CCGS Sir William Alexander
Encyclopedia
Icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
, which includes task such as major navaids tender". She is currently assigned to CCG Maritimes Region and is homeported at CCG Base Dartmouth, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth founded in 1750, is a community and planning area of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes after the large number of lakes located in the city.On April 1, 1996, the provincial...
.
She is named after Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
explorer Sir William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling
William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling
William Alexander, Earl of Stirling was a Scotsman who was an early developer of Scottish colonisation of Port Royal, Nova Scotia and Long Island, New York...
, who was an early colonizer of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
.
Hurricane Katrina relief mission
On September 6, 2005, CCGS Sir William Alexander left Halifax HarbourHalifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...
, together with the warships , and , to participate in a humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...
mission named "Operation UNISON", which provided relief to part of the devastated Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
coast of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
following Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
.
The Sir William Alexander participated in the mission as a supply vessel, and also to effect repairs to aids to navigation (navaids) and provide a more suitable staging platform for relief operations, given her high-capacity main hoist, as well as the ability to carry and stage "sea trucks" (similar to a small landing barge).
The decision to assign Sir William Alexander to the Operation UNISON task force was unprecedented in Canadian Coast Guard history as no icebreaker from the service has operated for an extended period of time in southern tropical waters such as the Gulf of Mexico, aside from transiting the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
to and from British Columbia. The icebreaker's engines are designed for operation in cold Arctic waters and she had to operate at reduced speed to avoid overheating the further south she travels — the main reason arrived approximately one week after the navy ships leading the task force. Another possible reason for using the Sir William Alexander is that the navy's east coast Auxiliary Oil Replenishment (AOR) and supply vessel, , was unavailable due to complications resulting from an extended refit and repairs.
On September 19, 2005 it was announced that the three warships were no longer needed in the Gulf of Mexico, given the massive U.S. military response as well as increasing civilian aid flowing into the region. The Sir William Alexander was exempted from returning to Canada however, as her heavy lift capabilities were considered useful for ongoing repairs to aids to navigation which were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, and later Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...
(September 23). On September 28, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (Canada)
The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for supervising the fishing industry and administrating all navigable waterways in the country...
announced that the Sir William Alexander was being retasked from relief efforts and navigation systems repair to assist the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
in repairing the damaged network of weather buoy
Weather buoy
Weather buoys are instruments which collect weather and ocean data within the world's oceans, as well as aiding during emergency response to chemical spills, legal proceedings, and engineering design. Moored buoys have been in used since 1951, while drifting buoys have been used since 1979...
s along the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
, and Atlantic coasts. She returned to CCG Base Dartmouth from Operation UNISON on October 24, 2005.
2008 towing incident
Sir William Alexander was involved in a fatal towing incident involving L'Acadien IIL'Acadien II
L'Acadien II was a Canadian-registered fishing vessel that capsized and sank on March 29, 2008. The vessel was being towed by Canadian Coast Guard Ship Sir William Alexander off Cape Breton, Nova Scotia at the time of the incident. Two of the crew of six were rescued and four men were killed in...
during the 2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt
2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt
Canada's 2008 annual commercial seal hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and around Newfoundland, Quebec and Nova Scotia began on March 28. The hunting season lasts from mid-November to mid-May, but the hunt mainly occurs in March and April...
. Authorities have launched separate investigations into the incident.
CGS Base Dartmouth
Other Coast Guard vessels at the station:- CCGS HudsonCCGS HudsonThe CCGS Hudson is an offshore oceanographic and hydrographic survey vessel operated by the Canadian Coast Guard.The Hudson is Canada's oldest operational ocean research vessel...
- research vessel
External links
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada - Canadian Coast Guard Vessel Details - CCGS Sir William Alexander
- Canadian fleet prepares for Katrina relief effort, Globe and Mail, September 8, 2005 - Requires member log-in