CCGS Labrador CCGS Labrador was a " Wind " - class icebreaker . First commissioned on 8 July 1954 as Her Majesty ' s Canadian Ship ( HMCS ) Labrador ( pennant number AW 50 ) in the Royal Canadian Navy ( RCN ) , Captain ( CAPT ) O . C . S . " Long Robbie " Robertson , RCN , In Command . She was transferred to the Department of Transport ( DOT ) on 22 November 1957 , and redesignated the Canadian Government Ship ( CGS ) Labrador . She was among the DOT fleet assigned to the nascent Canadian Coast Guard ( CCG ) when that organization was formed in 1962 , and further redesignated the Canadian Coast Guard Ship ( CCGS ) Labrador . Then , " Labrador ' s " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s illustrious career marked the beginning of the CCG ' s icebreaker operations which continue to this day . She extensively charted and documented the then - poorly - known Canadian Arctic , and as HMCS Labrador was the first ship to circumnavigate North America in a single voyage . Early history . Throughout the first half of the twentieth century , the Canadian government made limited exploration within the vast Arctic coast it laid claim to , largely because it lacked the capacity to make forays into much of this remote terrain . " Labrador " was conceived as Canada ' s first modern , powerful icebreaking vessel , which could help meet national defence needs in the high Arctic but also explore the vast area and its rich resources . " Labrador " was built in the Marine Industries LTD yards in Sorel , Quebec She was laid down 18 Nov . 1949 and launched 14 Dec . 1951 . The builder used modified plans from the just - completed " Wind " - class icebreakers of the United States Coast Guard . She was modified to include then state - of - the - art scientific equipment changing her from a purely military patrol vessel to a self - sufficient explorer — an elaborately equipped floating laboratory , hospital , transport , rescue ship and school . " Labrador " also trained Royal Canadian Navy ( RCN ) cadets ; with college instructors included in crew . At the time of her commissioning " Labrador " was the worlds most advanced icebreaker , with Denny Brown gyro stabilizers , and full bridge control of her diesel engines . She was the RCN ' s first fully diesel - electric vessel , with six 2000 HP engine / generators driving a 5 , 000 SHP motor on each shaft . " Labrador " was equipped with starboard and port heeling tanks with 40 , 000 gallons per minute transfer capability , which facilitated icebreaking operations . On 10 July 1954 " Labrador " departed Sorel , Quebec , en route to her new homeport in Halifax , Nova Scotia . Whilst underway she experienced engine troubles ( lowered oil pressure ) , between Sorel and Quebec City , Quebec . Further difficulty was experienced in the Richilieu river , where she developed steering gear problems which were overcome by expert seamanship . " Labrador " arrived in Halifax , Nova Scotia on 14 July 1954 . Northwest Passage voyage . HMCS " Labrador " set sail on her maiden voyage on 23 July 1954 from Halifax , Nova Scotia , bound for the Labrador Sea . Over the next summer she worked her way through Canada ' s Arctic archipelago from east to west , conducting hydrographic soundings , resupplying RCMP outposts and deploying assorted scientific and geological teams . Her rendezvous with her American sister - ships " USCGC Northwind ( WAGB - 282 ) " and " USCGC Burton Island ( WAGB - 283 ) " off the coast of Melville Island on 25 August 1954 marked the first time US and Canadian Government ships had met in the Arctic from the east and west . During the rendezvous , the crews visited with one another in good mateship . The three ships surveyed the Beaufort Sea together until the end of September 1954 , at which point " Labrador " headed for the base of Canada ' s Pacific fleet at Esquimalt , British Columbia . " Labrador " then became the first large vessel to transit the Northwest Passage . Upon sailing down the west coast of the United States , through the Panama Canal and back to Halifax , Nova Scotia on 21 November 1954 ; " Labrador " also became the first ship to circumnavigate North America in a single voyage . Career . In January 1955 " Labrador " underwent refit . The remainder of " Labrador " ' s early career involved considerable work on the Distant Early Warning Line ( DEW Line ) project . From June to September 1955 , she led a task group of 14 Canadian and American ships delivering thousands of tons of supplies for DEW Line sites under construction in the Foxe Basin area of the eastern Arctic , and in following years continued to provide icebreaking and operational support . In 1956 , Captain ( CAPT ) T . C . Pullen RCN , sailed " Labrador " on an expedition through the Northwest Passage . " Labrador " sailed west through the Prince of Wales Strait , re - tracing the 1944 route of " RCMPV St . Roch " , which was commanded by Captain Henry A . Larsen , RCMP ( GRC ) . " Labrador " then conducted extensive surveys in the areas of Prince of Wales Strait , including ; Somerset Island , and Prince Regent Inlet . " Labrador " used her helicopters to establish triangulation points on the shore for the survey . During this voyage " Labrador " recovered a large anchor on " Fury Beach " of Somerset Island ( Nunavut ) , which was left there in 1825 by the crew of " HMS Fury " . The " Fury " , with " HMS Hecla " , both commanded by Rear Admiral William Edward Parry , RN , FRS ( who then held the rank of Commander , RN ) ; left the anchor , stores , boats , and other useful items there , as " Fury " was beset and had to be abandoned . The gear was left there for future explorers to use , and because there was no space in " Hecala " for the equipment . The cache left by " Hecala " did indeed prove useful to mariners years later . The anchor remained as a landmark for navigators for 136 years . " Labrador " transported the artifact to Halifax NS , and it was placed in the Maritime Command Museum ( 1961 ) . In 1972 " Fury ' s " anchor was moved to CCG Base Dartmouth Nova Scotia . In 1981 the anchor was removed to the Canadian Coast Guard College at Sydney Nova Scotia , in 1991 the relic was " spiffied - up " , and remains a popular exhibit . HMCS " Labrador " was transferred to civilian control in 1957 , and operated within the Department of Transport ( DOT ) during the four years before the Canadian Coast Guard ( CCG ) was formally established . She continued to serve the CCG for 29 years , before being sold for scrap in 1987 . References . 1 . CANADA AVIATION MUSEUM AIRCRAFT . PIASECKI ( VERTOL ) HUP - 3 ( RETRIEVER ) . ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY ( RCN ) . http : / / web . archive . org / web / 20110110055727 / http : / / www . aviation . technomuses . ca / assets / pdf / e _ PiaseckiHUP - 3 . pdf 2 . Charles D . " Doug " Maginley . " The Canadian Coast Guard 1962 - 2002 " . St Catherines , ON . Vanwell Publishing , LTD . 2003 . ISBN 1 - 55125 - 092 - 6 . 3 . My Royal Canadian Navy . http : / / myrcn . ca / 18labrador / labrador . html 4 . Icebreakers in the North . University of Calgary . http : / / www . ucalgary . ca / arcticexpedition / icebreakers / hmcs - labrador 5 . MacFarlane , John M . ( 2012 ) A List of the Early Partial Transits of the Canadian Northwest Passage 1921 to 2004 . Nauticapedia . ca 2012 . http : / / nauticapedia . ca / Articles / NWP _ Partialtransits . php