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An uncertain future for coast guard icebreaker built in Thunder Bay

An old Canadian Coast Guard ice breaker built in the Lakehead now faces a very uncertain future, with one option being to sink it to the bottom of Lake Ontario.

The Alexander Henry worked on the Great Lakes from 1959 - 1984

Matt Prokopchuk · CBC News ·
The Alexander Henry, which was built by the Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company, faces an uncertain future as the Marine Museum Of the Great Lakes, where it has been displayed, has been forced to relocate. (http://www.kingstonmuseums.ca/)

An old Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker built in the Lakehead now faces a very uncertain future, with one option being to sink it to the bottom of Lake Ontario.

The Alexander Henry was built by the Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company and was commissioned in 1959. It worked the Great Lakes until the mid-1980s, when the current breaker, the Samuel Risley, came into service.

Now, the Alexander Henry could find itself underwater, after the museum that's displayed it for decades lost its space.

"Over the next few months, we do have to figure out whether we're going to sink the Alexander Henry and do what's called a reef conversion, to convert the ship into an artificial diving attraction," said Chris West, the board chair of the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in Kingston, Ont.
Chris West is the chair of the board of the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in Kingston, Ont. (http://www.3macs.com/)

"In which case, the Alexander Henry would have a new life underwater as the museum's primary underwater artifact, and that would tie in nicely with our emphasis on shipwrecks in the Kingston region."

The ship has been on display at a dry dock in Kingston where the museum has been located for about 40 years, West said, but the recent sale of the property by the federal government to a private developer — and an inability for the museum and the new owner to reach a deal on rent — means the collection, including the icebreaker, has to move by August 23.

'We're all ears'

The museum, through the City of Kingston, has secured a new home for the time being, West said, but as it overlooks a busy marina, the Alexander Henry can't be displayed or housed there.

A local entrepreneur has agreed to store the ship in the short-term, West said, which gives the museum board some time to figure out more long-term plans.

That could include turning it into an underwater reef, but that is largely contingent on the cost of stripping it down and making it environmentally feasible to sink.

Another option, West said, is that the business owner currently storing the ship would take it off the museum's hands permanently, for a price. West said he doesn't know what would happen to the icebreaker after that. He added Kingston city hall, while being supportive of the museum, has no interest in acquiring the ship; other attempts to unload the vessel haven't drawn much interest.

"Believe me, we exhausted all the possibilities, public and private," he said.

West said it's not likely the Alexander Henry will be displayed above water again.

"I'd say it's a long shot, but of course if Thunder Bay has a proposal, we're all ears," he said laughing. "Come on down, we have a deal for you."

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