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Henry Larsen in St. John's Harbour, 2010
History
Canada
Name	Henry Larsen
Namesake	Henry Larsen RCMP ship captain and arctic explorer
Operator	Canadian Coast Guard
Port of registry	Ottawa, Ontario
Ordered	25 May 1984
Builder	Versatile Pacific Shipyards, North Vancouver
Yard number	110
Laid down	23 August 1985
Launched	3 January 1987
Commissioned	29 June 1988
In service	1988–present
Refit	2000, 2015
Homeport	CCG Base St. John's (Newfoundland and Labrador Region)
Identification	CGHL IMO number: 8409329
Status	in active service
General characteristics
Class and type	Pierre Radisson-class icebreaker
Tonnage	6,166 GT 1,756 NT
Displacement	8,290 long tons (8,420 t) full load
Length	99.8 m (327 ft 5 in)
Beam	19.6 m (64 ft 4 in)
Draught	7.3 m (23 ft 11 in)
Ice class	CASPPR Arctic Class 4
Propulsion	Diesel electric – 2 × GE AC and 3 × Wärtsilä Vasa 16V32 12,174 kW (16,326 hp)
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Range	20,000 nautical miles (37,000 km; 23,000 mi) at 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph)
Endurance	90 days
Capacity	40
Complement	31
Sensors and processing systems	1 × Sperry Marine Bridgemaster navigational radar
Aircraft carried	Originally 1 × MBB Bo 105 or Bell 206L helicopter, currently 1 × Bell 429 GlobalRanger or Bell 412EPI
Aviation facilities	Hangar and flight deck

CCGS Henry Larsen is a Canadian Coast Guard Improved Pierre Radisson-class icebreaker serving in the Newfoundland and Labrador region and based in St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Entering service in 1988, Henry Larsen is the fourth ship and of an improved design over the rest of the ships in her class. The ship operates in the Arctic Ocean during summer months.

Design

Classified as a Medium Gulf/River Icebreaker by the Canadian Coast Guard, Henry Larsen was ordered to a modified design from the rest of the Pierre Radisson-class icebreakers. The vessel's hull form differs from her classmates, with a differently-shaped bow with a raised forecastle and underwater "ice knife". The vessel also has a different propulsion system. Furthermore, the ship has a Wärtsilä air-bubbling system installed to allow the vessel to reduce hull friction and more easily break ice. Henry Larsen displaces 8,290 long tons (8,420 t) at full load. The vessel has a 6,166 gross tonnage (GT) and a 1,756 net tonnage (NT) making her the largest vessel in the class. The icebreaker is 99.8 metres (327 ft 5 in) long overall with a beam of 19.6 metres (64 ft 4 in) and a draught of 7.3 metres (23 ft 11 in).

The ship is propelled by two fixed-pitch propellers driven by a diesel-electric system comprising two GE AC generators and three Wärtsilä Vasa 16V32 diesel engines. Combined, the system creates 12,174 kilowatts (16,326 hp), giving the ship a maximum speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). The ship carries 1,650 m (360,000 imp gal) of diesel fuel, giving the ship a range of 20,000 nautical miles (37,000 km; 23,000 mi) at 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph) and can stay at sea for up to 90 days.

The icebreaker is equipped with a Sperry Marine Bridgemaster navigational radar. Henry Larsen has a flight deck and hangar which originally accommodated light helicopters of the MBB Bo 105 or Bell 206L types, but in the 2010s, the Bell 429 GlobalRanger and Bell 412EPI were acquired by the Canadian Coast Guard to replace the older helicopters. The ship can carry 22.0 m (4,800 imp gal) of aviation fuel for the helicopters. The vessel is certified as Arctic Class 4 and has a complement of 31 with 11 officers and 20 crew and 40 additional berths. The vessel is also equipped with a hospital ward.

Service history

The ship was ordered on 25 May 1984 as a replacement for CCGS Labrador. Ordered as the second batch of the class, the ship was of a modified design. The vessel's keel was laid down on 23 August 1985 by Versatile Pacific Shipyards Limited at their yard in Vancouver, British Columbia with the yard number 110. The ship was launched on 3 January 1987, named after Henry Larsen, the commander of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police patrol vessel St. Roch which was the first vessel to traverse the Northwest Passage in a single season. The ship entered service with the Canadian Coast Guard on 29 June 1988.

