CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent - Things that go bump in the ice

The Harper government took a break today from its usual press releases regarding the War of 1812 (isn't it over yet?) by announcing some preliminary contracts for the Joint Support Ships, fisheries research vessels and the new icebreaker to be named CCGS John G. Diefenbaker. The statement released in Vancouver, is short on detail, but amounts to $15.7mn for somebody. Since the construction work will take place on the West coast, that is why the announcement was made there, but if it is design work, we're not sure where it will actually be done.
The announcement including the startling statement that delivery of CCGS John G. Diefenbaker will coincide with the decommissioning of CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent, skilfully avoids saying when that will be. It was supposed to be in 2017, but it looks like it may be farther off than that if they are unwilling to give a date in a press release.
Speaking of the Louis, word reaches me that she may now be out of service for a time due a puncture in her bow. This was apparently acquired while assisting the broken down cargo ship Maple Lea somewhere north of PEI.
The ship was outbound from Summerside, PE when it lost all power February 17 and began to drift. The tugs Atlantic Beech and Spanish Mist managed to take the ship in tow, but somehow Louis S. St-Laurent and Maple Lea came into contact resulting in  holes in the ship's stern and Louis's bow.
The whole bunch arrived safely in Sydney last night where the fallout is now beginning to rain down.
It is difficult to get direct news on this story, but it would appear that yet again we have a Canadian government ship with a hole in it in Sydney.
The Louis certainly has battle scars, including that long crease in her starboard side near the stern, that has been there for many years - I've never heard how she got that one, but she will certainly have some downtime after this latest incident, and just when she is badly needed for Gulf ice work.

It was also revealed today that Halifax Shipyard will be allowed to bid on major refits of CCGS Earl Grey, Edward Cornwallis and  Sir William Alexander. It was originally thought that being awarded the big contract would make the yard ineligible for work on smaller ships. Is this a subtle way of telling Irving that maybe the contract isn't going to be as full as it once was?
Since all information on the shipbuilding contracts is now being released by the government only, and both ISI and Seaspan are under strict gag orders, only time will tell.

CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent - back home

1. CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent occupying most of the extended BIO pier this morning. 

CCGS Louis  S. St-Laurent returned to Halifax this morning in preparation for drydocking. The only drydock on the Atlantic coast that can berth the ship is the Novadock at Halifax Shipyard. In view of this, the wisdom of transferring the ship to the Newfoundland region is brought into question (again).
The ship's home was the Canadian Coast Guard base in Dartmouth. The lengthy process of decommissioning that base and moving all admin functions to a new building at the Bedford Institute site has largely been completed. An extension to the BIO pier was built too, but it was not large enough for the Louis at the same time as the rest of the DFO fleet, because the political decision had already been made to send the Louis to Argentia, NL, using specious cost reasoning. The added cost of housing the Louis in such a remote location would certainly have defrayed the cost of building a proper base for it in Halifax, and the nonsense of extra steaming time to the arctic is disproved every time the ship sails into Halifax for drydocking.
For today's arrival CCGS Earl Grey had to move to the old CCG base to make room! What did that move cost?

2. CCGS Earl Grey had to move from the BIO pier yesterday to make room for the Louis.

And what about the much touted replacement for the Louis? The yet to be built CCGS John G. Diefenbaker, (Vancouver Shipyards has the job to build it, but no contract yet) will presumably also require a base. Is it to be stuck out of the way in Argentia too, as a tribute to political whims? I'm not sure The Chief would have approved.
The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans from 2006 to 2008 made the decision to transfer the ship to his home province of Newfoundland. Now that he is Canadian ambassador to Ireland, and safely out of the political spotlight, perhaps it is time to review the decision, and bring the Louis back to Halifax where it belongs, and build a proper pier for it.

Louis stores up

CCGS Louis S St-Laurent came off the drydock on the weekend and moved to the Bedford Institute dock. This is of course the dock which was too small to accommodate the ship. That combined with all the extra steaming time to get to Halifax from the arctic resulted in the transfer to Argentia. I didn't believe it then and I still don't!

Anyway the ship is storing up for its summer in the arctic. Whether it goes to Argentia first (and why would it?) remains to be seen.

Its normal route to the arctic from Halifax is through the Cabot Strait, up the west coast of Newfoundland and through the Strait of Belle Isle. If all the spin about extra steaming time was true then it better not go to Argentia!

The ship looks quite splendid in its fresh paint and is still an impressive sight no matter what the politicians do with it.

We should know in September which shipyard will build its replacement, CCGS John G. Diefenbaker. Must we be reminded of politicians every time it sails by? Surely there is a Canadian without partisan affiliations whose name could be applied to a ship without controversy. CCGS Terry Fox is a brilliant example of a name choice-there must be more.
Did you know there is a Coast Guard vessel naming policy?
See the gory details here:
http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/e0013696


.