Canadian Coast Guard launch latest vessel for Pacific Coast

The Sir John Franklin, the newest vessel for the Canadian Coast Guard
was put into service yesterday in Sidney

The Canadian Coast Guard hosted a ship dedication ceremony in Sidney on Thursday, as the Coast Guard welcomed the newest vessel to take up service in the Pacific fleet, the Research Vessel Sir John Franklin.

As part of the background to the Thursday ceremony, the Coast outlined the nature of the event and some notes on the vessel.

This welcome celebration for the Canadian Coast Guard’s first of three Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel built under the National Shipbuilding Strategy was marked by an official naming ceremony, a First Nations blessing, and sponsorship, which included the traditional breaking of a ceremonial bottle on the ship’s bow.

By tradition, a civilian is invited to sponsor a vessel for its well-being and continued service, and to wish the vessel “good luck”. The Canadian Coast Guard is proud to have Dr. Verena Tunnicliffe as the sponsor for the new ship. Dr. Tunnicliffe is an accomplished marine scientist and was the first woman to lead a deep sea science expedition on Canada’s West Coast.

The home port for the CCGS Sir John Franklin will be the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney, British Columbia, where it will ensure that Fisheries and Oceans scientists are working with modern equipment to conduct vital work and data collection in support of our marine ecosystem. The vessel will also support environmental response and search and rescue operations, when needed.

The CCG commissioning ceremony yesterday
in Sidney for the Sir John Franklin

The ship is one of up to 18 new ships that will be built for the Coast Guard, the Franklin  was built at the Seaspan Shipyard in Vancouver.

From it's Sydney base, the Sir John Franklin will be used for a range of duties, included on the list are:

Performing fishing and acoustic surveys of fish and invertebrates 

Collecting information on the abundance and distribution of marine species

Collecting data on marine ecosystems and the impacts of human activity on fisheries resources and ecosystem health.

They can also be used for Search and Rescue duties if required as they  make their patrols.

The vessel has had a bit of a rough start to its Coast Guard days, earlier this year the ship crashed into a dock in Victoria as it was taking part in its Sea Trials prior to acceptance for service into the fleet.

At some point the Sir John Franklin will make its first Northern Transit, though no schedule has been outlined by the Coast Guard as to what the short term plans are for the vessel or if it includes a debut trip to Prince Rupert.

More background on the Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels can be found here.

Notes on the work of the Coast Guard and other Emergency Responders on the North Coast can be found from our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.