John Franklin News

Heddle Shipyards said it has been awarded the vessel life extension of the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker CCGS Amundsen.This week, the CCGS Amundsen will arrive at the Port Weller Dry Docks in Canada, the St. Catharines, Ontario, where it will stay through June 2022. The eight-month refit valued at approximately $12,000,000 CAD will sustain over 100 direct jobs and support subcontractors and suppliers across the Niagara Region, Ontario, and Canada.Heddle Shipyards noted it has also secured the dry docking of a seaway max laker at its Port Weller facility…

Finland's Wärtsilä reports it has won a contract for the delivery and integration engineering of two retractable thrusters and a dynamic positioning (DP) system for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) icebreaker CCGS Amundsen.Wärtsilä, which booked the order in July, said it was able to meet the CCG’s requirements to fit the equipment in the existing space of the 98-meter-long Arctic Class 3 Medium Icebreaker, the only vessel in its class to be fitted with retractable thrusters and DP. The new thrusters will be integrated with the existing bow thruster, which is also a Wärtsilä product.

Mackay Marine said it has completed final electronics commissioning during sea trials aboard the future CCGS John Cabot. Constructed at Seaspan’s Vancouver shipyard, the new ship is the third Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel (OFSV) built for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCGS) under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy.Mackay said it was selected to be part of the team to support Thales Canada in its role as Tier-1 Partner to Seaspan Shipyards and as Electronic Systems Integrator for the construction of these vessels.

The Canadian Coast Guard’s third Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel (OFSV) has begun sea trials just six weeks after being launched by Seaspan Shipyards in Vancouver, B.C.The future Coast Guard vessel the CCGS John Cabot cruised out of English Bay on Wednesday to begin sea trials, marking another major milestone for this third OFSV built under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS).Over the next 10 days the 63.4-meter-long ship will be put through its paces during rigorous full-scale exercises where specialists from Seaspan Shipyards…

Canadian shipbuilder Seaspan Shipyards on Friday launched the final ship in a series of three Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels (OFSV) for the Canadian Coast Guard.The 63.4-meter CCGS John Cabot will next undergo sea trials before its delivery to the Coast Guard later this summer. The vessel will be based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.CCGS John Cabot and previously delivered sister ships, CCGS Sir John Franklin, now stationed in Victoria, British Columbia, and CCGS Capt Jacques Cartier…

North Vancouver shipbuilder Seaspan Shipyards on Thursday held a keel laying ceremony for the Royal Canadian Navy’s future joint support ship HMCS Protecteur.Scheduled for 2023 delivery, the newbuild is the first of two joint support ships to be constructed by Seaspan as part Canada's National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS). With a length of 173.7 meters and a breath of 24 meters, the vessel will be the largest naval ship by length ever built in Canada.“Today’s keel-laying ceremony represents another milestone in our commitment to provide modern…

Seaspan Shipyards (Seaspan) has completed Delivery of Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Capt. Jacques Cartier, the Canadian Coast Guard’s newest state-of-the-art Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel (OFSV), the second OFSV delivered by Seaspan."The milestone in the shipbuilding process took place exactly five months and two days after the delivery of her sister ship, the CCGS Sir John Franklin. These two ships are the first large vessels delivered under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, the Government of Canada’s plan to renew the federal fleet with ships built in Canada for Canadians," said a press note.In addition to major partners like Thales Canada who are responsible for the vessel’s Electronic Systems and Vard Marine…

The future Capt. Jacques Cartier, the second of three Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels (OFSV) to be designed and built by Seaspan at its Vancouver Shipyards (VSY), began sea trials on October 10, 2019 from Seaspan’s Vancouver Drydock where final outfitting, set to work and commissioning has taken place since its launch in June.“With the future Capt. Jacques Cartier headed out to sea today, excitement in our NSS program is growing,” said Mark Lamarre, CEO, Seaspan Shipyards.

Seaspan Shipyards has delivered Canada's first new Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels (OFSV), the CCGS Sir John Franklin, to the Canadian Coast Guard (Coast Guard).An official handover ceremony took place aboard the vessel attended by the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, senior officials from the Coast Guard, Seaspan and supply chain partners.The delivery of the first OFSV is the culmination of years of work by hundreds of dedicated Seaspan employees and supply chain partners from across Canada.As the first large vessel to be built and delivered to the Government of Canada under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS)…

The brand new Canadian Coast Guard vessel Sir John Franklin crashed into Victoria’s breakwater on March 22, crumpling a side of its back-end.The Seaspan-Shipyards-built Sir John Franklin was in sea trials when it crashed into Ogden Point breakwater.The 64-meter vessel, was heading into port when it banged into the wall, damaging it as well as the breakwater."The Canadian Coast Guard’s first of three new fisheries science vessels crashed on its first test run last week, raising concerns that the summer delivery date may not be met," said a press note from the Chamber of Shipping.No injuries were reported, but the propeller and rudder were damaged.

