RV David Thompson

RV David Thompson is a Parks Canada mid-shore scientific research and survey vessel, that entered service in 2016. David Thompson has been used to carry out underwater archaeology work with Parks Canada during the survey of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, the two Franklin Expedition ships lost in Northern Canadian waters. The vessel was formerly a fisheries patrol vessel of the Canadian Coast Guard named CCGS Arrow Post.[lower-alpha 1]

RV David Thompson, near the wreck of HMS Erebus, 2019
History
Canada
Name: CCGS Arrow Post
Operator: Canadian Coast Guard
Port of registry: Ottawa, Ontario
Builder: Hike Metal Products, Wheatley, Ontario
Yard number: 93
Launched: 1991
Completed: 1991
Commissioned: 1992
Refit: 2012
Homeport: Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Identification: IMO number: 9065778
Fate: Transferred to Parks Canada July 2016
Canada
Name: David Thompson
Namesake: David Thompson
Operator: Parks Canada
Port of registry: Ottawa, Ontario
Acquired: July 2016
In service: 2017
Identification: IMO number: 9065778
Status: In service
General characteristics
Type: Research vessel
Tonnage:
Length: 29.0 m (95.1 ft)
Beam: 8.8 m (28.9 ft)
Draught: 3.4 m (11.2 ft)
Installed power: 954 kW (1,279 hp)
Propulsion:
Speed: 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Range: 2,800 nautical miles (5,186 km; 3,222 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Endurance: 28 days
Boats & landing
craft carried:		 2
Complement: 6
Sensors and
processing systems:

Description

David Thompson is of steel construction and is 29.0 m (95.1 ft) long overall and 26.5 m (86.9 ft) between perpendiculars with a beam of 8.8 m (28.9 ft) and a draught of 3.4 m (11.2 ft).[1][2] The ship is powered by one Caterpillar 3512 geared diesel engine rated at 954 kW (1,279 hp) driving a single controllable pitch propeller and a bow thruster. This gives the ship a maximum speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph). The ship has a fuel capacity of 52.6 m3 (11,600 imp gal) giving the ship a range of 2,800 nautical miles (5,200 km; 3,200 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) and an endurance of 28 days. The ship is also equipped with two Caterpillar 3306 generators and one Caterpillar 3406 emergency generator.[1]

David Thompson is equipped with two rigid-hulled inflatable boats and has one HIAB seacrane capable of lifting 1.3 t (1.3 long tons; 1.4 short tons). The ship has a complement of six, and while with the Canadian Coast Guard operated with three officer and three crew. David Thompson has six berths.[1]

Service history

Arrow Post was ordered by the Canadian Coast Guard from Hike Metal Products for construction at their yard in Wheatley, Ontario with the yard number 93.[2] The ship was launched and completed in 1991.[1] The ship was commissioned in 1992.[3] The ship was based in Prince Rupert in British Columbia and registered in Ottawa, Ontario.[1] In Coast Guard service, Arrow Post was primarily used for fisheries patrol.[1][2] However, the ship was also used to carry out scientific research.[4]

Arrow Post was refit in 2012 by Allied Shipbuilders.[5] In October 2014, Arrow Post was one of the Coast Guard vessels used to monitor the disabled Russian merchant vessel Simishur after Simishur lost power off Haida Gwaii. The vessel was later taken under tow by CCGS Gordon Reid.[6]

In 2016, Arrow Post was transferred from the Canadian Coast Guard to Parks Canada.[3] The vessel was refitted as a research vessel by Canadian Maritime Engineering of Nanaimo, British Columbia beginning in April 2017.[7] In June 2017, the ship was used for a marine archeology expedition at the underwater wreck site of HMS Terror in the Arctic.[8] The vessel returned with divers for archaeological expeditions to the wreck of HMS Erebus in 2018[9] and HMS Terror in 2019.[10]

Notes
  1. CCGS stands for Canadian Coast Guard Ship

Citations
  1. "CCGS Arrow Post". Canadian Coast Guard. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  2. "Arrow Post (9065778)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  3. "RV David Thompson". Parks Canada. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  4. Hudson, Andrew (2 September 2016). "Canadian Coast Guard Ship Tanu visits Haida Gwaii". Haida Gwaii Observer. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  5. "CCGS ARROW POST – DOCKING & REFIT (F1782-12C735/A)". Public Works and Government Services Canada. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  6. "Russian Cargo Ship Under Tow off Canada". maritime-executive.com. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  7. Bush, Chris (24 August 2017). "Old coast guard ship refitted in Nanaimo for Franklin Expedition research". Nanaimo Bulletin. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  8. Breeby, Dean. "Parks Canada to explore wreck of HMS Terror with security issues unresolved". CBC News. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  9. Beeby, Dean (31 March 2019). "Parks Canada battles Arctic ice to explore crumbling wreck". CBC News. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  10. Weber, Bob (28 August 2019). "First interior shots of HMS Terror shipwreck shows unusually tidy array of artifacts preserved for centuries". National Post. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
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