CCGS Samuel Risley

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CCGS Samuel Risley<ref group=note>CCGS stands for Canadian Coast Guard Ship</ref> is a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker and buoy tender assigned to the Great Lakes area (Central and Arctic Region). Lead ship of her class, the vessel is named after Samuel Risley, the 19th century maritime inspector and first head of Board of Steamship Inspectors for Upper Canada and Ontario.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Based in the Great Lakes, CCGS Samuel Risley is responsible for keeping an ice-free passage between Port Colborne, Ontario and Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Design and description

The design of the vessel is based on offshore supply-tugboat designs, with strengthened chines.<ref>Maginley, p. 66</ref> The vessel has a tall foredeck, and a long low quarterdeck, for carrying buoys, where a crane with a capability of lifting Template:Convert is permanently mounted. The crane is motion stabilized.<ref name=cgsr>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=m70>Maginley, p. 70</ref> Samuel Risley is Template:Convert long overall with a beam of Template:Convert. The icebreaker has a draught of Template:Convert. Samuel Risley has a Template:GT and Template:NetT.<ref name=cgsr/>

The ship is powered by four Wärtsilä Vasa 12V22 12-cylinder geared Diesel Engines driving two controllable pitch propellers that create Template:Convert. This gives the vessel a maximum speed of Template:Convert. The vessel has a capacity of Template:Convert of diesel fuel that gives Samuel Risley a range of Template:Convert at Template:Convert and the vessel can stay at sea for up to 58 days. The ship is equipped with one Detroit Diesel 6–71 emergency generator.<ref name=cgsr/><ref name=janes>Saunders, p. 96</ref>

The vessel is equipped with two Racal Decca navigational radars using the "X" and "S" band.<ref name=janes/> Samuel Risley is a light icebreaker and has an ice class of Arctic Class 2, which certifies that the ship has the capability to break ice up to Template:Convert thick, but in practice can successfully maintain continuous progress in up to 0.9 meters of ice. The vessel has a complement of 22, with 9 officers and 13 crew.<ref name=cgsr/>

Operational history

Ordered in 1983, the ship was launched in 1984 by Vito Steel Boat & Barge Limited at their yard in Delta, British Columbia with the yard number 161.<ref name=cgsr/><ref name=miramar>Template:Csr</ref><ref name=mc175>Maginley and Collin, p. 175</ref> The vessel was completed on 4 April 1985.<ref name=janes/><ref name=miramar/> After completion, the ship sailed to eastern Canada, transiting the Panama Canal and deploying to the Great Lakes.<ref name=m70/> The ship is assigned to the Central Region, based at Parry Sound, Ontario.<ref name=cgsr/><ref name=mc175/>

In January 2015, Samuel Risley and Template:Ship worked to free several ships that had become icebound on the St. Clair River.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In April, Samuel Risley was one of four icebreakers sent to rescue ten commercial vessels trapped in ice near Whitefish Point, Michigan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In June 2016 Samuel Risley underwent a major refit by Newdock – St. John's Dockyard Ltd. Work. The cost of the contract was $3.6 million CAN. The refit involved the replacement of the bow thruster, a crane overhaul and recoating of the hull, along with a renovation of the galley and inspections.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> On 28 December 2017, Samuel Risley, in concert with the United States Coast Guard vessel Template:USCGC, freed the lakers Template:Ship and Template:Ship that had become stuck in the ice on the St. Marys River below Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario the day before.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Samuel Risley made its maiden voyage to the Arctic Ocean during the 2018 sailing season, leaving Quebec on 11 July 2018.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> The vessel took part in the annual resupply of the United States air station at Thule, Greenland.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In February 2023, Samuel Risley was deployed to Lake Huron to search for debris of an unknown object that was shot down over the Great Lakes by the United States Air Force.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In January 2025, Samuel Risley was one of several ships deployed to help free the bulk carrier Manitoulin, which was stuck in ice near Buffalo, New York.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

References

Sources

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External links

• Official CCGS site for the Samuel Risley.
• An extensive unofficial site, with many pictures.