Katherine Bickford

Laurier II in Deep Bay

With no visible name, the Laurier was a mystery – a slowly sinking ship near Vancouver Island University’s Deep Bay Marine Field Station.

Someone always knows, and the Laurier II is no longer a mystery, other than why the numbered company that owns her, is allowing her to  languish in a sensitive aquaculture area instead of being refurbished or scrapped.

Built in 1936 by Morton Engineering & Dry Dock Co. Ltd. at Quebec QC,  she was launched and named as RCMP Laurier for Prime Minister Sir Wilfred Laurier on 20 September 1936 by Madame Lapointe, the wife of the Federal Minister of Justice.

After briefly serving as CGS Laurier, she was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1939 as H.M.C.S. Laurier. She was commissioned in 1939 at Halifax for local anti submarine duties, and occasionally served as escort to the Sydney sections of Halifax convoys (SHX).  By 1943 she was a member of the Sydney Force, based at Mulgrave, N.S., for examination and patrol duty in the Gut of Canso.  In Feb 1944 Laurier returned to Halifax Local Defence Force, but rejoined Sydney Force in Sep 1944. Laurier was paid off on 25 Mar 1946, and was sailed to the west coast.

The Laurier then changed hands a number of times, and was owned by:

• The RCMP, 1946 – 1949
• The Minister of Fisheries, 1949–1983
• Orval Lee Miller, Victoria BC, 1984–1987
• Daylee Ventures Ltd., Victoria BC, 1988–1989
• Unicorn Charter Corp., North Vancouver BC., 1990
• 379713 B.C. Ltd., #208-1725 Beach Drive, Victoria, 1991 –present.

And the details:

• Built: 1936, Morton Engineering And Dry Dock Co, Ltd. St. Charles River, Quebec
• Gross Tonnage (t): 201.00
• Net Tonnage (t): 81.71
• Construction Material: Steel
• Vessel Length (m): 34.44
• Vessel Breadth (m): 6.40
• Vessel Depth (m): 3.17
• Engines: 2 X 500 Brake Horsepower Diesel
• Speed (knots): 13.0
• Propulsion Method: Twin Screw

And if I had thought to check my own blog, I already knew most of this…