CGS Aberdeen
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Dominion of Canada | |
| Name | Aberdeen |
| Owner | Government of Canada |
| Operator | Department of Marine |
| Port of registry | Ottawa, Ontario |
| Builder | Fleming & Ferguson, Paisley, Scotland |
| Laid down | 1893 |
| Launched | 1894 |
| In service | 1893-1923 |
| Refit | 1904 |
| Stricken | 1923 |
| Homeport | |
| Identification | 103227 |
| Fate | Wrecked, 13 October 1923 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Lighthouse supply and buoy tender |
| Tonnage | 674 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length | 180 ft (55 m) |
| Beam | 31 ft (9.4 m) |
| Draft | 19 ft (5.8 m) |
| Propulsion | Quadruple expansion steam engine |
| Complement | 45 |
CGS Aberdeen was a Canadian Government Ship launched in 1894, which served as a Lighthouse supply and buoy vessel.[3] Originally flush-decked and able to set fore and aft sail, she was later rebuilt with a high foc'sle and a heavy derrick forward. After serving in the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and the Saint Lawrence River, she was wrecked off Seal Island, Nova Scotia in October 1923.[4][2]
Loss
On Saturday, October 13, 1923, Aberdeen sailed from Yarmouth in thick fog on an inspection tour. She carried a crew of forty-five men under the command of Captain Loran A. Kenney, along with Marine Agent J. C. Chesley, Engineer P. F. Morrison, and John Kelley, the Superintendent of Lighthouses, aboard.[5][6]
At about 13:00 Aberdeen was approaching the Black Ledge, about 1.25 miles (2.01 km) from Seal Island, when she struck the wreck of the trawler Snipe, which had sunk the previous June. The collision ripped a 25-foot-long (7.6 m) hole in her side. The ship filled and settled on the ledge within 15 minutes. Aberdeen sent a mayday signal by radio, and her sister ship Laurentian sailed from Saint John immediately, along with Acadia from Halifax, and Arleux from Briar Island.[7]
The ship had about 500 bags of cement destined for the Cape Sable Light aboard, and also drums of calcium carbide, that caused much concern (as it reacts with water to form the flammable gas acetylene). About 25 of the crew were sent to the Seal Island Light Station in the ship's boats, while the remainder stayed aboard to assist in salvaging as much of the wreck as they could.[7]
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ a b Appleton, Thomas E. (24 June 2013). "A History of the Canadian Coast Guard and Marine Services". Canadian Coast Guard. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- ^ "Ships of the CCG 1850-1967". Canadian Coast Guard. 31 March 2008. Archived from the original on 13 September 2009.
- ^ Charles D. Maginley, and Bernard Collin, The Ships of Canada's Marine Services, (St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing, 2001), p. 49. ISBN 1-55125-070-5
- ^ http://www.originalshipster.com/2015/02/24/over-the-waves-cgs-aberdeen/
- ^ https://www.novascotiagenealogy.com/ItemView.aspx?ImageFile=1949-1764&Event=death&ID=335755
- ^ a b "Loss of the CGS Aberdeen" (PDF). coastalradio.org.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2010.