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| Researcher and Explorer Roald Amundsen dressed in skins |
The
Norwegian born, arctic explorer, Roald Amundsen has quite the
Canadian connection. He is recognized in many ways. One of the current Canadian
Coast Guard Ice Breakers is named in his honour. AMUNDSEN is a medium
class T-1200 size design built in North Vancouver and was originally
commissioned in 1979 as the Sir John Franklin, the famous Arctic
explorer lost in the Cambridge Bay area of the Arctic.
Sir
John's namesake was assigned to clear ice in the St. Lawrence and along eastern shores of Canada...being based in both Quebec City and
Dartmouth. In summers, she was used as backup for the Arctic sea lift
resupply missions until 1995. The Canadian Coast Guard, under the
management of the Department of Transport, was transferred to the
federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Shortly thereafter she
was moth-balled as surplus.
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| Canadian Coast Guard Ship "AMUNDSEN" |
The
next summer season she was used as an accommodations vessel under
private contract for mining explorations at Voisey Bay in Labrador.
“Sir John Franklin” was decommissioned from the Canadian Coast
Guard in 2000.
For
her, the phoenix rose again in 2003 when a consortium of universities
partnered with the Department of Fisheries & Oceans to replace
her cargo holds with an intricate selection of research laboratories
to enable continuous research with international partners. Now
renamed “Amundsen” after the famous Norwegian Arctic researcher,
she was scheduled for upgrades.
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| The AMUNDSEN performing research in the Arctic |
In
order to become an Arctic Ocean research vessel, the shipyard in Les
Mechins, Quebec added a “moon pool” during the retrofit. This
innovation allowed scientists access to the ocean through the hull of
the vessel eliminating the boring of holes through the ice for the
lowering of scientific research equipment.
As
part of the agreement with the consortium, the ship is crewed by the
Canadian Coast Guard and is used for Ice Breaking duties in the St.
Lawrence and Eastern Canada. This allows her to be used for Arctic
research assignments from May-December by the ArcticNet group.
When
the Canadian High Arctic Research Station, currently under
construction, in Cambridge Bay opens next year, the international
cooperation of all Arctic countries will no doubt involve the data
collected these past years onboard the Amundsen.
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| The AMUNDSEN in May 2013 at Port Weller Dry Docks, St. Catharines |
In
December 2011, during a preliminary ice breaking inspection, her
duties were suspended immediately for a year when 4 of her 6 engines
were discovered to be cracked. Immediate repairs brought her to the
Port Weller Dry Dock shipyards in St. Catharines...another heavy
industry in Niagara that exists no more.
Ironically
I found a photo of her sitting on the east side of the Welland Ship
canal near the dry docks facilities from May of 2013 as she went back
into service having missed the entire 2012 navigational season.
In
July she was again on the water performing her role as the floating
research link. On September 9, the helicopter from the Amundsen while
on a scouting mission ahead of the ship, crashed killing all three
aboard. Clear skies and good visibility prevailed but disaster had
struck.
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| Searching through the ice for the best route |
The
Commander of the Amundsen, Marc Thibault was aboard the helicopter
along with a University of Manitoba arctic researcher, Klaus
Hochheim. The craft was piloted by Daniel Dube. All three bodies were
recovered in their orange survival suits and the Messerschmidt S105
helicopter was located in 450 meters of water and was recovered
later.
It's a sad
reminder that even today this is a most-challenging and harsh
environment that must be respected at all times...a reason I have
always carried a plasticized business card under the insert soles in
each of my boots. Preparedness...you are better with it...than without.
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| The new polymer $50 Canadian depicts the Amundsen -- front & centre |
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