B.D. Renford

George Duddy (2016) reports that "The vessel was built as a water barge for the RCN in 1942. In accordance with shipbuilding records this vessel was sold to an still unidentified owner and registered in 1945 as B.D. Renford. It is not known when and where this vessel was converted to a powered vessel but records shown this vessel was owned by the Hudson’s Bay Company of London England and renamed Nechilik home ported in St . John NB in 1951. This vessel was acquired as a replacement for their aging western arctic supply vessel Nigalik . This vessel arrived in Tuktoyaktuk in the fall of 1951 ready for service in the 1952 navigation season via the Panama Canal (Northern Administration and Lands Branch report). A June 14 1951 article in the newspaper Pan American recalls a bearing problem forcing her to re-transit the canal for dry docking in Christobal. Amusingly the paper reported her voyage as “The Nechilk was bound for Winnipeg (sic) with a 5 – man crew.” On September 28, 1957 this vessel was wrecked near the Inman River in the western Arctic.