Ship Details
Destiny Empress Photo Credit: John Henderson

 

Registry #1	328076 (Canada)	Registry #2		Registry #3
IMO#	6711728	MMSI#		VRN#

 

Name 1	1967	Parizeau (C.C.G.S.)	Name 6
Name 2	2001c	2001-04	Name 7
Name 3	2005	Destiny Empress	Name 8
Name 4			Name 9
Name 5			Name 10

 

Year Built	1967	Place	North Vancouver	Area	BC	Country	Canada

 

Designer	(nk)	Measurement (imp)	198.8' x 40.0' x 18.9'
Builder	Burrard Drydock Co. Ltd.	Measurement (metric)	64.5m x 12.2m x 4.6m
Hull	Steel	Displacement
Gross Tonnage	1328.08	Type 1	Research vessel
Registered Tonnage	360.63	Type 2
Engine	2640bhp diesel engine (1967)	Engine Manufacture	Deutz AG
Repower		Propulsion	Twin Screw
Rebuilds		Call Sign	CGBS
Pendant  #		Masters

 

Owner(s)
In 1967 she was owned by the Minister of Mines & Technical Surveys. In 1967-2004 she was a survey vessel owned by Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Ottawa ON Canada. In 2005-2024 she was owned by Empress Investment Group Ltd., Oakville ON Canada.

 

Fate	Afloat in 2024	Date	0000-00-00

 

Named Features
Significance of Name	For Henri Parizeau, Director of Hydrographic Office Victoria BC for 25 years.

 

Anecdotes

In 1967 this vessel was christened by Mrs. Henri Parizeau. This vessel was based at Dartmouth NS. In 2015 the Destiny Empress 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 Italy' 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 1.5 t (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 "broken up in Turkey, after being seized off Spain in a cocaine smuggling scheme."

 

References
Canada List of Shipping; Maginley, C.D. & B. Collin (2001);
Last update

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