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June 5, 2003
Verreault to convert Coast Guard ship to research vessel
Verreault Navigation Inc., based in Les Mechins, Quebec, has been awarded a Canadian $5,973,810 competitive contract to refit and drydock the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) formerly known as the CCGS Sir John Franklin. Awarded on behalf of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the contract will maintain 70 jobs until it expires in July.
Under the terms of the contract, Verreault Navigation Inc. will provide all the material, equipment and labor required to modify the hull to convert it into an oceanographic research ship.
The CCGS Sir John Franklin, which had been decommissioned, is the focus of an initiative by scientists at the Universite de Laval to build the first Canadian icebreaker that will help study the changes in the Arctic Ocean. The ship will be used jointly by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the international scientific community. Once work has been completed, the icebreaker will be used exclusively for research during the summer and will serve the Canadian Coast Guard in its initial role as medium icebreaker in the winter.
The announcement was made today by the Honorable Robert Thibault, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, on behalf of Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Works and Government Services.
"Congratulations to Verreault Navigation Inc. on winning this competitive contract to convert the CCGS Sir John Franklin," said Minister Thibault. "Not only does this contract help maintain a considerable number of jobs in the maritime sector, it also contributes to the advancement of scientific research in the Arctic and to positioning Canada on the world stage in oceanographic research."
Verreault Navigation Inc. is one of the independent companies of Le Groupe Maritime Verreault.
Funding for this contract was provided for in the February 2003 Canadian Federal Budget.
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