First Canadian Coast Guard Ship Back From the Arctic

QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Sept. 27, 2011) -

Editors' Note: There is a photo associated with this press release

The Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, is delighted today to welcome the crew of the first vessel of the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) to return from its 2011 Arctic missions, the CCGS Des Groseilliers.

"On its missions, the Des Groseilliers has plied Arctic waters as far as Eureka, the Canadian Coast Guard's northernmost supply depot," said Mr Ashfield. "The CCG's missions are essential to the provisioning of communities where ice represents a real challenge and thereby contribute to their development."

During the Arctic summer, the CCG's icebreakers are also tasked with search and rescue missions, icebreaking, assistance to commercial shipping and maintenance of aids to navigation and navigable waters, as well as contributing to the advancement of science.

In the next few weeks, the CCGS Des Groseilliers will undergo its annual refit to prepare it for its next winter icebreaking season in the St Lawrence River and Gulf. The vessel had left the Canadian Coast Guard base on June 22, 2011.

For more information on the CCGS Des Groseilliers, the Canadian Coast Guard's missions and Canada's Northern Strategy, visit these sites: http://www.marinfo.gc.ca, www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca and http://www.northernstrategy.gc.ca/index-eng.asp.

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