Canadian Coast Guard retires oldest active ship

The Canadian Coast Guard decommissioned its oldest active vessel on Wednesday, January 19.

The coast guard said the research vessel CCGS Hudson had suffered a failure of its starboard propulsion motor in November 2021. Due to the scale of the problem and the time and cost to repair it, combined with the costs associated with an upcoming period of regulatory compliance work, it has been determined that the ship is beyond economical repair and further investment would not allow it to return to reliable service.

Hudson served the coast guard for 59 years. Its main function was as an oceanographic science platform for Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Hudson's permanent replacement, the yet to be named Offshore Oceanographic and Science Vessel, is not scheduled to be delivered until 2025. The coast guard is therefore working closely with Fisheries and Oceans Canada to identify which parts of the latter's science programs can be completed by other coast guard vessels, by chartered vessels, or through the use of other technology.