HMCS ''Cormorant'' was a

diving support vessel A diving support vessel is a ship that is used as a floating base for professional diving projects. Basic requirements are the ability to keep station accurately and reliably throughout a diving operation, often in close proximity to drilling or ...

that served in the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Forc ...

. She was equipped with two SDL-1 submersibles. The ship was the first in the

to have women assigned to their crew. Initially constructed as the trawler ''Aspa Quarto'' in 1965, the ship was acquired by the Canadian Forces in 1975 and renamed ''Cormorant''. The vessel remained in service until 1997 when ''Cormorant'' was sold to a US buyer. The ship was laid up at

Bridgewater, Nova Scotia Bridgewater is a town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada, at the navigable limit of the LaHave River. With a 2021 population of 8,790, Bridgewater is the largest town in the South Shore region. Priding itself as "The Main Street of the So ...

in 2000 and was removed on 18 November 2020 to be scrapped in Sheet Harbour.

Description

As built, ''Aspa Quarto'' was a stern factory trawler that had a and a . The ship was long overall and

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

with a beam of . The trawler was powered diesel-electric propulsion system turning one propeller giving the ship a maximum speed of . After conversion, ''Cormorant'' had a fully loaded displacement of . The vessel was long overall, with a beam of and a draught of . ''Cormorant'' was powered by three Marelli-Deutz ACR 12456 EV

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s as part of a diesel-electric drive system rated at . The engines drove one controllable pitch propeller, giving the ship a speed of and a range of at . The ship had a

complement A complement is something that completes something else. Complement may refer specifically to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-clas ...

of 65 which increased to 74 with the introduction of female crew members in 1980. ''Cormorant'' carried two SD-1 submersibles in a heated

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 ...

aft. The SD-1 submersibles were capable of operating at depths of with a lock-out compartment for divers. The ship was equipped with two Decca 1229 navigational

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

Service history

The vessel was built as the Italian-owned stern trawler ''Aspa Quarto'' at Cantiere Navale Apuania, Marine-Carrara in Italy. ''Aspa Quarto'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 8 December 1963, launched on 11 April 1965 and completed on 15 June 1965. She was purchased in July 1975 and taken to

Davie Shipbuilding Davie Shipbuilding is a historic shipbuilding company located in Lauzon, Quebec, Canada. The facility is now operating as Chantier Davie Canada Inc. and is the oldest continually operating shipbuilder in North America. History The Davie shipyard ...

Lauzon, Quebec Lauzon is a former city in southern Quebec, Canada, located on the St. Lawrence River northeast of Lévis. Founded in 1867 as a village it became a town in 1910, Lauzon had a population of about 14,500 when it merged with Lévis in 1989. The th ...

where the ship underwent conversion to a diving support vessel. The ship was commissioned into

Maritime Command Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) is the central command of all NATO maritime forces and the Commander MARCOM is the prime maritime advisor to the Alliance. When directed by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), it provides the core of th ...

on 10 November 1978 at Lauzon, becoming the second Canadian naval unit to bear this name. In 1980, the first mixed gender crew trial took place aboard ''Cormorant'' in response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women. The trial lasted until 1984. Among those serving on board during this trial was Louise Fish, acting as the supply officer. Between 23 August and 5 October 1989, ''Cormorant'' and conducted defence research as part of Operation Norploy 89, which took place in the Arctic region of Canada, mainly in Baffin Bay,

Lancaster Sound Lancaster Sound () is a body of water in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located between Devon Island and Baffin Island, forming the eastern entrance to the Parry Channel and the Northwest Passage. East of the sound lies Baffin Bay ...

and the

Davis Strait Davis Strait is a northern arm of the Atlantic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The strait was named for the English explorer John ...

. Using the submersible SDL-1 deployed from ''Cormorant'', the sunken vessel was discovered, a ship not seen since its sinking in 1853. ''Cormorant'' was an integral part of the November 1994 expedition to recover the ship's bell from the wreck of in

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

. She was decommissioned on 2 July 1997 and sold to

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

owners for diving operations. The ship underwent conversion to an offshore support vessel in 1998 however the ship was docked in

in 2000 and has remained there. As of March 2015, the ship developed a severe list. As of 21 March 2015, the ship had sunk in the

LaHave River The LaHave River is a river in Nova Scotia, Canada, running from its source in Annapolis County to the Atlantic Ocean.

due to the amount of ice on the deck. The

Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; french: links=no, Garde côtière canadienne, GCC) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues ...

took control of the salvage effort in May due to pollution concerns. The ship was refloated with the list reduced to 8 degrees. Salvage was anticipated to be completed in another week. The ownership of the vessel remains unclear, with lawsuits claiming that a

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

-based company and the Port of Bridgewater own the ship, and therefore liable for the cleanup. The Port of Bridgewater claims that the vessel's sinking was due to sabotage and that the ship's thru-hull valves had been opened. The ship remained at laid up in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia due to the ongoing court case. In October 2020, RJ MacIsaac Construction of Antigonish, Nova Scotia was awarded the federal government tender to dispose of the ship. On 18 November 2020, the ex-''Cormorant'' was towed out of Bridgwater Harbour for

scrapping Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

at Sheet Harbour. Demolition of the ship was declared completed on 7 July 2021. The

ship's bell A ship's bell is a bell on a ship that is used for the indication of time as well as other traditional functions. The bell itself is usually made of brass or bronze, and normally has the ship's name engraved or cast on it. Strikes Timing of s ...

of HMCS ''Cormorant'' is currently on loan to a Navy League Cadet Corps in

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, ...

. The Christening Bells Project at

Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt (CFB Esquimalt) is Canada's Pacific Coast naval base and home port to Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force Pacific Headquarters. , 4,411 military personnel and 2,762 civilians work at CFB Esquima ...

Naval and Military Museum includes information from the ship's bell of HMCS ''Cormorant'', which was used for

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

of babies on board ship.

References

Citations

References

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External links

HMCS Cormorant (II) - hazegray.org

Cormorant is on the Rise by LighthouseNow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cormorant (Asl 20) Auxiliary ships of the Royal Canadian Navy 1965 ships