CCGS Martha L. Black
 CCGS Martha L. Black in Port Weller | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Canada | |
| Name: | Martha L. Black |
| Namesake: | Martha L. Black |
| Operator: | Canadian Coast Guard |
| Port of registry: | Ottawa, Ontario |
| Builder: | Versatile Pacific Shipyards Limited, Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Yard number: | 108 |
| Launched: | 6 September 1985 |
| Commissioned: | 30 April 1986 |
| Homeport: | CCG Base Quebec City, Quebec (Quebec Region) |
| Identification: |
|
| Status: | in active service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Martha L. Black-class icebreaker |
| Tonnage: | |
| Displacement: | 4,662 long tons (4,737 t) full load |
| Length: | 83 m (272 ft 4 in) |
| Beam: | 16.2 m (53 ft 2 in) |
| Draught: | 6.1 m (20 ft 0 in) |
| Ice class: | Arctic Class 2 |
| Propulsion: | Diesel-electric AC - 3 x ALCO 251F 16-cylinder |
| Speed: | 15.1 knots (28.0 km/h) |
| Range: | 14,500 nmi (26,900 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h) |
| Endurance: | 120 days |
| Boats & landing craft carried: |
|
| Complement: | 25 |
| Sensors and processing systems: | 1 × Racal Decca Bridgemaster navigational radar (I band) |
| Aircraft carried: | 1 × MBB Bo 105 helicopter |
| Aviation facilities: | Hangar and flight deck |
CCGS Martha L. Black is the lead ship of her class of light icebreakers of the Canadian Coast Guard. The ship was built in 1986 in Vancouver, British Columbia by Versatile Pacific Shipyards Limited. Part of the CG Program Vessels and was the vessel was mainly designed as a high-endurance and multi-tasked boat and most of her duties are along the St. Lawrence River and able to the handle ice thickness in the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
Design and description
Martha L. Black, the lead ship of her class of icebreakers, displaces 4,662 long tons (4,737 t) fully loaded with a gross tonnage (GT) of 3,818.1 and a net tonnage (NT) of 1,529.4. The ship is 83.0 metres (272 ft 4 in) long overall with a beam of 16.2 metres (53 ft 2 in) and a draught of 5.8 metres (19 ft 0 in).[1][2]
The vessel is powered by is propelled by two fixed pitch propellers and bow thrusters powered by three Alco 251F diesel-electric engines creating 8,847 horsepower (6,597 kW) and three Canadian GE generators producing 6 megawatts of AC power driving two Canadian GE motors creating 7,040 horsepower (5,250 kW).[1][2] The ship is also equipped with one Caterpillar 3306 emergency generator.[2] This gives the ship a maximum speed of 15.1 knots (28.0 km/h). Capable of carrying 1,086 long tons (1,103 t) of diesel fuel, Martha L. Black has a maximum range of 14,500 nautical miles (26,900 km) at a cruising speed of 14 knots (26 km/h) and can stay at sea for up to 120 days.[2] The ship is certified as Arctic Class 2.[2]
The icebreaker is equipped with one Racal Decca Bridgemaster navigational radar operating on the I band. Martha L. Black has a speedcrane capable of lifting 20 long tons (20 t).[1][3] The ship carries two rigid-hulled inflatable boats and a self-propelled barge.[2] Martha L. Black is equipped with a 195 m2 (2,100 sq ft) flight deck and a 103 m2 (1,110 sq ft) hangar that can house two light helicopters of the MBB Bo 105 or Bell 206L types. The ship can carry 22.8 m3 (810 cu ft) of aviation fuel for the helicopters.[2] However, the vessel is only allotted one helicopter.[1][2] The ship has a complement of 25, with 10 officers and 15 crew. Martha L. Black has 26 additional berths.[2][lower-alpha 1]
Service history
Constructed by Versatile Pacific Shipyards Limited at their yard in North Vancouver, British Columbia with the yard number 108, the vessel was launched on 6 September 1985.[4] The ship entered service on 30 April 1986.[1][4] The ship was named for Martha L. Black, a woman from Chicago, Illinois who immigrated to Canada and was a pioneering settler of Yukon. She became the second woman ever to be elected a Member of Parliament in Canada in 1935.[2] The ship is registered in Ottawa, Ontario, and homeported at Quebec City.[1][2] The vessel was initially assigned to the Western Region, but swapped places with sister ship CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier.[5]
The ship's primary duty is a buoy tender and navigational aids support in the Saint Lawrence River and Seaway and Saguenay River.[3] Martha L. Black also provides icebreaking services to the same areas.[6] In 2012, the ship transported scientists on a research mission to the Labrador Sea.[7] In January 2014, Martha L. Black was one of two icebreakers called into the Saint Lawrence River to aid two passenger ferries which were prevented from crossing the river by ice. The ferries, which connect the Quebec communities of Sorel-Tracy and Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola, had been docked after ice conditions had become severe enough that the large icebreaker CCGS Amundsen needed reinforcement.[8]
References
Notes
- ↑ The description of the vessel is summarised from conflicting data. The Canadian Coast Guard claims the vessel displaces 5028.8 metric tonnes and has a cruising speed of 13 knots (24 km/h). Saunders claims the maximum speed of the vessel is 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h) and that Martha L. Black has a range of 6,500 nautical miles (12,000 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h).
Citations
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Saunders, p. 95
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "CCG Fleet: Vessel Details - Martha L. Black". Canadian Coast Guard. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
- 1 2 "CCGS Martha L. Black". Canadian Coast Guard. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
- 1 2 "Martha L.Black (8320432)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 26 November 2016. (subscription required (help)).
- ↑ Maginley and Collin, p. 176
- ↑ Cheek, Darcy (17 March 2014). "Help to open seaway". Brockville Recorder and Times. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
- ↑ Erskine, Bruce (5 July 2012). "Research ship Hudson to get $1m refit". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
- ↑ "Icebreakers called in to free ferries in St. Lawrence". CBC News. 3 January 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
Sources
- 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.