The ''Samuel Risley''-class icebreakers are a

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

of two

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 smaller ...

s 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 ...

s constructed for and operated by the

Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; ) 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 Canadian waters, such as navigation aids and i ...

. The two ships are based on offshore supply

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

design and entered service in the 1980s. ''Samuel Risley'' is deployed to the Central Region, operating mainly on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

of North America, while ''Earl Grey'' is posted to

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landma ...

, working off the east coast of Canada.

Design and description

In the late 1970s, offshore supply

s were in high demand and their success led to experimentation by the Canadian Coast Guard. In 1980, a crane was temporarily installed aboard the former offshore supply vessel , situated on the afterdeck. This was done to see if this would be a successful model for buoytending. ''Jackman'' visited all the principal coast guard stations in the eastern half of the country to test the setup in different conditions in 1980–81. The results of the test proved positive and in 1983, the Canadian Coast Guard contracted Robert Allen Ltd of

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 cit ...

to create a design based on this setup.Maginley, p. 70 The design of the vessels is based on offshore supply-tugboat designs, with strengthened chines. The vessel has a tall foredeck, and a long low quarterdeck, for carrying buoys, where a crane with a capability of lifting is permanently mounted. The crane is motion stabilized. Both vessels are

long overall 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 is also u ...

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 *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

of . The icebreakers have a draught of . Both ships displace with ''Earl Grey'' having a and a and ''Samuel Risley'' having a gross tonnage of 1,967 and a net tonnage of 649.5.Saunders, p. 96 ''Earl Grey'' is powered by four Deutz 4SA 9-cylinder diesel-electric engines driving two controllable pitch

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

s that create . This gives the vessel a maximum speed of . The vessel has a capacity of of

diesel fuel Diesel fuel, also called diesel oil, heavy oil (historically) or simply diesel, 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 re ...

that gives ''Earl Grey'' a range of at and the vessel can stay at sea for up to 58 days. The ship is equipped with one

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

3306 emergency generator. ''Samuel Risley'' is powered by four

Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish corporation, Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the Marine propulsion, marine and energy markets. The core ...

Vasa 16V22 12-cylinder geared diesel-electric engines driving two controllable pitch propellers that create . This gives the vessel a maximum speed of . The vessel has a capacity of of diesel fuel that gives ''Samuel Risley'' a range of at . The ship is equipped with one

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

6–71 emergency generator. The vessels are equipped with two Racal Decca navigational radars using the I band. Both ships are considered light icebreakers and have an

ice class Ice class refers to a notation assigned by a classification society or a national authority to denote the additional level of strengthening as well as other arrangements that enable a ship to navigate through sea ice. Some ice classes also have ...

of Arctic Class 2, which certifies that the ships have the capability to break ice up to thick. The vessels each have a complement of 24, with 9 officers and 15 crew.

Ships in class

Operational history

''Earl Grey'' was constructed by Pictou Shipyard Ltd at their yard in Pictou, Nova Scotia with the yard number 218. The vessel was completed on 30 May 1986. The vessel 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 is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and home ported at

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. ''Samuel Risley'' was built by Vito Steel Boat & Barge Limited at their yard in Delta, British Columbia with the yard number 161 and launched in 1984.Maginley and Collin, p. 175 The vessel was completed on 4 April 1985. After completion, ''Samuel Risley'' sailed to eastern Canada, transiting the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

and deploying to the

. The ship is assigned to the Central Region, based at

Parry Sound, Ontario Parry Sound is a town in Ontario, Canada, located on the eastern shore of the sound after which it is named. Parry Sound is located south of Sudbury and north of Toronto. It is a single-tier government located in the territorial District ...

. ''Earl Grey'' took part in fall 1998 in assisting in the recovery of wreckage from the crash of Swissair Flight 111. ''Earl Grey'' and recovered wreckage from the plane, while transferring human remains to . On 7–8 December 1989, ''Earl Grey'' was sent to look for survivors from two cargo vessels that had sunk in

Cabot Strait Cabot Strait (; , ) is in Atlantic Canada between Cape Ray, Newfoundland, and Cape North, Cape Breton Island. The strait, approximately 110 kilometres wide, is the widest of the three outlets for the Gulf of Saint Lawrence into the Atlant ...

. None were found. In 1996, the ship assisted in the recovery and raising of a wrecked oil barge from the sea floor which had been carrying

bunker oil A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

that had been salvaged from another sunken ship. In early 2015, ''Samuel Risley'' worked alongside other icebreakers to rescue many commercial ships that had become stuck in the ice on the Great Lakes. ''Earl Grey'' underwent a refit beginning in 2015. ''Samuel Risley'' underwent a refit in 2016. ''Samuel Risley'' deployed to the Arctic Ocean during the 2018 sailing season, taking part in the resupply mission to the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

base at

Thule Thule ( ; also spelled as ''Thylē'') is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature and cartography. First written of by the Greek explorer Pytheas of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, France) in about 320 BC, i ...

, Greenland.

References

Citations

Sources

* * * {{Icebreakers of Canada Auxiliary icebreaker classes Auxiliary tender classes