Close X
Monday, November 18, 2024
ADVT 
National

Prime Minister Stephen Harper joins search for lost ships of Franklin expedition

Steve Rennie, Canadian Press, 25 Aug, 2014 10:33 AM
    The final resting place of the lost ships of the Franklin expedition may remain a mystery for at least another summer.
     
    A thick pack of sea ice is blocking a key part of the search area, making it inaccessible to ships.
     
    The two ships of Sir John Franklin's doomed 1845 expedition — HMS Erebus and HMS Terror — are believed to be somewhere in the Victoria Strait off the west coast of King William Island, perhaps as far down as the Queen Maud Gulf off the Adelaide Peninsula.
     
    Ryan Harris, a senior underwater archeologist who is one of the people leading the Parks Canada search, says it's only a matter of time before the remnants of the missing expedition are found.
     
    Four vessels, including the Canadian Coast Guard ship Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the Royal Canadian Navy's HMCS Kingston and vessels from the Arctic Research Foundation and the One Ocean Expedition are leading the search this summer.
     
    Harris says 75 per cent of the southern area and 40 per cent of the northern area have been searched.
     
    This year, however, there is more ice than usual, which could stop the ships from searching part of the area.
     
    "2009 was a bad year for ice," Harris said, "but we didn't survey with our partners that year, and I'm glad we didn't, because we wouldn't have been able to do anything. A very bad year.
     
    "Apart from that, this is the worst that we've seen."
     
    A strong wind could make all the different by flushing the ice down the strait, he added.
     
    Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is on his annual tour of the north, got a first-hand look at some of the tools being used in the search.
     
    He boarded a naval vessel at Pond Inlet that travelled west to Eclipse Sound. Upon arriving at a picturesque spot surrounded by ice-capped mountains, Harper and his wife, Laureen, got in a Zodiac and motored out to one of two gigantic icebergs towering in the water.
     
    The prime minister then helped lower an autonomous underwater vehicle into the frigid water.
     
    It was the closest Harper had ever been to an iceberg.
     
    "I've never been that close to a big chunk of ice. It's huge," he said. "That was great. Really exciting."
     
    The prime minister said the lost Franklin ships are an iconic piece of Canadian history.
     
    "It ultimately isn't just a story of discovery and mystery and all those things — but it's also really laying the basis for what's in the longer-term Canadian sovereignty," he said.
     
    "Because it's a mystery, and we've got to solve it."
     
    Harper also expressed confidence that the vessels would soon be found.
     
    "One day we're just going to come around the bend and there's going to be the ship and Franklin's skeleton slumped over the helm and we're going to find it."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    RCMP raids Canadian aid group office labelled 'terrorist' entity

    RCMP raids Canadian aid group office labelled 'terrorist' entity
    The RCMP is conducting an investigation into a Muslim relief organization that federal auditors have accused of sending almost $15-million to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

    RCMP raids Canadian aid group office labelled 'terrorist' entity

    Gurmej Singh Gill of Babbar Khalsa to be deported from Canada

    Gurmej Singh Gill of Babbar Khalsa to be deported from Canada
    Gurmej Singh Gill, who had held permanent residency of Canada in the early 1980s, arrived in Vancouver to visit relatives in late November and was to return to his home in the British city of Birmingham Dec 22

    Gurmej Singh Gill of Babbar Khalsa to be deported from Canada

    60-year-old BC woman charged with murder of 61-year-old Burnaby resident

    60-year-old BC woman charged with murder of 61-year-old Burnaby resident
    A second degree murder charge has been laid against a 60-year-old BC woman for murdering a 61-year-old Christina Docherty.

    60-year-old BC woman charged with murder of 61-year-old Burnaby resident

    Transit cops open fire at man in vehicle near SkyTrain station

    Transit cops open fire at man in vehicle near SkyTrain station
    Surrey RCMP is investigating a case where a man fled from scene in his car after Transit cops fired at him near Gateway SkyTrain station Sunday.

    Transit cops open fire at man in vehicle near SkyTrain station

    Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts will not run for fourth term

    Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts will not run for fourth term
    Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts will not be seeking re-election for a fourth term this fall. The announcement was made by Watts Saturday afternoon at the grand opening celebration for the new city hall complex in North Surrey.

    Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts will not run for fourth term

    Election Special: In Punjab, AAP makes inroads in hinterland

    Election Special: In Punjab, AAP makes inroads in hinterland
    Till a month back, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was not much of a political entity in Punjab. But that is no longer the story. Thanks to some of its candidates, the party is covering ground -- even in Punjab's rural areas.

    Election Special: In Punjab, AAP makes inroads in hinterland