CCGS Alfred Needler

Alfred Needler is a stern commercial trawler design that is {{convert|50.3|m|ftin|abbr=on}} long overall with a beam of {{convert|11|m|ftin|abbr=on}} and a draught of {{convert|4.9|m|ftin|abbr=on}}. The ship is similar in design to {{ship|CCGS|Wilfred Templeman||2}}, but with different machinery, power and speed.{{sfn|Maginley|Collin|2001|p=235}}{{cite web |url=http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/Fleet/Vessel?vessel_id=2 |title=CCG Fleet: Vessel Details – CCGS Alfred Needler |publisher=Canadian Coast Guard |date=4 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316145537/http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/Fleet/Vessel?vessel_id=2 |archive-date=16 March 2018 |access-date=16 March 2018}} The ship has a {{GT|958.9|disp=long}} and a {{NetT|225|disp=long}}. The research vessel is powered by one Caterpillar 3606 six-cylinder geared diesel engine driving one controllable pitch propeller creating {{convert|2200|bhp|kW|lk=on|order=flip}}. The vessel is also equipped with one Caterpillar 3306 emergency generator. This gives the vessel a maximum speed of {{convert|16|kn|lk=in}}. Alfred Needler carries {{convert|209.50|m3|impgal|abbr=on}} of diesel fuel, has a range of {{convert|3000|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|12|kn}} and can stay at sea for up to 30 days. The vessel has a complement of 21 composed of 7 officers and 14 crew and has 3 additional berths.

File: 18-07-20 CCGS ALFRED NEEDLER - IMO 7907104 17-10-08.jpg

The research vessel was constructed for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in 1982 by Ferguson Industries Limited at their yard in Pictou, Nova Scotia with the yard number 211.{{csr|register=MSI|id=7907104|shipname=Alfred Needler |accessdate=1 January 2017}} The ship entered service in August 1982.{{sfn|Saunders|2004|p=102}} She was named after Canadian fisheries marine biologist Alfred Needler, a former Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Oceans who developed a method of accurate fish counts from small surveys.{{sfn|Maginley|2003|p=257}}{{cite web | url=http://www.mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/science/review/e/html/2001/BIO-English.html | title=Research Vessels | year=2001 | publisher=Bedford Institute of Oceanography | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030404094340/http://www.mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/science/review/e/html/2001/BIO-English.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=4 April 2003 | df=dmy-all }}

In 1995, in an effort to combine tasks, administration and making savings in both ships and funds, the Fisheries and Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard fleets were merged under the command of the Canadian Coast Guard. Alfred Needler was given the new prefix CCGS as a result.{{sfn|Maginley|Collin|2001|p=119}} The ship was based at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia although she is often alongside at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. She was one of several fishery research vessels operated by the Government of Canada to monitor migratory fish stocks in the North Atlantic. Alfred Needler was used by Canada and the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) to conduct fisheries surveys; as such, she retains the configuration of a commercial trawler, although her fish holds are converted to laboratory space. The samples collected are used to study the population and health of various species of ocean life.

Alfred Needler experienced an engine room fire on 30 August 2003. There were no casualties although the ship sustained $1.3 million in damage. The cause of the fire was an oil leak in an incorrectly repaired turbocharger.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} In September 2009, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced invitations for contracts to replace several of the Coast Guard's research vessels, including Alfred Needler.{{cite web | url=http://www.casr.ca/doc-loi-ccg-ofsv-oosv.htm | title=Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel and Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel: Joint Solicitation of Interest and Qualifications | date=September 2009 | publisher=Canadian American Strategic Review | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091007205428/http://www.casr.ca/doc-loi-ccg-ofsv-oosv.htm | archive-date=7 October 2009 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}

In July 2016, Alfred Needler discovered the wreck of a ship while trawling the waters off Nova Scotia. The vessel had been conducting an annual survey of the Georges Bank for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/coast-guard-shipwreck-discovery-nova-scotia-1.3695456 |title=Canadian Coast Guard discovers shipwreck off Nova Scotia coast |work=CBC News |last=Stagg |first=Carly |date=26 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416192851/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/coast-guard-shipwreck-discovery-nova-scotia-1.3695456 |archive-date=16 April 2017 |access-date=16 March 2018}} Alfred Needler began a $558,000 refit at St. John's Dockyard in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador in January 2018. The refit was scheduled to be completed in six weeks on 14 February, but additional steel work pushed the completion date to 1 April. {{ship|CCGS|Teleost}} was scheduled to replace Alfred Needler on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' fisheries survey off the coast of southern Nova Scotia in late March.{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/canadian-coast-guard-refit-fisheries-survey-delays-1.4578471 |title=Aging coast guard ships stuck in refits put crucial fisheries survey at risk |work=CBC News |last=Withers |first=Paul |date=16 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316150049/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/canadian-coast-guard-refit-fisheries-survey-delays-1.4578471 |archive-date=16 March 2018 |access-date=16 March 2018}} During the annual summer fisheries survey on the Scotian Shelf in 2018, she had several mission critical equipment failures, forcing the cancellation of the survey. This marked the first time in 48 years that the survey was not completed. Teleost was used to complete an abbreviated version of the survey.{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/coast-guard-ship-breakdown-ends-48-year-survey-streak-1.4877209 |title=Coast guard ship breakdown ends 48-year science survey streak |work= CBC News |last=Withers |first=Paul |date=25 October 2018 |access-date=25 October 2018}} After suffering a number of significant mechanical and structural failures the ship was decommissioned in February 2023.{{cite press release |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-coast-guard/news/2023/02/statement-from-the-canadian-coast-guard-decommissioning-of-the-ccgs-alfred-needler.html |title=Statement from the Canadian Coast Guard: Decommissioning of the CCGS Alfred Needler |author=Canadian Coast Guard |publisher=Government of Canada |date=9 February 2023 |access-date=12 February 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Lindsay |title=Decommissioning Coast Guard vessel leaves fisheries scientists without a ride |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-decommissioning-coast-guard-vessel-leaves-fisheries-scientists-without/ |website=The Globe and Mail |access-date=13 November 2023 |date=2 March 2023}}

{{reflist|group=note}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book |last=Maginley |first=Charles D. |year=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 |last1=Maginley |first1=Charles D. |last2=Collin |first2=Bernard |name-list-style=amp |year=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=Stephen |editor-last=Saunders |year=2004 |title=Jane's Fighting Ships 2004–2005 |publisher=Jane's Information Group |location=Alexandria, Virginia |isbn=0-7106-2623-1 }}

• {{note|Fire}} [http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/reports.nsf/html/20070204se01.html Case Study: Maintenance failures and the need for current manuals],

{{Alfred Needler class fisheries ship}}

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Category:Alfred Needler-class fisheries research ships

Category:1980 ships

Category:Ships built in Nova Scotia

Category:Ships of the Canadian Coast Guard