Discover

CCGS ''Louis S. St-Laurent''
Career	CCG Shield
Commissioned:	1969
Modernized:	1988 & 2000
Region:	Maritimes
Home Port:	Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Decommissioned:	Still active
Fate:	Still active
General Characteristics
Displacement:	11,441 tons
Length:	120 m
Beam:	24.8 m
Draught:	9.9 m
Propulsion:	Diesel-electric
Speed:	20 knots
Range:	23,000 nautical miles
Ice Class:	100 A
Complement:	46
Aircraft:	2 BO-105 helicopters
Named After:	Louis St. Laurent 12th Prime Minister of Canada

'CCGS ''Louis S. St-Laurent''' is a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker. Named after the twelfth Prime Minister of Canada, Louis St. Laurent, the vessel is classed a "Heavy Gulf Icebreaker" and is the largest icebreaker and ship in the Canadian Coast Guard's fleet.
Built in 1969 by Canadian Vickers Ltd. in Montreal, Quebec, CCGS ''Louis S. St-Laurent'' underwent an extensive and costly modernization at Halifax Shipyard Ltd. in Halifax, Nova Scotia between 1988-1993 which saw her hull lengthened as well as new propulsion and navigation equipment installed.
The modernization program was controversial as the government of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney had initially proposed building the "Polar 8" class of icebreakers for promoting Canadian sovereignty in territorial waters claimed by Canada; the USCGC Polar Sea had made an unauthorized transit of Canada's Northwest Passage in 1985 early in Mulroney's administration, provoking a strong nationalist out-cry across the country. However, budget cuts to proposed expansions of the coast guard and armed forces were scrapped in 1988. In compensation to the coast guard, the government opted to modernize the largest icebreaker in its fleet, the CCGS ''Louis S. St-Laurent''.
She has been based at CCG Base Dartmouth in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia for her entire career. The vessel's current operation tempo consists of summer voyages to Canada's Arctic where she supports the annual Arctic sealift to various coastal communities and carries out multi-disciplinary scientific expeditions. During the winter months, CCGS ''Louis S. St-Laurent'' sometimes operates in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to aid ships in transiting to Montreal, Quebec, although she usually only serves this assignment during particularly heavy ice years.

Contents

External link

External link

★ [1] Canadian Coast Guard