Coast guard science vessel named after Kangiqsujuaq elder
CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk to be used for ocean research, search and rescue, and environmental response
The CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk sits at Seaspan’s North Vancouver shipyard on its launch day, waiting to make its trip to Dartmouth, N.S. (Photo courtesy of Seaspan/Facebook)
The Canadian Coast Guard has launched a new offshore oceanographic science vessel named after Kangiqsujuaq elder Naalak Nappaaluk.
It’s now Canada’s largest science vessel, the coast guard said in a news release Aug. 17.
The name was chosen in consultation with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.
Nappaaluk died in 2010 at the age of 81.
He worked closely with Nunavik’s Avataq Cultural Institute for years, teaching and preserving traditional Inuit ways of life. So much so that he played a vital role in the return of bowhead whale hunting in the region.
The CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk provides “increased capability and capacity to support ocean science missions in Canada’s east coast,” said the release.
With a capacity to accommodate 34 crew and 26 scientists, the ship is considered to be a floating laboratory with highly advanced ice navigation capabilities.
According to the release, its deck can have different equipment modules swapped based on mission requirements. It also has a marine mammal observation station, an ocean sampling room, multiple labs, and state-of-the-art equipment for ocean ecosystems research.
“The data and samples collected onboard this vessel will also support Canada’s domestic and international commitments to ensure that our oceans are sustainably managed,” said the release.
The ship has the capability to do search and rescue operations and environmental response.
The 88-metre-long vessel will be stationed at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, N.S.
The launching ceremony was held in North Vancouver, at Seaspan’s shipyard. Seaspan is the company that built the ship.
The CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk is replacing the CCGS Hudson, which first entered service in 1964, and was decommissioned in 2022.
As , long as they don t start naming them after politicians , i m all for that .
I guess……………..
RECONCILIATION!!!!!!
Keep crying, no one is listening to you
I guess the canadian tax payers does not know that the family members were flown out of nunavik quebec with a stop over at a hotel at montreal than another flight to vancouver, than spend a few more nights at vancouver, just to christian a ship will heal the inuit from all the wrongs that the government and residential schools did to us. BLOOD MONEY.
Anybody from Makivik go on, a all expense paid junket for their photo op ?
very cool !! our past nunavimmiuqatiks name on a canadian ship front and centre. Congratulations to the Nappaaluk family. and to the nay sayers…better luck next time and your name will be there LAUGH OUT LOUD !!
I’m pleased to hear this. CCG is a great place to work; the staff are excellent, and they have had numerous face-to-face meetings with Inuit Organizations in Nunavik, Nunavut, and Labrador.
Naming places and things after a person, a saint(e), a political figure, a king or queen is not an inuit tradition, it is more a European phenomenom. Look at the Gazeteer of Inuit Place Names published by the Avataq Cultural Institute, no personal names are recorded in all of the Nunavik and region.
So?
You have learned something,
Presumably the captain, crew and the majority of the scientists will be Inuit graduates from the North’s wonderful school system. On the other hand … there is no other hand.