CCGS John Cabot (1965)

CCGS John Cabot[1] (id: 320951;[2]IMO number: 6514974; MMSI number: 247253000)[3] was a Canadian Coast Guard heavy icebreaker and cable ship[2] in service starting 1965. It passed out of CCG service and entered private service in 1994, as the cable ship CS John Cabot.[1] In 1997, it was again renamed, becoming CS Certamen.[1][4] The ship was scrapped in 2014,[5] under the name Certa.[6] It was the world's first icebreaking cable repair ship built.[7][8] In 1985, it recovered the black boxes from Air India Flight 182.[7] As of 2023,[9] the John Cabot participated in the deepest submarine rescue ever performed, in 1973, retrieving Pisces III from the seafloor at 480 m (1,570 ft) and rescuing the crew of Roger Mallinson and Roger Chapman.[1][10][9]

For other ships with the same name, see CCGS John Cabot and John Cabot (ship).

Naming

John Cabot

The vessel was named after John Cabot, a Venetian explorer from the Age of Exploration. It was the first Canadian Coast Guard ship to carry the name "John Cabot" or "Cabot". The modern Canadian Coast Guard was founded in 1962. The John Cabot entered service in 1965.[5][11]

Certamen

The ship passed into Italian service, and was renamed to Certamen,[1] a different Italian name than it already had (John Cabot being the Italian explorer Giovanni Caboto).[12] It carried the callsign IBUC.[3] "Certamen" refers to competition in Latin.

Certa

When the ship was retired, it was renamed to Certa, and then scrapped.[6][7] "Certa" refers to surety in Italian.

Specifications
  • LOA length: 313.3 ft (95.5 m)[1][5]
  • Width: 60.3 ft (18.4 m)[1]
  • Draft: 34.2 ft (10.4 m)[1]
  • GWT: 5097[1]
  • LDT: 5234[5]
  • Propulsion: diesel-electric twin-screw — 9,000 hp (6,700 kW) engine powering 4x 3,000 bhp (2,200 kW) generators driving 2x 4,500 shp (3,400 kW) propulsion motors[7][13][8]
  • Range: 16,000 km (9,900 mi; 8,600 nmi)[7]
  • Bow and stern stationkeeping thrusters[13][8]
  • Cable capacity: 400 mi (640 km)[13]
  • Helicopter deck with telescoping hangar[8]

History

The ship was ordered in 1962,[15] and built in Montreal in 1964,[2] by Canadian Vickers.[4][1] It entered service in 1965 with the Canadian Coast Guard as CCGS John Cabot,[1] callsign CGDJ[16] It was christened John Cabot on 31 May 1965.[13][8] On entry to service it was the only icebreaking cable repair ship in the world, and the first such to be built.[7] The ship was sponsored by the Canadian Overseas Telecommunication Corporation (COTC), a Canadian Crown Corporation, and worked as part of the Department of Transport.[13][8]

Captain Burdock receiving the Shield of NORAD while aboard CCGS John Cabot in 1966

In 1965 and 1966, the John Cabot repaired the submarine cable connecting Thule Air Base in Greenland to the rest of the world.[17][18] For the efforts in repairing the telecommunications cable in November 1965, the ship's captain, Captain George S. Burdock, was awarded the Shield of NORAD in a ceremony on board CCGS John Cabot, while at dock in the Port of Montreal on 22 July 1966.[19]

The John Cabot was one of the ships involved in laying the TAT-5 and SF System transatlantic cables in the 1960s.[20][21]

In 1973, while laying the CANTAT-2 transatlantic cable, in coordination with several other ships, including the submarine Pisces III, the Pisces III sunk to the seafloor and needed rescue. John Cabot successfully fished up the submarine, rescuing the crew. The sub had been stuck at 480 m (1,570 ft), becoming the deepest submarine rescue ever.[1][10][22][23][9]

In 1974, the ship suffered a major fire, and was refitted.[1]

In 1983–1984, the ship underwent a midlife refit and modernization.[15]

In 1985, the ship participated in the search for Air India Flight 182, and its underwater investigation and debris recovery.[24] The ship successfully retrieved the airplane's black boxes from the seafloor at 2,000 m (6,600 ft) deep.[7]

In 1994, Teleglobe Canada bought the ship from the Canadian Coast Guard, changing its prefix from CCGS (Canadian Coast Guard Ship) to CS (Cable Ship), becoming CS John Cabot,[1] as a motorized ship, it was also called MV John Cabot.[16] The callsign became VCGM[16]

