' GDF Air Service), acting on intelligence from the London Metropolitan Police, seized the ship and arrested the seven person crew 200nmi (370km) west of Spain's northwest coast.[6] After several days of searching, officers found a secret compartment under a trap door that had been bolted down with an aluminum plate and covered by carpet in one of Destiny Empress's rooms. The sealed compartment contained 1.5t (1.5 long tons) of cocaine with an estimated street value of £375 million, according to UK police.[6] The crew included Philip Halliday, a Canadian fisherman and seaman from Digby, Nova Scotia[7] and Reginald Stuart II, an American dive instructor and aspiring seaman from Silver Spring, Maryland, both of whom claimed to be innocent of any wrongdoing and only contracted deck hands hired to transport the vessel to European buyers. Also among the crew were four Romanian nationals and Kevin Fletcher, the British captain.[citation needed]
Legal proceedings
On 4 August 2011, the UK portion of the investigation was concluded, with 13 of the persons arrested pleading guilty and one convicted of various charges ranging from money laundering, drug offenses and weapons charges. The 14 persons received terms of imprisonment totalling 79 years. One person was acquitted.[8] As of April 2012, the Destiny Empress crew remained in Spanish prison awaiting trial.[9]
The trial of the crew and four other individuals associated with Destiny Express began in Spain on 20 November 2012. There was a delay in the proceedings because the police witness from Scotland Yard failed to testify. The final arguments by the prosecution and defense were made on 3 December 2012. On 4 December three members of the crew, Mehai Alexandru Grau, Stephanescu Vichenta and Reginald Stuart II, were released though they were not permitted to leave Spain until the conclusion of proceedings. The court's final decision was handed down 13 February 2013. Mehai Alexandru Grau, Stephanescu Vichenta and Reginald Stuart II were found innocent, but were not able to seek compensation for time served because of legal nuance. The other three crew members, including Phillip Halliday of Canada received custodial sentences limited to the time they had served. The captain and the ringleaders received 9–12 years in detention.[citation needed]
Destiny Empress was sold by Spanish authorities in auction and subsequently arrived at Aliağa, Turkey for demolition on 19 July 2011.[2]
Figueira, Daurius (2012). Cocaine trafficking in the Caribbean and West Africa in the era of the Mexican cartels. Bloomington: iUniverse. ISBN978-1-47596-141-6.
Maginley, Charles D. & Collin, Bernard (2001). The Ships of Canada's Marine Services. St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing Limited. ISBN1-55125-070-5.
The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue, communication, navigation, and transportation issues in Canadian waters, such as navigation aids and icebreaking, marine pollution response, and support for other Canadian government initiatives. The coast guard operates 119 vessels of varying sizes and 22 helicopters, along with a variety of smaller craft. The CCG is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, and is a special operating agency within Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
CCGS Henry Larsen is a Canadian Coast Guard Improved Pierre Radisson-class icebreaker serving in the Newfoundland and Labrador region and based in St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Entering service in 1988, Henry Larsen is the fourth ship and of an improved design over the rest of the ships in her class. The ship operates in the Arctic Ocean during summer months.
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 Amundsen is a Pierre Radisson-class icebreaker and Arctic research vessel operated by the Canadian Coast Guard. The vessel entered service in 1979 as Franklin and was renamed Sir John Franklin in 1980 and served as such until 1996. Declared surplus, the vessel was used as an accommodation ship in Labrador in 1996 and placed in reserve in 2000. In 2003, the ship was reactivated and underwent conversion to an Arctic research vessel. The ship recommissioned as Amundsen.
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 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 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 Hudson is 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 remains in service.
CCGS John A. Macdonald was a Canadian Coast Guard heavy icebreaker. She was named after The Right Honourable, Sir John Alexander Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada. The ship was commissioned into the Canadian Department of Transport's Marine Service in 1960 using the prefix "Canadian Government Ship" (CGS). The vessel was transferred in 1962 into the newly created Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) and served with distinction until being decommissioned in 1991, and replaced by the then-chartered CCGS Terry Fox.
