Cape-class motor lifeboat
 CCGS Cape Sutil at Port Hardy, British Columbia.
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Cape class |
| Builders | Textron Marine and Victoria Shipyards |
| Operators | Canadian Coast Guard |
| Cost | US $1,214,300 |
| In service | 1997–present |
| Planned | 36 |
| Completed | 36 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Search and rescue motor lifeboat |
| Displacement | 18 t (20 short tons)[1] |
| Length | 14.6 m (47 ft 11 in)[1] |
| Beam | 4.27 m (14 ft 0 in)[1] |
| Draught | 1.37 m (4 ft 6 in)[1] |
| Propulsion | 2 x Caterpillar 3196 diesel engines rated 450 hp (340 kW) at 2100 rpm (373 usable imperial gallons) fuel capacity[1] |
| Speed | |
| Range | 200 nmi (370 km; 230 mi) cruising[1] |
| Complement | 4 crew, 5 passengers[1] |
The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) maintains a fleet of 14.6 m (47 ft 11 in) Cape-class motor lifeboats[2] based on a motor lifeboat design used by the United States Coast Guard. In September 2009 the CCG announced plans to add five new lifeboats, bringing the total number of Cape-class lifeboats to 36.
The vessels are staffed by a crew of four, two of whom are rescue specialists.[3][4][5] In spite of its name, the CCGS Cape Roger is a larger patrol vessel, not a Cape-class lifeboat. The CCG also maintains some larger motor lifeboats based on Arun-class lifeboats designed in the United Kingdom. In 2021 a contract was awarded to Ocean Pacific Marine to upgrade the class over a 7 year period.[6]
Design[]
Cape-class motor lifeboats have displacements of 20 short tons (18 t), total lengths of 47 feet 11 inches (14.61 m) and beams of 14 feet (4.3 m).[7] Constructed from marine-grade aluminium, ships have draughts of 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 m). They contain two Caterpillar 3196 diesel engines providing a combined 900 shaft horsepower (670 kW). They have two 28-by-36-inch (710 mm × 910 mm) four-blade propellers, and each ship's complement is four crew members and five passengers.[7]
The lifeboats have maximum speeds of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) and cruising speeds of 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph). Cape-class lifeboats have fuel capacities of 400 US gallons (1,500 l; 330 imp gal) and ranges of 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) when cruising.[7] They are capable of operating at wind speeds of 50 knots (93 km/h; 58 mph) and wave heights of 30 feet (9.1 m). They can tow ships with displacements of up to 150 tonnes (170 short tons) and can withstand 60-knot (110 km/h; 69 mph) winds and 20-foot (6.1 m)-high breaking waves.[7]
Communication options include Raytheon 152 HF-SSB and Motorola Spectra 9000 VHF50W radios, and a Raytheon RAY 430 loudhailer system.[7] The lifeboats also support the Simrad TD-L1550 VHF-FM radio direction finder. Raytheon provides a number of other electronic systems for the lifeboats, including the RAYCHART 620, the ST 30 heading indicator and ST 50 depth indicator, the NAV 398 global positioning system, a RAYPILOT 650 autopilot system, and either the R41X AN or SPS-69 radar systems.[7]
Class list and distribution[]
| Region | Ship | Port | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Cape Fox | Lark Harbour, NL | |
| Cape Norman | Port Au Choix, NL | ||
| Maritimes | Cap Breton | Shippegan, NB | |
| Cape Spry | Souris, PE | ||
| Summerside, PE | |||
| Quebec | Tadoussac, QC | ||
| Havre-Saint-Pierre, QC | |||
| Rivière-au-Renard, QC | |||
| Quebec, QC | |||
| Cap Percé | Mont-Joli, QC | Prep work for operational status at new station at Kegaska, QC | |
| Central and Arctic | Thunder Bay, ON | ||
| Cape Commodore | Tobermory, ON | ||
| Cape Discovery | Goderich, ON | ||
| Cape Dundas | Amherstburg, ON | ||
| Cape Hearne | Kingston, ON | ||
| Thunder Cape | Port Dover, ON | ||
| Meaford, ON | |||
| Burlington, ON | Spare | ||
| Cape Lambton | Burlington, ON | Spare | |
| Cape Storm | Port Weller, ON | ||
| Cobourg, ON | |||
| Pacific | Cape Ann | Tofino, BC | |
| Cape Edensaw | Powell River, BC | ||
| Cape Cockburn | French Creek, BC | ||
| Bella Bella, BC | |||
| Cape Naden | Ganges, BC | ||
| Bamfield, BC | |||
| Sandspit, BC | |||
| Cape Sutil | Port Hardy, BC | ||
| Victoria, BC | |||
| Cape Caution | Powell River, BC | ||
| Cape Palmerston | Campbell River, BC | ||
| Cape Kuper | Patricia Bay, BC | Spare | |
| Patricia Bay, BC | Spare |
References[]
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Motor Life Boat 47-Foot MLB". United States Coast Guard. 25 August 2010. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
- ^ "New vessels ordered for Canadian Coast Guard". . 3 September 2009. Archived from the original on 12 September 2009.
- ^ "Vessels, Aircraft and Hovercraft: CCGC Cape Sutil". Canadian Coast Guard. 7 November 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
- ^ "CCG Cape Sutil". Canadian Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 12 September 2009.
- ^ "COAST GUARD MOTOR LIFEBOAT CCGC SUTIL CHRISTENED TODAY IN PORT HARDY, BC". Department of Fisheries and Oceans. 1 August 2000. Archived from the original on 19 October 2003. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
- ^ "Campbell River company awarded $23.4 million federal contract to renew Coast Guard motorboats". 16 December 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f "Motor Life Boat 47-Foot MLB: International Affairs (CG-DCO-I)". United States Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ^ "CCG lifeboats". . Archived from the original on 5 January 2010.
External links[]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cape class motor life boats. |
- Canadian Coast Guard Datasheet on the 47 MLB
- US Coast Guard Datasheet on the 47 MLB
- USCG COMDTINST M16114.25B 47ft Motor lifeboat operator's handbook
- Textron Marine contractor for the USCG 47 MLB
- MetalCraft Marine contractor for the CCG 47 MLB
- military.com
- Cape-class motor lifeboats
- Auxiliary search and rescue ship classes