The Canadian Coast Guard is saying goodbye to a storied research vessel today and looking for a replacement to carry out the science projects the ship has hosted for the past six decades.
The Hudson, built in Saint John, N.B., by Irving’s Saint John Shipbuilding, was constructed out of ice-hardened steel and has been used to carry out oceanographic studies since 1963.
Past and present crew members, scientists, and staff are gathering at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, N.S., to mark the vessel’s recent decommissioning.
The coast guard says it is working with the federal Fisheries Department to move the Hudson’s science program to other government vessels and also has plans to charter private ships for research.
Work on the offshore oceanographic science vessel that will replace the Hudson has been delayed, with Ottawa now saying it is expected to be complete in 2025.
The Hudson was the first vessel to circumnavigate both North America and South America, a voyage known as the “Hudson 70 expedition,” requiring almost a full year, beginning in 1969 and ending in October 1970.
In March 1976, the Hudson rescued the entire crew of the fishery patrol vessel Cape Freels, which caught fire and was abandoned on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and Labrador.
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