CCGS Captain Molly Kool (courtesy Canadian Coast Guard)
The Canadian Coast Guard has taken possession of a new icebreaker named after a seafaring pioneer from Alma, New Brunswick.
Born in 1916, Myrtle “Molly” Kool was only the second woman in the world to become a licensed ship captain and the first in North America.
Coast Guard spokesperson Brad Durnford says the Captain Molly Kool was one of three vessels acquired from Norway this year and was retrofitted at the Davie shipyard in Quebec.
“It was launched in 2000, it has comparable power to the 1200 class vessels like the Henry Larsen in the Atlantic region.”
Based at its home port of St. John’s, Newfoundland, the Captain Molly Kool will be ready for icebreaking operations this winter.
The Coast Guard is expected to launch its two sister vessels over the next couple of years.
