CCGS Parizeau

File:CCGV Parizeau.jpg CCGS Parizeau repainted while on loan to the United States Geological Survey.
Career
Name:	CCGS Parizeau
Namesake:	Henri Dalpe Parizeau
Operator:	Canadian Coast Guard
Builder:	Burrard Dry Dock, North Vancouver
Commissioned:	1966
Decommissioned:	2001
Renamed:	2001-04 (2001), Destiny Empress (2005)
Homeport:	Dartmouth, Nova Scotia (1992–2001)
General characteristics
Displacement:	1,273 t (1,253 long tons)
Length:	57.79 m (189 ft 7 in)
Beam:	12.19 m (40 ft 0 in)
Draft:	6.35 m (20 ft 10 in)
Ice class:	N/A
Propulsion:	Diesel
Speed:	14 knots (26 km/h)

CCGS Parizeau was a Canadian Coast Guard Ship that served as an Offshore Research and Survey Vessel from 1966 to 2001.

Construction

Named for Canadian Hydrographic Service hydrographer Henri Dalpe Parizeau, she was built at Burrard Dry Dock, North Vancouver in 1966 and was commissioned as CSS Parizeau (Canadian Survey Ship Parizeau) with what would become the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Service

Parizeau served with DFO's Pacific Region from 1966 until 1992 at the Pacific Biological Station, Nanaimo when she was transferred to DFO's Maritime Region where she was attached to the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth. Following the transfer of the Canadian Coast Guard to DFO in 1995 and the merger of the DFO science and enforcement vessels into CCG, the Parizeau's prefix was changed from CSS to CCGS (Canadian Coast Guard Ship) and her crew became members of the coast guard.

Decommissioning and sale

Parizeau was decommissioned in 2001 and renamed 2001-04 upon transfer to Crown Assets for disposal. She was sold to private interests in January 2005 and renamed Destiny Empress. Her ownership as of 2009 is shown as Empress Investment Group Ltd., c/o Marler Law Firm, Oakville, Ontario, Canada.

December 2009 seizure

Destiny Empress was believed to be located in Trinidad and Tobago.

On December 22, 2009, Spanish law enforcement, acting on intelligence from the London Metropolitan Police, seized the ship and arrested the crew and 13 British citizens 200 nmi (370 km) north of Spain's northwest coast.[1] The Destiny Empress was searched and a secret compartment was discovered having 1.5 t (1.5 long tons) of cocaine having an estimated street value of £375 million. The ship has been transferred to a Spanish port.

References

• ^ official Parizeau web-page, Canadian Coast Guard
• ^ USGS CMG Platform (Parizeau) Data & Metadata, United States Geological Survey
• ^ BBC - Former Coast Guard Vessel Loaded With Cocaine, BBC