Saturday, May 24, 2014

Dominion Victory - jack of all trades.

Dominion Diving's Dominion Victory, visible in the the last Tugfax posts, is a notable vessel, having had several successful careers, and for the last nine years has been flagship of Dominion's fleet.


However that is a third career for the ship. It started life in 1965 at les chantiers maritimes de Paspebiac, in Paspebiac, QC as the prototype of a new design of seiner, named Vilmont No.2. After a few years fishing for Gorton Pew, then Canapro it was bought by the Province of Quebec in 1971. It was used as a fisheries patrol vessel and likely also did some research work too.

As a research vessel, it acquired an extra high  communications antenna and a small lab on deck.

Renamed Raymond Moore, then Alcide C. Horth, it was transferred to the Université de Québec à Rimouski. It worked on a number of marine research projects in the Gulf of St.Lawrence and St.Lawrence River, occasionally reaching the Atlantic coast.
As their research programs and partners increased, they acquired what is now Coriolis II and sold Alcide C. Horth to Dominon Diving. After a refit, including a new paint job, at Gaspé it arrived in Halifax to take up those duties October 27, 2004. Since then it has been a diving support vessel, operated an ROV and worked as a tug.

On February 19, 2014 Dominion Victory arrived in Halifax towing the tug/workboat Mersey Pride from Liverpool, NS. It still carries the extra high antenna.

At is Dartmouth Cove base, Dominion Diving has all the facilities to maintain and operate its fleet.

Dominion Victory keeps its inflatable boat up off the deck and covered with a blue tarp. It has a gantry for ROV and other under water work and a small deck crane.

For the next few weeks Dominion Victory will be the accommodation for divers working in Bedford Basin on a Nova Scotia Community College deep diving course.

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