CCGS Alexander Henry
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=CCGS Alexander Henry.jpg |Ship caption=CCGS Alexander Henry in retirement as a museum ship in Thunder Bay, Ontario. }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=Canada |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Canada|coast guard}} |Ship name=Alexander Henry |Ship namesake=Alexander Henry |Ship operator=*Department of Transport Marine Service |Ship registry= |Ship route= |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder=Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Port Arthur |Ship original cost= $2,259,750.00 |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down= |Ship launched=18 July 1958 |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= 18 July 1958 |Ship completed= |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service= July 1959 |Ship out of service=1985 |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship identification={{IMO Number|5010062}} |Ship refit= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours= |Ship status=Museum ship since 1986 |Ship fate= |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship type=Light icebreaker and supply and buoy tender |Ship tonnage={{GRT|1674}} |Ship displacement={{convert|2497|LT|t|abbr=on}} |Ship length=* {{convert|64.0|m|ftin|abbr=on}} oa
|Ship beam={{convert|13.3|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship draught={{convert|4.9|m|ft|2|abbr=on}} |Ship power={{convert|3550|bhp|kW|abbr=on}} |Ship propulsion=2 × Fairbanks-Morse 10-cylinder 2-cycle diesel model 37F16 |Ship speed={{convert|13|kn|km/h}} |Ship range= |Ship complement= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship notes= }} |
CCGS Alexander Henry is a former Canadian Coast Guard light icebreaker and buoy tender that served on the Great Lakes from 1959 to 1984. In 1986, the vessel was handed over to the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in Kingston, Ontario for preservation as a museum ship. Previously, during the summer months the vessel was also operated as a bed and breakfast. In 2017, the ship was sold to the Lakehead Transportation Museum Society in Thunder Bay, Ontario and in June, was relocated to the Pool 6 site on the town's harbour front, where Alexander Henry continues as a museum ship.
Design and description
Alexander Henry is a light icebreaker and buoy tender that was designed to serve on the Great Lakes.{{sfn|Maginley|2003|p=53}} The vessel displaces {{convert|2497|LT|t}} and is measured at {{GRT|1674|disp=long}}. The ship is {{convert|64.0|m|ftin}} long overall and {{convert|58.6|m|ftin}} long between perpendiculars with a beam of {{convert|13.3|m|ftin}} and a draught of {{convert|4.9|m|ftin}}. The ship is powered by two Fairbanks-Morse 10-cylinder 2-cycle 37F16 diesel engines driving two shafts creating {{convert|3550|bhp|kW|lk=in}}. This gives the ship a maximum speed of {{convert|13|kn|lk=in}}.{{sfn|Moore|1981|p=87}}{{csr|register=MSI|id=5010062|shipname=Alexander Henry |accessdate=3 December 2016}} No helicopter facilities were added to the ship as they were considered unnecessary for freshwater operations.{{sfn|Maginley|2003|p=79}}
Operational history
The vessel was constructed by Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. at their yard in Port Arthur, Ontario and launched on 18 July 1958. The icebreaker entered service in July 1959 with the Department of Transport's Marine Service as CGS Alexander Henry using the prefix "Canadian Government Ship". Named after Alexander Henry the elder, an 18th-century British explorer and fur trader, she was transferred in 1962 to the newly created Canadian Coast Guard and given the new prefix Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS).{{sfn|Maginley|2003|p=13}}
CCGS Alexander Henry served her entire coast guard career on the Great Lakes, stationed on Lake Superior. In 1976, the vessel was used for an experiment testing the icebreaking capability of a hover platform pushed in front of the ship. Attached to the ship's bow, the hover platform worked well in certain conditions, but required too much fuel and made excess noise. The hover platform also became an impediment to the ship should the platform breakdown. The planned deployment to cargo ships was never approved and though the experiment failed, self-propelled hovercraft are now utilised for icebreaking.{{sfn|Maginley|Collin|2001|p=172}}{{sfn|Maginley|2003|pp=117, 119}}
The vessel was docked in Kingston, Ontario by Bernard Rashotte and Alexander Henry retired from service in 1985 after {{ship|CCGS|Samuel Risley}} entered service.{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/alexander-harvey-uncertain-future-1.3678971 |title=An uncertain future for coast guard icebreaker built in Thunder Bay |work=CBC News |first=Matt |last=Prokopchuck |date=15 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219172144/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/alexander-harvey-uncertain-future-1.3678971 |archive-date=19 February 2018 |access-date=18 February 2018}}
=Museum ship=
