The William Kennedy is the first vessel of its kind dedicated to the research of the historic Hudson Bay Region. At 20 meters in length and drawing just 4 meters, the Kennedy is able to assess shallow near shore environments, previously inaccessible to larger research vessels. Primarily operating under the Churchill Marine Observatory (CMO), the William Keenedy was purchased by the Arctic Research Foundation and retrofitted for research in rough seas by the University of Manitoba. The vessel is named after Captain William Kennedy (1814-1890), an explorer and the first Métis captain to command sea-going vessels in the Arctic. It is equipped with many scientific instruments to capture underwater video, collect samples and measure temperature, depth, pH of water and more.

For more information and a virutal tour of the research vessel (R/V), please visit the Arctic Focus site hosted by the Arctic Research Foundation.