Wilfred Templeman, sold and renamed

The research trawler CCGS Wilfred Templeman has been sold and renamed. Built by Ferguson Industries Ltd in Pictou in 1981, it was one of two such vessels constructed for the Department of Fisheries & Oceans. Sister ship Alfred Needler is stationed at Bedford Institute in Halifax and Wilfred Templeman in St.John's.
When the Coast Guard was merged into DFO, the ships lost their grey hulls and went to CCG red, and added some other duties to their repertoires, such as search and rescue, when needed.
The Templeman was built to replace the A.T.Cameron (which often visited Halifax).

The Templeton lead a fairly uneventful career with DFO compared to its sister, and in fact was called in to BIO in 2003 following a serious fire on the Needler, and was brought back in 2007 when the Needler was in transitional refit. The Templeman never received a similar refit, and so its career has proven shorter.

Oddly however, its twin Alco/MLW engines were given a rebuild in 2009, and the ship was withdrawn from service with only 30 hours on the rebuild, in September 2009. [Those engines were originally troublesome and kept the ship out of service well in to 1982, and extended the service of the A.T.Cameron, which had been renamed 81-4 pending disposal].

By July of 2011, the Templeman had been renamed 2011-01 and was advertised for sale, with an asking price of $400,000. There were no takers for that price, and the sale was extended to September. The successful bidder was McKeil Work Boats Ltd of Hamilton, ON for $371,956.55.

The ship was registered on March 20, 2012 as Blain M, named for a member of the McKeil family.

Better known for their tug and barge work, McKeil have owned research ships in the past, and perhaps they see an opportunity for this one in Newfoundand or Nova Scotia waters. Or perhpas farther afield. Predeccesor A.T.Cameron when it was sold in 1984 became Arctic Ranger for Newfoundland owners and in 1992 became Arctic Discoverer for Caribbean treasure hunters.

Footnote: Dr. Wilfred Templeman was a distinguished marine biologist and when the ship was named, it was the first time that a DFO ship had been named for a living scientist.

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On the drawing boards

1. CCGS Hudson inbound in the Narrows May 16, 2001.

2. CCGS Wilfred Templeman inbound Halifax February 2, 2004.

3. CCGS Alfred Needler, outbound in the Narrows January 27, 1999.

The federal government has awarded design contracts for replacement of four Canadian Coast Guard/ Department of Fisheries and Oceans vessels.

STX Canada Marine will be designing the replacement for CCGS Hudson. The research vessel based at the Bedford Institute in Halifax dates from 1962 (when it was launched by Saint John Shipbuilding & Dry Dock) / 1964 (when it was commissioned) and is justifiably renowned for its many scientific discoveries. Although built as a hydrographic research vessel it has also conducted significant oceanography work, and as a Coast Guard vessel, has been multi-tasked. It participated in recovery operations following the sinking of the Ocean Ranger in 1982 and the Swissair crash in 1998 among others.

The replacement vessel will be 90m long and will accommodate 59 crew and scientists. It will play essentially the same role as Hudson, but will include many newer features including dynamic positioning.

STX Canada Marine is the former Aker Yards Marine Inc and its Canadian operations are based in Vancouver.

Robert Allan Ltd, also of Vancouver, will prepare a single design for three new offshore research vessels to replace the Alfred Needler and Wilfred Templeman on the east coast and the W.E. Ricker on the west coast. These will carry 39 crew and scientists and will do fish surveys and oceanography. The current ships are essentially stern trawlers, but the new vessels will have upgraded capability. Alfred Needler, based at Bedford Institute and Wilfred Templeman, based in St.John's, are sister ships, built at Ferguson Industries in Pictou in 1982. W.E.Ricker was built as Calistratus in 1978 in Hokkaido, Japan.

These are design contracts only, and no construction contracts have been awarded yet. However it is expected that all the ships will be delivered in 2014, allowing Hudson to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

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