Canadian Coast Guard to Build Six New Vessels

[Michael Martin]

News link at Canadian Broadcasting Corp here.

This is good news to the Canadian Shipbuilding Industry if the Government are going to build six new Coast Guard vessels in Canada. Listening to CBC Radio online, I also learned that the Louis St. Laurent and the Terry Fox icebreakers will be permanently moved to Newfoundland, to Argentia and St. John's respectively. The Louis St. Laurent has been a fixture in Dartmouth for so long the captain will have to remind himself to take a route to the east instead of heading west to Nova Scotia everytime he heads south into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.  No joy for Halifax as the new vessels are all bound for the west coast.

[Dean Porter]

I read it on cbc.ca. The Terry Fox is due to redeploy in April 2008 and the Louis S. St. Laurent in April 2009. They are also going to spend $17 million to buy an air cushion vehicle to be based in Quebec and replace the Waban Aki.
They are building a vessel to repalce the Hudson, also to replace the Teleost, Wilfred Templeman, Alfred Needler and the Ricker. They are also replacing some mid-shore vessels. The amount to be spend for the new vessels in $324 million and these being built in Canada will boost the Canadian ship building industry.
I read this on the DFO website, they are going to de based in the Newfoundland, Maritimes and the West Coast.

[Stephen]

I won't question any money our government decides to spend on the Coasties or shipbuilding, but I didn't think that the Teleost was that old.

[Dean Porter]

She's not, but I have heard and read that she has been plagued with problems.