Category Archives: research

Novus at Work.

A few weeks ago when i was in Quebec, i found Novus at work off Point-aux-Pare.

Halifax Based Leeway Marine has owns the vessel, which was acquired to service a contract with the Coast Guard to replace the CCGS Fredrick G. Creed, which was removed from service and disposed of.

Novus, was delivered to Halifax on April 15 2021 by the General Cargo Ship Suomigracht. Novus was offloaded at Pier 9, and moved to COVE in Dartmouth. 

Novus can carry 12 passengers plus three crew, and can accommodate 2 shipping containers on deck, making it a perfect research vessel. Novus is 85′ long and 42′ wide, and can cruise at 15 knots. The vessel is quite distinctive, as it features a small waterplane area twin hull design, better known as SWATH. 

the ship spent this past winter undergoing a refit at AF Theriaut, and performs surveys of the river during the summer months.

SWATH was developed by a Nova Scotian Fredrick G. Creed in 1938. The design of the twin hull minimizes the area of hull at the water’s surface, reducing the effects of waves on the vessel, giving a very stable platform. Creed received a patent for the design in 1946. The first SWATH vessel was built in 1968.  

Research Vessel Atlantis

The Research Vessel Atlantis arrived this morning and tied up at BIO. The Vessel will likely be assisting with some Science missions that would normally be done by the now retired Hudson.

Built in 1998, The ship is owned by the US Navy, and is assigned to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. The ship is one of 3, the others being operated by Scripps university and NOAA.

Atlantis is also configured to carry the Alvin Deep Submergence vessel that was used to explore the Titanic.

A Tour of the RRS James Cook

The Royal Research Ship James Cook tied up at Cove just before Christmas. The Ship is operated by the UK’s National Oceanography Center, and was conducting the Atlantic Zone Monitoring Program of Newfoundland for DFO – Science work that would have been conducted by the Hudson normally.

the James Cook is due to sail at 10:00 this morning for Fort Lauderdale Florida. Yesterday, the folks at Cove offered me a tour of the ship, led by the Captain and 2nd Officer. Stuart Peddle with the Herald also attended, and produced this piece.

parallelgram winch, used for lowering instruments. the dooors lead t the wet lab.
rear deck
science space.
another science space.
Galley
bridge navigation Console
Dynamic Positioning station
Starboard side
engine controls
forward decks
bridge looking toward DP station
chart table.

RRS James Cook

The Royal Research Ship James Cook tied up at Cove yesterday.. The Ship is operated by the UK’s National Oceanography Center, and was conducting the Atlantic Zone Monitoring Program of Newfoundland for DFO – Science work that would have been conducted by the Hudson normally.

NOAA Okeanos Explorer

The NOAA Research Vessel Okeanos Explorer arrived last week at COVE after completeting the first leg of its expedition Deep Connections 2019: Exploring Atlantic Canyons and Seamounts of the United States and Canada. Leg 2 of the expedition starts August 26 and will include mapping and remotely operated vehicle exploration

Prior to being obtained by NOAA in 2004 and commissioned in 2008, the Okeanos Explorer operated as the U.S. Naval Ship Capable, a Stalwart-class ocean surveillance ship (T-AGOS). As a ocean surveillance ship, it collected acoustic data and looked for submarines.

the name was chose through a contest – In ancient Greek cosmology, Okeanos was the river/ocean that encircled the world. The ship is homeported in North Kingstown, Rhode Island

Find out more about the ship at oceanexplorer.noaa.gov

Polar Prince and Leeway Odyssey return from Northern Cable Survey

the Polar Prince returned to Halifax over the weekend and tied up at Pier 9. She departed in July, and was joined in Hudson Bay by the Leeway Odyssey. Both ships were conducting a seabed survey for the installation of and undersea cable to server several northern communities.

The plan  will lay undersea fiber optic cable from Chisasibi north to Kuujjuaraapik, Umiujaq, Inukjuak and Puvirnituq, to have the network in operation by 2020.

the Leeway Odyssey returned to Halifax earlier in the week. Both ships are former Coast Guard Vessels, that have gone on have extended lives in the private sector. the Polar Prince is the only commercially owned icebreaker in Canada.

For More on the Arctic Fiber Network, See:

Nuvitik Fibre Networks

Tag your.. a shark?! @ocearch #NovaScotiaExpedition

Hilton the Shark has reached a certain amount of fame this summer (and last) as it plies the waters off Nova Scotia. A Great White, He was caught and tagged of Hilton Head, NC, leading to his name. this year, he has spent much of the summer in the waters off Nova Scotia, Venturing into Mahone Bay, and was last tracked off Glace Bay.

