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 Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

duties along the West Coast of Canada. The ship was loaned to the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

in 2000 and transited the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arct ...

, 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 A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

using the same name.

Design and description

''Simon Fraser'' and

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

were

long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and ...

with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draught of . The vessel had a fully loaded displacement of and a gross register tonnage (GRT) of 1,358. The vessels were powered by a diesel-electric system (DC/DC) driving two fixed-pitch

screws A screw and a bolt (see '' Differentiation between bolt and screw'' below) are similar types of fastener typically made of metal and characterized by a helical ridge, called a ''male thread'' (external thread). Screws and bolts are used to fa ...

creating . This gave the vessels a maximum speed of . The ship carried of

diesel fuel Diesel fuel , also called diesel oil, 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 result of compression of the inlet air and t ...

, had a range of at and could stay at sea for up to 20 days. The ships were fitted with a flight deck and a telescopic

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 ...

and were capable of operating one helicopter.

Service history

The vessel was constructed by Burrard Dry Dock at their yard in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

with the

yard number __NOTOC__ M ...

306. ''Simon Fraser'' was launched on 18 August 1959, named after a Scottish explorer who charted much of what became known as British Columbia. The ship entered service with the Department of Transport in February 1960. In 1962 the Department of Transport's Marine Service fleet was merged into the newly formed Canadian Coast Guard and ''Simon Fraser'' was given the new prefix CCGS. The vessel was registered in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. ''Simon Fraser'' was initially assigned to duties in the Western Region, working in the Pacific Ocean. In 1986, the vessel was converted for

duties and transferred to the Laurentian Region in Eastern Canada. Towards the end of her career, ''Simon Fraser'' returned to buoy tending duties in the Maritimes Region, based at

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. She played a role in searching for wreckage that could show the cause of the crash of Swissair Flight 111. In May 2000 ''Simon Fraser'' was loaned to a

(RCMP) support group. Travelling from

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

, the vessel transited the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

. From there, the Coast Guard ship escorted the on a transit of the

, which was recreating the historic 1940–1942 transit of . In doing so, ''Simon Fraser'' circumnavigated North America. This was ''Simon Fraser''s last voyage prior to her decommissioning. ''Simon Fraser'' was taken out of service in 2001 and renamed ''2001–07''. In 2006 she was sold to Quay Marine Associates Inc., reverted to her original name and registered in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

, Italy, where she was taken for conversion to a

and charter vessel.

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * *

External links

''Simon Fraser'' at Livorno in 2017
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon Fraser, CCGS Navaids tenders of the Canadian Coast Guard 1960 ships Ships built in British Columbia Ships of the Canadian Coast Guard