Canadian Coast Guard Welcomes New Addition to the Fleet

The Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, officially welcomed a new addition to the fleet, on August 24, at a naming and dedication ceremony for Canadian Coast Guard Ship Vladykov in St. John’s.

In 2010, construction of the CCGS Vladykov began in Matane, Quebec at the Méridien Maritime Inc. shipyard. Sea trials were completed in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in early 2012 and the vessel arrived in St. John’s on June 12, 2012.

The CCGS Vladykov is a near shore fishery research vessel named after the late Professor Vadim Dimitrievitch Vladykov, a scientist who contributed significantly to the study of fish biology in Canada and helped plan and build the Aquarium du Québec.

CCGS Vladykov is an $18 million investment into the Canadian Coast Guard fleet and fishery science in Newfoundland and Labrador. In addition, the Government of Canada has committed more than $1.4 billion to the Coast Guard over the past 6 years, including new mid-shore patrol vessels, scientific research vessels, a new hovercraft and Canada’s first polar icebreaker. Major repair work has been completed on 40 Canadian Coast Guard vessels and the acquisition of 98 new small craft and boats. Economic Action Plan 2012 has also signalled further significant investments to the Canadian Coast Guard to revitalize the Canadian Coast Guard Fleet.

“I am proud to welcome this new vessel to Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Minister Penashue, Regional Minister for Newfoundland and Labrador. “Our province continues to be well served by the Canadian Coast Guard and continues to benefit from the strategic and targeted investments our government is making to this province.”

Members of the Vladykov family attended the ceremony. Nadya Clowes and Kyra Fisher, daughters of Professor Vladykov and sponsors of the vessel, participated in the dedication of the vessel by breaking a bottle of champagne over the bow of the ship.

The CCGS Vladykov is a versatile fishery research vessel capable of deploying many types of equipment, including various types of trawls, scallop drags, remote operating vehicles, camera sleds, plankton nets, acoustic and geophysical survey equipment and water sampling arrays.

The vessel has a secondary capacity for search and rescue, environmental response to pollution incidents and support to other federal, provincial and municipal government agencies in response to law enforcement and humanitarian requests.

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World Maritime News, August 26, 2012; Image: gc