Canadian Research Vessel Headed Home

The Canadian Coast Guard’s new research vessel, CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk, has officially begun its transit from Victoria, British Columbia, to its homeport in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

The CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk is the largest dedicated science vessel ever built for the Canadian Coast Guard. It is expected to begin its first science program delivery in Spring 2027 focused on oceanographic research, geophysical surveys and hydrographic surveys.

The vessel will be homeported at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and will spend 2026 conducting post-acceptance trials for the scientific programs.

CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk is a diesel-electric Polar Class 6 vessel, with a displacement of 5,058t, and is 88 metres long, 17.6 metres wide, and will accommodate up to 60 personnel. It has a range of over 6,000 nautical miles and can stay up to six weeks at sea.

The vessel will be operational year-round on Canada’s Atlantic coast, in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, and in the Arctic and Baffin Bay during the summer. It accommodates 34 crew and 26 scientists, and will provide a floating laboratory to advance Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s research on climate-driven changes in the Atlantic Ocean, fisheries stock assessments and habitat mapping, marine ecosystem monitoring and biodiversity studies and long-term environmental observation.

CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk replaces CCGS Hudson, which was decommissioned in 2022 following 59 years of dedicated service.

Key features include:

Modular working deck allowing mission-specific science modules to be swapped in and out;

Marine mammal observation station for real-time environmental monitoring;

Ocean sampling room and multiple specialized laboratories (general-purpose, chemical, acoustics, salinity, computer, and seawater);

Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) and Hydro Wire Launch and Recovery System (LARS);

Main and secondary cranes, stern A-frame, towing booms, and seismic compressors for deep-water deployments;

Drop keel and advanced sonar/sensor arrays for detailed ocean-data collection.

The scientific sensors onboard include:

• Multi-Frequency Scientific Sounder (MFSS) - Kongsberg (Simrad) EK80 - 18, 38, 70, 120, and 200 kHz

• General Purpose Deep Sea Echo Sounder (DSES) - Kongsberg EA640

• Integrated Positioning System (IPS) - Kongsberg Seapath 380+ with MRU 5+

• Sonar Synchronization System (SYNC) - Kongsberg K-Sync

• Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) - Teledyne RDI 75 kHz Ocean Surveyor and 300 kHz Workhorse Mariner

• Ultra-Short Baseline Transceiver (USBT) - Kongsberg HiPAP 452

• Scientific Navigation System (SNS) - Raytheon Anschütz Synapsis ECDIS NX

• Shallow Depth Seabed Mapping System (SDMS) – Kongsberg EM 2040

• Deep Sea Multibeam Echo Sounder (MBES) - Kongsberg EM 304

• Sound Velocity Probes (SVPs) - AML Oceanographic Smart X with SV and UV Xchange

• Middle Depth Seabed Mapping System (MDMS) - Knudsen Chirp 3260 (shared with SBP) with KEL571 transducer

• Sounding and Pinging Monitoring (SPM) Transducers - Airmar M175 12 kHz-B

• Acoustic Release (AR) - Teledyne Benthos UTS-9400A with C270 transducer and DAT-916

• Moving Vessel Profiler (MVP) - AML Oceanographic MVP300-3400

• Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) Sensors - Sea-Bird Scientific PAR 1000 m

• Sub-Bottom Profiler (SBP) - Knudsen Chirp 3260 (shared with MDMS) with KELA5701 transducer

• Scientific Temperature Measurement System (STMS) - Sea-Bird Scientific SBE 38