CCGS ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'' is a light

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to sma ...

and major navaids

tender Tender may refer to: Entertainment Film * ''Illegal Tender'' (2007), a film directed by Franc. Reyes * ''Tender'' (2012), a short film by Liz Tomkins * ''Tender'' (2019), a short film by Darryl Jones and Anthony Lucido * ''Tender'' (2019), a sh ...

of 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 in ...

. Built in 1986 by Canadian Shipbuilding at

Collingwood Collingwood, meaning "wood of disputed ownership", may refer to: Educational institutions * Collingwood College, Victoria, an Australian state Prep to Year 12 school * Collingwood College, Durham, college of Durham University, England * Collingw ...

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 C ...

, Canada, she was the last ship constructed there. The ship has been based out of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

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

Description and design

Designed as a light

and

buoy tender A buoy tender is a type of vessel used to maintain and replace navigational buoys. This term can also apply to an actual person who does this work. The United States Coast Guard uses buoy tenders to accomplish one of its primary missions of main ...

, ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'' displaces fully loaded with a and a . The ship is long overall 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 g ...

of and a draught of .Saunders, p. 95 The vessel is propelled by two fixed-pitch propellers and

bow thruster Manoeuvering thruster (bow thruster or stern thruster) is a transversal propulsion device built into, or mounted to, either the bow or stern, of a ship or boat to make it more manoeuvrable. Bow thrusters make docking easier, since they allow th ...

s powered by three

Alco The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locom ...

251F diesel-electric engines creating and three Canadian GE generators producing 6 megawatts of AC power driving two Canadian GE motors creating . The ship is also equipped with one

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larva, larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterfly, butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawfly ...

3306 emergency generator. This gives the ship a maximum speed of . Capable of carrying 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 ...

, ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'' has a maximum range of at a cruising speed of and can stay at sea for up to 120 days. The ship is certified as Arctic Class 2. The icebreaker is equipped with one Racal Decca Bridgemaster navigational radar operating on the I band. The vessel has a cargo hold. ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'' has a

flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopt ...

and

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 ...

which originally accommodated light helicopters of the

MBB Bo 105 The Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 is a light, twin-engine, multi-purpose helicopter developed by Bölkow of Ottobrunn, West Germany. It was the first light twin-engine helicopter in the world, and the first rotorcraft that could perform ae ...

or Bell 206L types, but in the 2010s, the

Bell 429 GlobalRanger The Bell 429 GlobalRanger is a light, twin-engine helicopter developed by Bell Helicopter and Korea Aerospace Industries. First flight of the Bell 429 prototype took place on February 27, 2007,Bell 412 The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter of the Huey family manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212, with the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor. Design and development Development began in t ...

EPI were acquired by the Canadian Coast Guard to replace the older helicopters. The ship has a complement of 27, with 10 officers and 17 crew. ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'' has 26 additional berths.

Workboat/lifeboat

''Sir Wilfrid Laurier''s workboat/lifeboat No. 1 was re-purposed as a training boat/work boat that has been operated by the Maritime Affairs Committee

Navy League of Canada The Navy League of Canada (french: Ligue navale du Canada) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1895 and incorporated in 1918. Originally formed to promote maritime issues to Canadians, the Navy League is the non-governmental partner of the Dep ...

– Outaouais Branch since 1995. The boat was named ''Fred Gordon'', in honour of (ret'd) Fred Gordon, EM, CD former Regimental Sergeant-Major for Le Régiment de Hull (RCAC) 1967–1971. Fred Gordon was a member of the Hull Legion who supported the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack subma ...

Sea Cadet Corps la Hulloise (CCMRC No. 230) sponsored by the Outaouais Branch of the Navy League of Canada.

Operational history

The ship was constructed by Canadian Shipbuilding at their yard in

with the yard number 230. Named for a former

prime minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as suc ...

, ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'' was launched on 6 December 1985 and entered service on 15 November 1986. The ship is

registered Registered may refer to: * Registered mail, letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and in need of a chain of custody * Registered trademark symbol, symbol ® that provides notice that the preceding is a trademark or service ...

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, and homeported at

. The ship was initially assigned to the Laurentian Region, but transferred to the Western Region. ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'' is a multi-tasked vessel which carries out a wide variety of Coast Guard programs including buoy tending, search and rescue, science work, lightstation re-supply, beacon maintenance, radio repeater site maintenance, and icebreaking/escorting, aids to navigation and science work during summer patrols in the Arctic. CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier at Cambridge Bay

CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier at Cambridge Bay

The vessel has been employed on research voyages and the rescue of survivors of the car ferry . In 2014 the ship was part of the search for

John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. After serving in wars against Napoleonic Wars, Napoleonic France and War of 1812, the United States, he led two expeditions into the ...

's ships, and , during the Victoria Strait Expedition. ''Erebus'' was found on that expedition. In 2016, ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier'', accompanied by the

vessel , carried archaeologists to the site for further research. The two vessels also continued the search for ''Terror''.

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sir Wilfrid Laurier, CCGS Martha L. Black-class icebreakers 1986 ships Ships built in Collingwood, Ontario