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 D'Iberville was a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker that was in service from 1952 to 1983 and was Canada's first modern icebreaker. The ship commissioned as CGS D'Iberville for the Department of Transport's Marine Service, using the prefix "Canadian Government Ship", D'Iberville was transferred into the newly-created Canadian Coast Guard in 1962. When launched, she was the largest icebreaker in use by Canada post-World War II until CCGS John A. Macdonald was put in service. In 1984, the icebreaker was renamed Phillip O'Hara before returning to her old name in 1988. In 1989 the vessel was sold for scrap and broken up at Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Coriolis II is a Canadian research vessel. She is homeported in Rimouski, Quebec. She is operated by a consortium of five institutions: Institut des sciences de la mer à Rimouski (ISMER), the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), McGill University, the Institut national de la recherche scientifique - Eau, terre et environnement (INRS-ETE) and the Maurice Lamontagne Institute (MLI-DFO). The vessel was constructed in 1990 by Versatile Pacific Shipyards of Esquimalt, British Columbia for the Canadian Coast Guard. Initially named CCGS John Jacobson, the vessel was deployed for search and rescue missions along Canada's coastlines. The Canadian Coast Guard took John Jacobson out of service in 1999 and sold the ship to her current owners in 2001.
CCGS Pierre Radisson is the lead ship of her class of icebreakers. Constructed and operated by the Canadian Coast Guard, the vessel is based at Quebec City on the Saint Lawrence River. The ship was constructed in British Columbia in the 1970s and has been in service ever since. The vessel is named for Pierre-Esprit Radisson, a 17th-century French fur trader and explorer.
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 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 Sir Humphrey Gilbert was a Canadian Coast Guard light icebreaker and buoy tender and now a privately owned Arctic icebreaker Polar Prince. The ship entered service with the Department of Transport Marine Service in 1959 and transferred to the newly created Canadian Coast Guard in 1962, active until 1986. The icebreaker was sold to private interests in Newfoundland and the ship sat idle after 2001 until resold in 2009 to GTX Technology Canada Limited and renamed Polar Prince. Rebuilt, the icebreaker is now plying the waters of the Arctic Ocean. In 2017, the vessel was temporarily rechristened Canada C3 and used for a high-profile voyage around Canada's three maritime coasts as part of the nation's 150th anniversary.
CCGS Edward Cornwallis is a Martha L. Black-class icebreaker of the Canadian Coast Guard. She serves as a light Icebreaker and buoy tender on the East Coast of Canada. Entering service in 1986, the vessel is homeported at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The vessel is named after Lieutenant General Edward Cornwallis, a British Army officer and founder of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
CCGS J.E. Bernier was a Canadian Coast Guard medium Arctic icebreaker with a steel hull. The vessel was in service from 1967 to 2006. The ship was initially based at Quebec City but finished her career at St. John's. The ship was named for Joseph-Elzéar Bernier, captain of CGS Arctic which explored and monitored the eastern Arctic for the Government of Canada in the early 20th century. The vessel was sold in 2006 to private interests.
The Pierre Radisson-class icebreakers, also known as R-class icebreakers, are a class of four icebreakers constructed for and operated by the Canadian Coast Guard. The Canadian Coast Guard designates the four ships in the class as medium icebreakers. Built in two phases, the first three ships, Pierre Radisson, Franklin and Des Groseilliers, were built to a common design. The fourth, Henry Larsen was built to a modified design and is considered a subclass, the Improved R-class icebreaker. Franklin was later renamed Sir John Franklin before undergoing a re-design for use primarily as an Arctic research vessel. Upon the vessel's return to service, the ship was once again renamed Amundsen. All the vessels are named for people who sailed through Canada's northern waters. The class operates in the Arctic Ocean in the summer, patrolling, icebreaking and research missions.
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