Ocearch, the folks who tagged him, and several other sharks are in town, before heading to Lunenburg and off on a shark tagging expedition in the waters off Nova Scotia.

Ocearch is a former Bering Sea crab boat, Arctic Eagle, that was retired, and then converted to be a mothership for a a sport fisherman. That guy fitted a large boat lift, and when the boat turned out to be too slow for his needs, it was purchased for research.

Boats are placed in the water with the picking hook, and the actual shark fishing is done with hand lines from the smaller faster boat. Once the shark is caught, a submersible platform on the former boat lift is lowered into the water, and the shark brought aboard. the lift is then raised out of the water, with the ships crab tanks being used as ballast tanks to keep the vessel properly trimmed.

with the shark now parked on the platform, water is pumped over the gills to allow it to breath, and a towel placed over its eyes. the shark is then tagged, and various samples are taken. after about 15 minutes, the science is done, and the shark is released to go swim away.

Sharks are caught with Hand Lines, so all the fishing gear is for landing Bait, or fresh fish for the crew.  The area forward is known as the Tackle bar, For reasons.

Akademik Ioffe Runs Aground in the Arctic.

The Russian icebreaker Akademik Ioffe, operated for One Ocean Expeditions, ran aground in the Arctic on August 24. the ship left Kugaaruk, Nunavut, on Thursday the 23rd, before grounding in the Gulf of Boothia in the early afternoon Friday.

AIS tracks show the path of the Ship

JRCC dispatched Aircraft from Trenton and Winnipeg, but they arrived on scene 7 hours later. Coast Guard Icebreakers Amundsen and Pierre Raddison also responded, however the closest vessel was the Akademik Sergey Vavilov, also operating for One Ocean Expeditions. Passengers were evacuated by the The Passengers were taken back to Kugaaruk, then flown to Edmonton. Arriving on the 27th.

the Akademik Ioffe was refloated the day after she ran aground. Catherine Lawton, One Ocean Expeditions’s general manager told that CBC that “The hull damage was limited and contained to closed, empty tanks, which are secure from the rest of the ship,” Lawton said. “Those are actively being managed.”  Being managed is a subtle way of saying they are pumping water, meaning the hull is breached. 6 days after the grounding, the ship remains anchored away from the grounding site. The ships owners – the Russian Academy of Science, have yet to file a salvage plan, causing the Coast Guard and Transport Canada to take control of the ship August 28th in order to complete all required inspections and develop a plan to get the ship to its next destination safely

One Ocean has canceled the next 2 tours for the ship, and now that the passengers have returned home, refered all enquireies to the ships owners.

Among the people on board the ship when it grounded was researcher Dr. Donglai Gong who tweeted photos about the experience

Yale also produced this Article about the Experience. In 2010, the Clipper Adventurer also ran aground on a Discovered, but uncharted shoal. the TSB released a report into that incident.

Updates to this story will be posted Here

UPDATE 08/31:

Still no news. and inquiry to the Coast guard referred me to Transport Canada – who have not yet responded. A source told me he heard the vessel was surveyed yesterday by divers.

the ice situation looks interesting.

Note the Location of Nanisivik , in the top left corner of the Ice Chart below. Nanisivik is the site of the slowly under development permanent Arctic naval Base – and a perfect location to base an arctic response capability.

for the ship to leave the area, she will likely have to pass through the Fury and Hecla Straight, which is fully iced over. Additionally, the Louis St. Laurent, is headed to Bellot Straight to free the Claude Desgagnes

Update Sept 4
CBC Interviewed Ed Struzik – at 8 minutes its a good listen.

I also Have this Piece in the Chronicle Herald about the grounding and its response.

Update Sept 5

The TSB tweeted this photo (above), which seems to show the ship floating at anchor at close to a regular waterline. I hear the damage is relatively minor – there are  no big holes.

Update Sept 6

It looks like the Pierre Radisson was re-assigned. Her last position was in the Lancaster sound earlier today. There is now no government presence on site, unless TC has someone Aboard the ship.

Update Sept 7
CBC is reporting that the RCAF response cost $513,000

UPDATE Sept 12.

It looks like the Ioffe has sailed, and appears to be Unaccompanied. AIS Data is showing that she has moved from her anchored position earlier today.

Update Sept 13:
Word is repairs are complete. she sailed for Kugaaruk, where she will meet an inspector – Presumably TC is Flying someone in. Once Cleared, she will head to Montreal.

Update Sept 17:
TC has cleared the Ioffe to sail, and she will be escorted through the Ice by CCGS Henry Larsen, bound for Les Mechins PQ, where Verreault Navigation has a large dry dock.



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