Hartley Bay to be added to Canadian Coast Guard Search and Rescue station network; Seal Cove base to get new lifeboat vessel

The CCGS McIntyre Bay will be making the journey from eastern Canada
to Prince Rupert next year, as the Coast Guard adds the vessel to its
fleet of lifeboats for the Pacific coast

The Canadian Coast Guard expanded on its presence up and down the Pacific Coast today, with a string of announcements for a number of communities including Prince Rupert and Hartley Bay.

As part of the roll out of the program by Terry Beech, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, the development of four new search and rescue stations for the province was announced with Hartley Bay joining the James Bay Base in Victoria, as well as Nootka Sound and Port Renfrew as home ports for the service.

Four new Search and Rescue stations are being created or added to
on BC's coast including one for Hartley Bay

The new Search and Rescue stations are part of the Oceans Protection plan which has been put in place on both Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

The Federal government revealed much of that program back in November of 2016, with Hartley Bay now among a number of First Nations communities that are in place to provide for Search and Rescue services along the coast.

As well, Prince Rupert's Seal Cove base will see the CCGS McIntyre Bay deployed to the North Coast and stationed in Prince Rupert in 2019, the vessel has the capability of operating up to 100 nautical miles from shore, ready to deliver modern search and rescue capability for the region.

The McIntyre Bay is part of a contract allocated to two ship builders, one in Quebec, the other in Ontario, which means the newest ship for Prince Rupert will have quite the journey ahead of it on its way to station in Prince Rupert next year.

The newest addition to the Coast Guard fleet is one of twelve new lifeboats being constructed under the Federal Infrastructure initiative and fleet renewal plan.

Not indicated in today's announcement is if the McIntyre Bay is going to be an addition to the fleet at Prince Rupert, or if it is replacing a vessel that will be shifted elsewhere.

The remainder of the focus for today's notes was directed towards improvements in the Victoria and Southern Vancouver Island region.

Details on today's announcement can be reviewed here.

Today's additions to the Coast Guard presence on the North Coast come just weeks after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in town, speaking towards the Federal governments recent agreement on a partnership on marine protection in British Columbia.

More background the Coast Guard's Search and Rescue infrastructure can be found here.

For further notes related to Emergency Responders on the North Coast see our archive page here.

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