Henry Larsen, besides icebreaking duties along Atlantic Canada, provides search and rescue support, ship escort in iced-up areas in southern Canada during the winter and in Arctic waters in the summer and supports scientific research. On the ship's maiden voyage from Victoria, British Columbia to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, the vessel transited the Northwest Passage, performing sea trials on the trip. The ship was initially assigned to the Coast Guard base at Dartmouth, but later transferred to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. In 1998, an engine room fire took the ship out of service for some time.

In 2002, the icebreaker carried Governor General Adrienne Clarkson on ceremonial duties visiting several towns in Newfoundland. A 2004 voyage by Henry Larsen was the subject of the documentary film Ice Breaker. In 2008 Discovery Channel filmed an episode of Mighty Ships aboard Henry Larsen as the ship did an ice patrol around Notre Dame Bay in Newfoundland.

In September 2009 Henry Larsen participated in a training exercise with the Danish vessels HDMS Ejnar Mikkelsen and HDMS Hvidbjørnen.

In September 2013, Henry Larsen was sent to aid sister ship CCGS Amundsen in recovering a MBB Bo 155 helicopter that had deployed from Amundsen and crashed near Banks Island killing three crew members including Amundsen's master. The helicopter had sunk in 420 metres (1,380 ft) of water and Henry Larsen assisted Amundsen in keeping the ice clear while Amundsen brought the helicopter wreckage back to the surface. In August 2014, Henry Larsen took part in Operation Nanook, a joint military exercise that took place in the Davis Strait. On 7 July 2015, it was announced that Henry Larsen would undergo a $16 million refit at Davie Yards Incorporated in Lauzon, Quebec. In April 2017, Henry Larsen was dispatched to aid the ferry MV Apollo which had become stuck in ice in the Strait of Belle Isle near Blanc-Sablon, Quebec for over 24 hours. The icebreaker escorted the ferry to port once it was free of the ice.

References

Notes

1. CCGS stands for Canadian Coast Guard Ship

Citations

1. ^ Maginley and Collin, p. 156
2. ^ Saunders, p. 95
3. ^ "CCGS Henry Larsen". Canadian Coast Guard. 28 July 2014. Archived from the original on 13 July 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
4. ^ "CCG Fleet: Vessel Details – CCGS Henry Larsen". Canadian Coast Guard. 4 February 2015. Archived from the original on 13 June 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
5. Johnson, Oliver (5 January 2018). "Better, Faster, Stronger: The Canadian Coast Guard's new helicopter fleet". Vertical Magazine. Archived from the original on 2018-01-05. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
6. ^ Maginley, p. 61
7. "Henry Larsen (8409329)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
8. Maginley, p. 130
9. Maginley, p. 200
10. "Update: Denmark's Arctic Assets and Canada's Response — Northern Deployment 2009: Danish Navy & CCG in the High Arctic". Canadian American Strategic Review. September 2009. Archived from the original on 7 October 2009.
11. "Coast Guard icebreakers to recover chopper lost in Arctic waters: DFO". Nunatsiaq News. 19 September 2013. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
12. Pugliese, David (26 August 2014). "Operation Nanook 2014 search and rescue exercise enters new phase". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
13. "Davie Shipbuilding gets a decent contract". Life in Quebec. 10 July 2015. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
14. "Newfoundland ferry stuck in ice for over 24 hours near Quebec gets escort to port". Calgary Herald. The Canadian Press. 14 April 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-04-15. Retrieved 16 April 2017.

Sources

• Maginley, Charles D. (2003). The Canadian Coast Guard 1962–2002. St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing Limited. ISBN 1-55125-075-6.
• Maginley, Charles D.; Collin, Bernard (2001). The Ships of Canada's Marine Services. St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing Limited. ISBN 1-55125-070-5.
• Saunders, Stephen, ed. (2004). Jane's Fighting Ships 2004–2005. Alexandria, Virginia: Jane's Information Group. ISBN 0-7106-2623-1.

External links

• , CCG's pages
• , specs
• Ice Breaker documentary at the IMDb
• Ice Breaker documentary home page

• Pierre Radisson-class icebreakers
• 1987 ships
• Ships built in North Vancouver