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CCGS Parizeau

by John MacFarlane 2020

CCGS Parizeau

C.C.G.S. Parizeau (Photo from the Cossey collection.)

Leigh Cossey sent the Nauticapedia some images taken by his father S.T. Cossey who worked for Burrard Shipyard as a naval architect when this vessel was built to share. Here are the images and some data on the ship and her namesake.

CCGS Parizeau

C.C.G.S. Parizeau (Photo from the Cossey collection.)

In 1967 the CCGS Parizeau was built by Burrard Drydock Co. Ltd. 64.5m x 12.2m x 4.6m (198.8’ x 40.0’ x 18.9’) steel hulled powered by a 2640bhp Deutz diesel engine with twin screws.

CCGS Parizeau

C.C.G.S. Parizeau (Photo from the Cossey collection.)

In 1967 the CCGS Parizeau was owned by the Minister of Mines & Technical Surveys. In 1967–2004 she was a survey vessel owned by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Ottawa ON. In 2001 she was renamed as 2001–04. In 2005 she was renames as Destiny Empress and owned by Empress Investment Group Ltd., Oakville ON.

CCGS Parizeau

C.C.G.S. Parizeau (Photo from the John Henderson collection.)

In 1967 the Parizeau was christened by Mrs. Henri Parizeau. She was based at Dartmouth NS. In 2015, as the Destiny Empress she was believed to be docked in Trinidad and Tobago for some time for repairs prior to departing for Europe. On December 22, 2009, a joint European law enforcement team, including Spanish Police and Italy’s Air Maritime Exploration Squadron Guardia di Finanza (a special flight Squadron of the Italian GDF Air Service), acting on intelligence from the London Metropolitan Police, seized the ship and arrested the seven person crew 200 nmi (370 km) west of Spain’s northwest coast. After several days of searching, officers found a secret compartment under a trap door that had been bolted down with an aluminum plate and covered by carpet in one of the Destiny Empress'​s rooms. The sealed compartment contained 1.5t (1.5 long tons) of cocaine with an estimated street value of £375 million, according to UK police. Alec Scoones Reports (British Columbia Nautical History Facebook Group 22/02/2019) that "she was broken up in Turkey, after being seized off Spain in a cocaine smuggling scheme."

Henri Parizeau

Henri D. Parizeau MBE (Photo from the RCN Crowsnest Magazine collection.)

He studied Engineering at McGill University. He worked for a short period for the Montreal Harbour Commission before joining the marine surveying section of the government in 1901. He came to the Pacific coast in 1906 as the Senior Assistant Hydrographer. He worked with Fred Dodge on the survey of Prince Rupert Harbour and its approaches. He remained as Assistant to Philip Musgrave (then Regional Hydrographer). He returned to the east to HQ in 1910 and was employed in hydrographic work on the Nelson River in the Hudson Bay area 1910–1911 as Hydrographer–in–Charge of the auxiliary schooner Chrissie C. Thomay. He was later in charge of the surveys in the James Bay area. He was Hydrographer-in-Charge of the survey vessel La Canadienne in the Great Lakes. In 1920 he returned to the west coast as Chief Hydrographer conducting surveys in the Lillooet and the William J. Stewart. He and Cowley were detached from the Lillooet in 1909 for the summer to survey Telegraph Creek at the entrance to the Skeena River. This was the first recorded Canadian detached shore survey party on the BC coast. In 1920–1946 he served as Regional Hydrographer Pacific. He was instrumental in the 1930s in introducing underwater acoustic positioning techniques to Canadian hydrography. He retired in 1946.


To quote from this article please cite:

MacFarlane, John (2020) CCGS Parizeau. Nauticapedia.ca 2020. http://nauticapedia.ca/Gallery/FILE.php

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