CCGS Parizeau was a Canadian Coast Guard Ship that served as an Offshore Research and Survey Vessel from 1966 to 2001.

Construction

Named for Canadian Hydrographic Service

Canadian Hydrographic Service

The Canadian Hydrographic Service is Canada's hydrographic office, with responsibility for performing hydrographic surveys and publishing paper and electronic nautical charts...

 hydrographer Henri Dalpe Parizeau, she was built at Burrard Dry Dock

Burrard Dry Dock

Burrard Dry Dock Ltd. was a Canadian shipbuilding company headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia . Together with the neighboring North Van Ship Repair yard and the Yarrows Ltd...

, North Vancouver

North Vancouver, British Columbia

There are two municipalities in the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada, that use the name North Vancouver. These are:*The City of North Vancouver...

 in 1966 and was commissioned as CSS Parizeau (Canadian Survey Ship Parizeau) with what would become the Department of Fisheries and Oceans

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, frequently referred to as DFO , is the department within the government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and scientific interests in oceans and inland waters...

.

Service

Parizeau served with DFO's Pacific Region from 1966 until 1992 at the Institute of Ocean and Sciences, Pat Bay

Sidney, British Columbia

Sidney is a town located at the northern end of the Saanich Peninsula, on Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of the 13 Greater Victoria municipalities. It has a population of approximately 11,300. Sidney is located just east of Victoria International Airport,...

 when she was transferred to DFO's Maritime Region where she was attached to the Bedford Institute of Oceanography

Bedford Institute of Oceanography

The Bedford Institute of Oceanography is a major Canadian government ocean research facility located in Dartmouth in the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia. The Bedford Institute of Oceanography is the largest ocean research station in Canada...

, Dartmouth

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Dartmouth founded in 1750, is a community and planning area of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes after the large number of lakes located in the city.On April 1, 1996, the provincial...

. Following the transfer of the Canadian Coast Guard

Canadian Coast Guard

The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...

 to DFO in 1995 and the merger of the DFO science and enforcement vessels into CCG, the Parizeaus prefix was changed from CSS to CCGS (Canadian Coast Guard Ship) and her crew became members of the coast guard.

Decommissioning and sale

Parizeau was decommissioned in 2001 and renamed 2001-04 upon transfer to Crown Assets for disposal. She was sold to private interests in January 2005 and renamed Destiny Empress. Her ownership as of 2009 is shown as Empress Investment Group Ltd., c/o Marler Law Firm, Oakville

Oakville, Ontario

Oakville is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area. As of the 2006 census the population was 165,613.-History:In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

December 2009 seizure

Destiny Empress was believed to be located in Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...

.

On December 22, 2009, Spanish law enforcement, acting on intelligence from the London Metropolitan Police, seized the ship and arrested the crew and 13 British citizens 200 nmi (370.4 km) north of Spain's northwest coast.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8427363.stm The Destiny Empress was searched and a secret compartment was discovered having 1.5 t (1.5 LT) of cocaine

Cocaine

Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...

having an estimated street value of £375 million. The ship has been transferred to a Spanish port.