 CCGSAlfred Needler conducting fishery research off Canada's Atlantic coast | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Canada | |
| Name | Alfred Needler |
| Namesake | Alfred Needler |
| Owner | Government of Canada |
| Operator | |
| Port of registry | Ottawa,Ontario |
| Builder | Ferguson Industries Limited,Pictou |
| Yard number | 211 |
| Launched | 19 December 1980 |
| Commissioned | August 1982 |
| Decommissioned | 9 February 2023 |
| Homeport | CCG BaseDartmouth (Maritime Region) |
| Identification | |
| Status | Decommissioned |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Fisheries research vessel |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 50.3 m (165 ft 0 in) |
| Beam | 11 m (36 ft 1 in) |
| Draught | 4.9 m (16 ft 1 in) |
| Installed power | 1,600 kW (2,200 bhp) |
| Propulsion | 1 × Caterpillar 3606 6-cylinder diesel engine |
| Speed | 14knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Range | 3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Endurance | 30 days |
| Complement | 21 |
CCGSAlfred Needler[note 1] is anoffshore fishery science vessel formerly operated by theCanadian Coast Guard. The vessel entered service in 1982 with theDepartment of Fisheries and Oceans, stationed at theBedford Institute of Oceanography inDartmouth, Nova Scotia. In 1995, in order to reduce the number of ships and combine tasks, the Fisheries and Oceans fleet and the Canadian Coast Guard fleets were merged under the Canadian Coast Guard. The ship was decommissioned from Canadian Coast Guard service in 2023.
Alfred Needler is a sterncommercial trawler design that is 50.3 m (165 ft 0 in)long overall with abeam of 11 m (36 ft 1 in) and adraught of 4.9 m (16 ft 1 in). The ship is similar in design toWilfred Templeman, but with different machinery, power and speed.[1][2] The ship has a 958.9 gross tonnage (GT) and a 225 net tonnage (NT). The research vessel is powered by oneCaterpillar 3606 six-cylinder geareddiesel engine driving one controllable pitchpropeller creating 1,600kilowatts (2,200 bhp). The vessel is also equipped with one Caterpillar 3306 emergency generator. This gives the vessel a maximum speed of 16knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).Alfred Needler carries 209.50 m3 (46,080 imp gal) ofdiesel fuel, has a range of 3,000nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and can stay at sea for up to 30 days. The vessel has acomplement of 21 composed of 7 officers and 14 crew and has 3 additional berths.[2]
The research vessel was constructed for theDepartment of Fisheries and Oceans in 1982 byFerguson Industries Limited at their yard inPictou,Nova Scotia with theyard number 211.[3] The ship entered service in August 1982.[3][4] She was named after Canadian fisheries marine biologistAlfred Needler, a former Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Oceans who developed a method of accurate fish counts from small surveys.[5][6]
In 1995, in an effort to combine tasks, administration and making savings in both ships and funds, the Fisheries and Oceans andCanadian Coast Guard fleets were merged under the command of the Canadian Coast Guard.Alfred Needler was given the new prefix CCGS as a result.[7] The ship was based atDartmouth, Nova Scotia although she is often alongside at theBedford Institute of Oceanography. She was one of several fishery research vessels operated by the Government of Canada to monitor migratory fish stocks in theNorth Atlantic.Alfred Needler was used by Canada and theNorthwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) to conduct fisheries surveys; as such, she retains the configuration of acommercial trawler, although her fish holds are converted to laboratory space. The samples collected are used to study the population and health of various species of ocean life.[6]
Alfred Needler experienced an engine room fire on 30 August 2003. There were no casualties although the ship sustained $1.3 million in damage. The cause of the fire was an oil leak in an incorrectly repaired turbocharger.[citation needed] In September 2009, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced invitations for contracts to replace several of the Coast Guard's research vessels, includingAlfred Needler.[8]
In July 2016,Alfred Needler discovered the wreck of a ship while trawling the waters off Nova Scotia. The vessel had been conducting an annual survey of theGeorges Bank for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.[9]Alfred Needler began a $558,000 refit at St. John's Dockyard in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador in January 2018. The refit was scheduled to be completed in six weeks on 14 February, but additional steel work pushed the completion date to 1 April.CCGS Teleost was scheduled to replaceAlfred Needler on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' fisheries survey off the coast of southern Nova Scotia in late March.[10] During the annual summer fisheries survey on theScotian Shelf in 2018, she had several mission critical equipment failures, forcing the cancellation of the survey. This marked the first time in 48 years that the survey was not completed.Teleost was used to complete an abbreviated version of the survey.[11] After suffering a number of significant mechanical and structural failures the ship was decommissioned in February 2023.[12][13]