The Canadian Coast Guard has officially added CCGS Judy LaMarsh to its fleet. This event marks the addition of the first large vessel to marine operations in the Great Lakes in over three decades.
Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Operations
The vessel, based in Prescott, Ontario, will support icebreaking operations and buoy maintenance in the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River in Ontario and Quebec. The Coast Guard has stated that this ship will enhance year-round operations in one of Canada’s busiest marine areas; where maintaining shipping routes in winter is vital for commercial traffic and communities on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.
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History and Features of the Vessel
The CCGS Judy LaMarsh was built in 2010 in Romania and previously operated as a commercial fire-fighting vessel named Mangystau-2 in the Caspian Sea. Canada purchased this light icebreaker in 2021 from Atlantic Towing Limited based in New Brunswick. This acquisition is part of broader efforts to add temporary icebreaking capacity while older Coast Guard vessels are undergoing maintenance.
From 2023 to 2025, this vessel underwent extensive modifications and repairs at the Newdock St. John’s port in Newfoundland and Labrador. This work included overhauling propulsion, communication, and navigation systems, upgrading crew facilities and workspaces, and installing a new buoy crane.
The Judy LaMarsh entered service in December 2025 and officially joined the Great Lakes fleet on September 10 with a ceremony in Prescott.
Kevin Brosseau, the Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard, described this vessel as a "multi-purpose and capable ship" that will enhance operations in one of the country’s most important marine areas. The area under the Coast Guard's responsibility in the Great Lakes stretches nearly 2,400 kilometers from the St. Lawrence River to western Lake Superior.
The vessel is named after Judy LaMarsh, one of the first women to serve as a federal cabinet minister in Canada. LaMarsh played a significant role in the development of health services and Canada’s pension plan and helped establish the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada during her tenure as Secretary of State from 1965 to 1968.
This purchase was made under Canada’s national shipbuilding strategy, which aims to modernize the federal marine fleet and support domestic shipbuilding and employment in the marine sector.
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