NAMAO The Motor Vessel By Ryan Johnson, Dr. Al Kristofferson and Dr. Karen Scott Interlakepulse * www.interlakepulse.com T Photos by Dr. Karen Scott and Ryan Johnson he M.V. Namao is owned and operated by the Lake Winnipeg Research Consortium (LWRC), a not-for-profit registered charitable organization that facilitates scientific research on Lake Winnipeg. She was built in 1975 by the Riverton Boat Works for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) as a Class 900 navigation buoy tender, operating as such until 1997 when the program was cancelled. Declared surplus, she was tied up at the Coast Guard Base in Selkirk until the summer of 1999. The LWRC, formed the previous year, was in need of a dedicated and capable research platform to safely carry out research on Lake Winnipeg. Discussions with the Canadian Coast Guard ultimately led to an arrangement whereby the CCG would crew the vessel for the LWRC on a temporary basis. As a result, the first lake-wide survey in thirty years was carried out successfully in 1999 and a new life was found for the Namao as a research ship. The Namao had its permanent home relocated to Gimli harbour in 2000. While still owned and operated by the Canadian Coast Guard, she was chartered to the LWRC on a cost-recovery basis from 2002 to 2004 inclusive. In 2005, ownership of the Namao was transferred to the LWRC. Since that time she has been operated entirely by LWRC personnel.http://www.interlakepulse.com