CCGS Hudson

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CCGS Hudson2.gif
Canadian Coast Guard Ship Hudson
History
Coastguard Flag of CanadaCanada
Name: Hudson
Namesake: Henry Hudson, explorer
Operator:
Port of registry: Ottawa, Ontario
Builder: Saint John Shipbuilding and Drydock Ltd, Saint John, New Brunswick
Yard number: 320936
Completed: 1963
Commissioned: 1964
In service: 1963–present
Refit: 1990
Homeport:
  • CCG Base Dartmouth, Nova Scotia (Atlantic Region, formally Maritime Region prior to DFO region amalgamation)
  • (See also: Bedford Institute of Oceanography)
Identification: CGDG
Status: in active service
General characteristics
Type: Offshore oceanographic and hydrographical survey vessel
Displacement: 3,740 tonnes (4,122.64 short tons)
Length: 90.373 m (296 ft 6.0 in)
Beam: 15.24 m (50 ft 0 in)
Draft: 5.75 m (18 ft 10 in)
Ice class: 100A
Propulsion: Diesel electric DC/DC - (4 × ) Alco 16 cyl engines
Speed: 17 knots (31 km/h)
Range: 23,100 nmi (42,800 km)
Endurance: 105 days
Boats & landing
craft carried:
  • 1 - Fast Rescue Craft - Zodiac Hurricane Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (Miranda Davit)
  • 2 - Enclosed Lifeboat (Gravity Davits)
  • 3 - Enclosed Lifeboat (Gravity Davits)
Complement: 37
Aircraft carried: 1 × MBB Bo 105 helicopter
Aviation facilities: Hangar

The CCGS Hudson is an offshore oceanographic and hydrographic survey vessel operated by the Canadian Coast Guard.[1][2]

Hudson is Canada's oldest operational ocean research vessel. Originally, constructed and funded by the Federal Department of Energy Mines and Resources. She was constructed in the early 1960s for the [Canadian Oceanographic Service], coinciding with the opening of the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. Formerly the CSS Hudson, she was the largest vessel built at that time specifically designed for research purposes. For over five decades, Hudson has made significant contributions to knowledge about the oceans through hydrographic surveys and oceanographic research. Particularly important was a 1970 voyage around both North and South America, the first time a ship made a voyage that transited the Americas. This research voyage established many benchmarks in marine observations, and demonstrated that navigation through the Northwest Passage was fundamentally dangerous because of uncharted undersea mountain peaks and undersea ice-cored features, pingos, in the Beaufort Sea. This monumental voyage, in which over 100 scientists participated during various stages, was documented in the 1973 book "Voyage to the Edge of the World" by Alan Edmonds (ISBN 0771030673). She also has several notable search and rescue/recovery taskings. Some examples are: The 'Cape Freels' rescue off the coast of Newfoundland about March 1976. Hudson's Officers and Crew saved all 24 members of the MV Skipper 1 in the North Atlantic on April 29, 1987. The Hudson contributed significantly during recovery operations during the aftermath of the Ocean Ranger semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit that sank in Eastern Canadian waters on February 15, 1982. Hudson contributed to the recovery operations during the recovery operations of Swiss Air Flight 111 in the waters off of Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada during the autumn months of 1998. Suffice to say that Hudson has a long and distinguished service, both in the field of scientific discoveries and marine incidents for more than fifty years. The Government of Canada announced several new shipbuilding projects for the Canadian Coast Guard in 2007, including a replacement for Hudson to be delivered by 2016 (delivery date - delayed),[3] giving her over 52 years of operational service to Canada.

Notable events[edit]

Canadian Coast Guard Ship Hudson searching for debris from Swissair Flight 111
  • CCGS Hudson played an important role in searching for the debris of Swissair Flight 111.[1] She has also been involved in several search and rescue missions, most recently rescuing the seven man crew of the fishing vessel Ocean Commander which burned and sank on July 6, 2009.[4][5]
  • CCGS Hudson conducted the 11 month Hudson 70 cruise - the first ever circumnavigation of North and South America. Scientists from many countries obtained valuable chemical data in the Atlantic, physical data in the Chilean fjords, gravity data in the Pacific and geophysical data in the Arctic.[1]
  • CCGS Hudson conducted the 9 month Hudson 81 cruise - the circumnavigation of North America from east to west via the Panama Canal and the Northwest Passage, without icebreaker support. Commanding Officers during the cruise were: permanent master mariner - F. W. Maugher MM; relieving master - L. A. Strum MM; relieving master - N. S. Norton MM. Anthony David (Tony) O'Connor: ...was Hydrographer-in-Charge and Chief Scientist on board CSS Hudson [CCGS Hudson] for the major cruise [Canadian Arctic portion of Hudson 81] to the Beaufort Sea and Northwest Passage.
  • CSS Hudson retrieved a number of bodies from the oil rig Ocean Ranger which capsized and sank in the Atlantic Ocean on February 15, 1982.

Replacement plans[edit]

In September 2009 the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) invited contracts for a vessel to replace the Hudson.[6] Her replacement will also be 90 metres long, and will be staffed by a crew of 28, and can carry 31 additional scientists. Her anticipated completion date was expected in 2014, however DFO says the date has been pushed back to 2016.[3]

CGS Base Dartmouth[edit]

Other Coast Guard vessels at the station:

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]