The Canadian Coast Guard recently received the first of three new near shore fisheries research vessels, the ‘CCGS Vladykov’ built by Meridien Maritime Inc in Matane, Quebec.
The vessel was commissioned in August 2012 as part of an US$16m investment into the Canadian Coast Guard fleet. It will replace the CCGS Shamook which served for 35 years.
The CCGS Vladykov and its sister vessels will carry out scientific research in Newfoundland and Labrador. The vessels will also be used for search and rescue, environmental response and the support of marine programmes for other government bodies.
Dr Ben Davis, division manager, science branch, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador Region, told World Fishing & Aquaculture: “The CCGS Vladykov was introduced to Newfoundland and Labrador in the summer of 2012 and began her work in support of a number of scientific research programmes including snow crab surveys, cod tagging, ecosystem surveys, aquaculture and plankton and pelagic research. The vessel will conclude its seasonal research work next week on November 13th and will resume her duties in support of science next spring."
He added: "Scientists working aboard the Vladykov this past year reported they were very pleased with the performance of the vessel as a research platform and are confident that the vessel’s scheduled refit will make minor improvements that will support their research efforts in coming years."
A scientific sensor suite has been constructed to enable the vessel to gather vital fisheries data to be processed in the vessels’ wet and dry laboratories.
The deck machinery includes two trawl winches, a CTD winch, an anchor winch, trawl net drum and a 5 tonne A frame 18Tm crane to allow the vessel to launch and recover a wide range of equipment.
The hull form of the 25m vessel has been designed to enhance seakeeping performance and perform scientific operations in much higher sea states than previously possible with the same size and type of vessel.