In 1996, the ship was purchaed by McDermott and refurbished. It was sold to Elettra in 1997 and renamed to Certamen.[1][6]

In 2010, Orange (France Telecom-Orange) acquired Elettra, and the Certamen was transferred to France Telecom.[25]

In 2014, the ship was retired and renamed to Certa, and scrapped at Aliağa, Turkey.[6][5][7]

References
  1. Bill Glover (2011). "CCGS John Cabot / CS Certamen". History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications.
  2. Maritime History Archive (2005). ""John Cabot" (Ship) at St. John's, Newfoundland". Maritime History Archive Public Photo Catalogue. Memorial University. PF-055.2-D40.
  3. "Vessel CERTAMEN cable ship IMO 6514974 MMSI 247253000". FleetMon. KPLER. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  4. "Canadian Vickers - Montreal QC". shipbuildinghistory.com. Shipbuilding History. 14 July 2021.
  5. Tim Colton (7 May 2021). "Canadian Coast Guard Vessels Built or Acquired Since 1962". shipbuildinghistory.com. Shipbuilding History.
  6. "JOHN CABOT". www.ShipPhotos.co.uk. ShipPhotos.
  7. Skip Gillham (2 April 2015). "Repair ship Cabot was a world first". Port Colborne Leader. St. Catherine Standard.
  8. "Unique Cable Repair Ship Christening Today". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 31 May 1965. p. 35.
  9. Rachel Treisman (20 June 2023). "Deep sea rescues have a mixed track record. The Pisces III is one that succeeded". npr.
  10. "Deepest rescue underwater". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  11. Norman Galimski (26 January 2022). "Canadian Coast Guard celebrates 60 years". The Northern View.
  12. "John Cabot". Encyclopedia Britannica. 21 April 2023.
  13. "New Canadian Icebreaking-Cable Ship: Shipbuilding and Shipping Record, 24 June 1965". Proceedings: Professional Notes, Notebook and Progress. U.S. Naval Institute. 91/10/752. October 1965.
  14. De Leuw Cather, Canada Ltd.; Bradley Air Services; E.H. Mitchell and Assoc.; Capt. T.C. Pullen; Northice Consultants (December 1978). Arctic Oil Spill Countermeasures - Logistics Study: Summary Report (PDF). Environmental Protection Service, Environment Canada. p. 21. ISBN 0-662-10101-4. EPS 3-EC-78-8.
  15. Government of Canada. "R184, Volumes 6043 -- 6097" (PDF). Archives Canada. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  16. Spurgeon G. Roscoe, Canadian Ships by Call Sign for Radiotelegraph (PDF), VE1BC, p. 9
  17. Dome Petroleum Limited; Esso Resources Canada Limited; Gulf Canada Resources Inc. (1982). "6.3 Tanker Transportation Systems". Environmental Impact Statement : Hydrocarbon Development In The Beaufort Sea - Mackenzie Delta Region : Volume 2 - Development Systems (PDF). p. 6.16.
  18. Forecasting Branch, Oceanographic Prediction Division, Marine Sciences Department (May 1967). CAPT L.E. DeCamp (ed.). Report of the Arctic Ice Observing and Forecasting Program — 1965. Naval Oceanographic Office, U.S. Navy. p. 7. SP-70.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. "An Award from NORAD / Un décoration de NORAD" (PDF). The DOT. Vol. 17, no. 5. Ottawa: Department of Transport (Government of Canada). September–October 1966. pp. 6–7.
  20. Cleo D. Anderson; Robert L. Easton (19 February 1970). "An Overview: Requirements and Performance". The Bell System Technical Journal (published May–June 1970). 49 (5).
  21. W.B. Hirt; D.O. Oldfather (30 July 1969). "Transmission Tests, Computations and Equalization During Installation". The Bell System Technical Journal (published May–June 1970). 49 (5).
  22. Aristos Georgiou (7 June 2021). "The Extraordinary Story of the World's Deepest Ever Submarine Rescue". Newsweek.
  23. Colbi Edmonds (21 June 2023). "For a survivor of the deepest underwater rescue, the Titan search feels urgent and personal". The New York Times.
  24. "A Captain For All Seasons". Navigator. 1 July 2015.
  25. Association Des Amis Des Cables Sous-Marins (December 2010). "Elettra Cede Ses Navires" (PDF). Association Des Amis Des Cables Sous-Marins - Bulletin (in French). Vol. 42. p. 34.
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