An Indigenous blessing and a ceremonial bottle on the ship's bow officially dedicated a Canadian Coast science vessel the Sir John Franklin in a ceremony in Sidney on Thursday.
The 64-metre Sir John Franklin is the first of three offshore fisheries science vessels built under the national shipbuilding plan.
Verna Tunnicliffe, the first woman to lead a deep sea science expedition on Canada's West Coast, was the civilian invited to sponsor the vessel for its well-being.
The home port for the Franklin will be the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney.
On March 22 the ship was returning to port from its first week of sea trials when it struck the Ogden Point breakwater, damaging both the vessel and the sea wall.
Two weeks of repairs were required to fix damage to the ship's propeller, rudder, rudder post and metalwork on its aft port side.
- With files from the Canadian Press