In June 1985, Alexander Henry was turned over the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in Kingston, Ontario to become a museum ship.{{sfn|Maginley|Collin|2001|p=172}} The vessel was used as floating maritime gallery and seasonal bed and breakfast by the museum.{{cite news |url=http://www.kingstonthisweek.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2261088 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130127180913/http://www.kingstonthisweek.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2261088 |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 January 2013 |title=Alexander Henry goes into dry dock |newspaper=Kingston This Week |date=14 January 2010 |access-date=3 December 2016 }}
Alexander Henry entered Kingston's drydocks in 2010 to undergo inspection for conservation issues. Following the sale of the property in early 2016 that the Marine Museum was housed in, the museum was forced to find a new location for Alexander Henry. The ship was temporarily housed by a local entrepreneur until the former Coast Guard vessel's fate can be determined. The icebreaker was moved to a wharf near Prinyer's Cove in Prince Edward County, Ontario.{{cite news |url=http://www.thewhig.com/2016/10/10/marine-museum-down-but-not-out |title=Marine Museum 'down but not out' |newspaper=Kingston Whig-Standard |date=10 October 2016 |access-date=3 December 2016}} The city of Kingston was given three options to deal with the ship; offer to sell Alexander Henry to Thunder Bay, where the vessel was constructed. This was the cheapest alternative in disposing of the ship, as converting it to an artificial reef would cost over $422,000 and to scrap the vessel, $326,000.{{cite news |url=http://www.thewhig.com/2016/12/02/alexander-henry-may-be-on-its-way-home---to-thunder-bay |title=Alexander Henry may be on its way home – to Thunder Bay |last=Schliesman |first=Paul |newspaper=Kingston Whig-Standard |date=2 December 2016 |access-date=3 December 2016}}
The Lakehead Transportation Museum Society purchased the vessel for $2 and on 11 April 2017, received $125,000 provided by the City of Thunder Bay to cover towing costs to bring the ship from Kingston to Thunder Bay.{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/thunder-bay-alexander-henry-council-approval-1.4065627 |title=Alexander Henry one step closer to returning home |work=CBC News |date=11 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219172520/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/thunder-bay-alexander-henry-council-approval-1.4065627 |archive-date=19 February 2018 |access-date=18 February 2018}}{{cite news |url=https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/historic-icebreaker-passing-through-windsor-en-route-to-thunder-bay |title=Historic icebreaker passing through Windsor en route to Thunder Bay |last=Thompson |first=Chris |work=Windsor Star |date=21 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219172640/http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/historic-icebreaker-passing-through-windsor-en-route-to-thunder-bay |archive-date=19 February 2018 |access-date=18 February 2018}} Alexander Henry departed Kingston on 20 June and arrived in Thunder Bay on 28 June. The vessel was docked temporarily at the C.N. Ore Dock until Alexander Henry{{'}}s permanent site was ready at the Pool 6 site along the city's waterfront.{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/alexander-henry-towed-1.4168048 |title=Alexander Henry icebreaker sets sail for Thunder Bay |work=CBC News |date=20 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219172730/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/alexander-henry-towed-1.4168048 |archive-date=19 February 2018 |access-date=18 February 2018}} The museum ship opened to public tours on 18 July 2018.{{cite news |url=https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/alexander-henry-opening-set-for-july-18-966708 |title=Alexander Henry opening set for July 18 |work=tbnewswatch.com |last=Rinne |first=Gary |date=26 June 2018 |access-date=26 July 2018}}
References
=Citations=
{{Reflist|30em}}
=Sources=
- {{cite book |last=Maginley |first=Charles D. |date=2003 |title=The Canadian Coast Guard 1962–2002 |url=https://archive.org/details/canadiancoastgua0000magi |url-access=registration |publisher=Vanwell Publishing Limited |location=St. Catharines, Ontario |isbn=1-55125-075-6 }}
- {{cite book |last=Maginley |first=Charles D. |last2=Collin |first2=Bernard |name-list-style=amp |date=2001 |title=The Ships of Canada's Marine Services |publisher=Vanwell Publishing Limited |location=St. Catharines, Ontario |isbn=1-55125-070-5 }}
- {{cite book |editor-first=John |date=1981 |editor-last=Moore |title=Jane's Fighting Ships, 1981–1982 |publisher=Jane's Information Group |location=New York |isbn=0-531-03977-3 }}
External links
{{Commons category|Alexander Henry (ship, 1959)}}
{{coord|44|13|28.5|N|76|28|56.5|W|type:landmark_region:US|display=title}}
- [http://ltmstb.com/ Official webpage of the Lakehead Transportation Museum Society]
{{Icebreakers of Canada}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander Henry, CCGS}}
Category:Icebreakers of the Canadian Coast Guard
Category:Museum ships in Canada
Category:Museum ships in Ontario