RV David Thompson – Parks Canada’s research vessel

Getting to know the RV David Thompson
  • Will support Parks Canada’s marine science and underwater archaeological work
  • Has valuable work space for Parks Canada research
  • Accommodations for 11 researchers and 3 crew
  • 29 meters long, 228 tonnes steel-hulled ship
  • Launched in 1992
  • Originally a mid-shore fishery patrol vessel for the Canadian Coast Guard
  • Equipped with a crane, work boat, fresh water maker, a sewage treatment plant, and satellite communications
RV David Thompson in the future
@PCArchaeology on X
Research summer 2018
Potential research work in:
  • Survey and excavation of HMS Erebus
  • Survey work on HMS Terror
  • Investigate other possible archaeological sites along the west coast and in the Arctic
  • Opportunities to gather hydrographic data and do climate change research and pollution studies
Did you know?
  • David Thompson was an explorer and cartographer
  • Walked or paddled 90,000 km or more in his life mapping over 3.9 million square km in western Canada, and parts of the east and northwestern United States
  • Called “the greatest land geographer who ever lived”
  • Was nick-named Koo-Koo-Sint or "the Stargazer" by some Indigenous Peoples
  • He spent so much time examining the sun and stars he lost sight in one eye

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