There’s a shipbuilding resurgence underway in Canada that’s being driven by a long-term multibillion dollar government initiative to rebuild the federal fleet of Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard vessels and breathe new life into the country’s shipbuilding industry. Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards is an active player.Under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS), the Vancouver, B.C. shipbuilder was selected in 2011 to deliver several types of large non-combat vessels for the Navy and Coast Guard…

Canada confirmed on Monday it has found the wreck of HMS Terror, the second of two British ships lost in the disastrous Franklin Arctic voyage of 1845, and said the government will work closely with northern aboriginals on ownership of the artifacts. Parks Canada, a federal agency, said in a statement it will work on "joint ownership" of the wreckage from the journey through Canada's Northwest Passage. Britain's Guardian newspaper reported earlier this month that the Arctic Research Foundation, a private group participating in the search effort, had found the ship in pristine condition at the bottom of a bay. Sir John Franklin and his…

Explorers have found the wreck of HMS Terror, the second of two British ships lost in the disastrous 1845 Franklin expedition to Canada's Arctic Northwest Passage, Britain's Guardian newspaper said on Monday. The Arctic Research Foundation, a private group that sent a vessel to help look for the ship, found it in pristine condition at the bottom of a bay earlier this month, a spokesman told the paper. Sir John Franklin and his 128-member crew in the Terror and HMS Erebus all died…

The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, joined by Andrew Saxton, Member of Parliament for North Vancouver and John Weston, Member of Parliament for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country, announced that Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards (VSY) has started construction on the first National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS) ship, the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG)’s Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel (OFSV). It was also announced that the first ship will be named CCGS Sir John Franklin in honour of a British Royal Navy officer and explorer of the Arctic. Found in September 2014, Franklin’s ships are an important part of Canadian history given that his expeditions…

A partnership between Canadian government and private industry today unveiled high precision 3D printed models of HMS Erebus, Sir John Franklin’s lead ship found last year in Canada’s Arctic waters as part of Parks Canada’s search for the vessels of the lost 1845 expedition. The model was unveiled in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Officials from Fisheries and Oceans Canada joined with Canadian geospatial software company CARIS and geomatics technology innovation support centre TECTERRA to unveil the models.

The Franklin Expedition ship discovered in early September by the 2014 Victoria Strait Expedition is Her Majesty’s Ship (HMS) Erebus. Sir John Franklin, who was in command of the Franklin Expedition, sailed on HMS Erebus, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Wednesday. On May 19, 1845, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror of the Royal Navy departed Greenhithe, England, on a much-heralded Arctic expedition in search of a Northwest Passage. Under the command of Sir John Franklin…

After more than 169 years, Canadian researchers discovered one of the two ships from the doomed Arctic expedition of Sir John Franklin, cracking one of the largest mysteries in sea exploration. The wreck was found some 11 meters below the surface using a ROV recently acquired by Parks Canada. It is unknown whether the ship is HMS Erebus or HMS Terror, though researches expect to determine its identity within several days. "Franklin's ships are an important part of Canadian history given that his expedition…

After more than 160 years of searching to understand the fate of English explorer Sir John Franklin’s fabled arctic voyage, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a Canadian team has located one of Franklin’s historic ships and solved one of the world’s greatest archaeological mysteries, informs Parks Canada. Sir John Franklin led the two ships and 129 men in 1845 to chart the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic. The expedition's disappearance shortly after became one of the great mysteries of the age of Victorian exploration. Expedition sonar images from the waters of Victoria Strait, just off King William Island, clearly show the wreckage of a ship on the ocean floor.

Today in U.S. Naval History - May 23 1850 - Navy sends USS Advance and USS Rescue to attempt rescue of Sir John Franklin's expedition, lost in Arctic. 1939 - USS Squalus (SS-92) sinks off Postsmouth, N.H., with loss of 26 lives. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

Today in U.S. Naval History - May 23 1850 - Navy sends USS Advance and USS Rescue to attempt rescue of Sir John Franklin's expedition, lost in Arctic. 1939 - USS Squalus (SS-92) sinks off Postsmouth, NH, with loss of 26 lives. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval Historical Center website at www.history.navy.mil.

The Canadian government launches its largest search yet for the lost ships of Sir John Franklin's doomed 1845 quest for the Northwest Passage. This year's search, led by Parks Canada, is the fourth government-led expedition over the past five years, and is by far the biggest, involving a much larger alliance of federal departments and other public and private interests. A previous large-scale search for the Franklin ships was launched by National Defence in 1967 as part of Canada's centennial.

From the Navy News Service:   1850 - Navy sends USS Advance and USS Rescue to attempt rescue of Sir John Franklin's expedition, lost in Arctic. 1939 - USS Squalus (SS 92) sinks off Postsmouth, N.H., with loss of 26 lives. 1962 - Launch of Aurora 7 (Mercury 7), piloted by Lt. Cmdr. Malcolm Scott Carpenter who completed three orbits in four hours, 56 minutes, at an altitude up to 166.8 statute miles at 17,549 mph. 1962 - USS Valcour (AVP 55) provides medical care to a merchant seaman from tanker SS Manhattan in the Persian Gulf.   For more information about naval history, visit the Naval Historical Center Web site at http://www.history.navy.mil.

From the Navy News Service 1850 - Navy sends USS Advance and USS Rescue to attempt rescue of Sir John Franklin's expedition, lost in . 1939 - USS Squalus (SS 92) sinks off , with loss of 26 lives. 1962 - Launch of Aurora 7 (Mercury 7), piloted by Lt. Cmdr. Malcolm Scott Carpenter who completed three orbits in four hours, 56 minutes, at an altitude up to 166.8 statute miles at 17,549 mph. 1962 - USS Valcour (AVP 55) provides medical care to a merchant seaman from tanker SS Manhattan in the Persian Gulf.