Canadian Coast Guard Adds First Large Great Lakes Vessel in More Than 30 Years

The Canadian Coast Guard has officially welcomed the CCGS Judy LaMarsh into its fleet, marking the first addition of a large vessel to its Great Lakes operations in more than three decades.

Based in Prescott, Ontario, the ship will support icebreaking and buoy tending across the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River in Ontario and Quebec.

The Coast Guard said the additional capacity is intended to strengthen year-round operations across one of Canada’s busiest maritime regions, where keeping shipping lanes open through winter is critical to commercial traffic and communities on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.

“The Great Lakes are vital to Canada’s economy, our communities and our security,” National Defence Minister David McGuinty said. “With the CCGS Judy LaMarsh, we are strengthening the Canadian Coast Guard’s ability to keep these waters safe and open year-round.”

The vessel was built in Romania in 2010 and originally operated on the Caspian Sea as the Mangystau-2, a commercial firefighting tug registered in Turkmenistan.

Canada acquired the light icebreaker in 2021 from New Brunswick-based Atlantic Towing Limited as part of a broader effort to add interim icebreaking capacity while older Coast Guard vessels undergo maintenance and life-extension work.

From 2023 through 2025, the ship underwent an extensive conversion and refit at Newdock St. John’s Dockyard Limited in Newfoundland and Labrador. The work included refurbishment of propulsion, communications and navigation systems, upgrades to crew accommodations and workspaces, and installation of a new buoy crane.

The Judy LaMarsh entered service in December 2025 and was formally welcomed into the Great Lakes fleet during a ceremony in Prescott on September 10.

The vessel becomes the third large Coast Guard ship assigned to the Great Lakes, joining the CCGS Samuel Risley and CCGS Griffon, which also provide winter icebreaking services.

Canadian Coast Guard Commissioner Kevin Brosseau described the ship as a “capable and multipurpose vessel” that will strengthen operations in one of the country’s most important maritime regions.

The Coast Guard’s Great Lakes area of responsibility stretches roughly 2,400 kilometers along the Canada-U.S. border, from the St. Lawrence River to western Lake Superior.

The Judy LaMarsh is the fourth interim icebreaker acquired by the Canadian Coast Guard, joining the CCGS Jean Goodwill, CCGS Vincent Massey and CCGS Captain Molly Kool.

The ship is named after Judy LaMarsh, one of the first women to serve as a Canadian federal Cabinet minister. LaMarsh played a role in the development of Medicare and the Canada Pension Plan and helped establish the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada while serving as secretary of state from 1965 to 1968.

The acquisition was carried out under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy, which is aimed at renewing federal maritime fleets while supporting domestic shipbuilding and marine-sector employment.

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