Katherine Bickford

Primo and Polar Prince in Lunenburg

I love to research wonderful things such as history, and the name and details of ships. Presenting fundamental information is part of being a photojournalist, and  is as important as the photograph itself.

There was a bit of a mystery here as I could not see the name of the larger ship that was tied up beyond Primo, the ship at the pier. I could recognize it as being a helicopter carrying medium icebreaker that the Canadian Coast Guard would have operated, but no name.

After a bit of moving about I managed to get a shot of the ship’s name, and a fairly decent shot of her. Polar Prince – ex CCGS Sir Humphrey Gilbert.

Polar Prince in Lunenburg

CCGS Sir Humphrey Gilbert was a Canadian Coast Guard light icebreaker. or as the government likes to refer to her class of ship, a High Endurance Multi-Tasked Vessel. She operated primarily out of St. John’s Newfoundland,  in the waters around Newfoundland and Labrador.

The ship entered service with the Department of Transport Marine Service in 1959 and transferred to the newly created Canadian Coast Guard in 1962. She remained in service until 2001, when she was taken out of service, decommissioned, handed over to Crown Assets Distribution and renamed to 2001–06.

In 2002 she was sold to Puddister Trading Co. Ltd of St. John’s and subsequently renamed Gilbert I. In 2002, the vessel was acquired by Star Line Inc and renamed Polar Prince.

In 2005, she was laid up at Clarenville, Newfoundland, and unsuccessfully put up for sale by Star Line on eBay. In 2009 she was sold to GX Technologies of Calgary, Alberta , modernized, and is now operating in the Arctic Ocean as a privately owned Arctic icebreaker.

In 2017, the vessel was temporarily rechristened Canada C3 and used for a high-profile voyage around Canada’s three maritime coasts as part of the nation’s 150th anniversary. She is currently laid up in Lunenburg, NS.

• Built: 1959, Davie Shipbuilding Ltd., Lauzon, QC
• Commissioned: June 1959
• Decommissioned: 2001
• Gross Tonnage: 2062.00
• Net Tonnage: 618.00
• Length (m): 69.07
• Breadth (m): 14.63
• Depth (m): 6.40
• Propulsion: 4 X 1333 hp Fairbank Morese 8 cyc diesel electric engines
• Propulsion:  Diesel Electric DC/DC, twin shaft
• Propellers: 2 x Fixed Pitch
• Speed (knots): 13
• Fuel capacity: 467.00 m³ (102,730 imp gal)
• Range: 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km) at 12 knots
• Crew: 52
• Endurance: 30 days
• Ice class: 100A