I chose marine engineering – Charlotte
A Canadian Coast Guard chief engineer shares her career path in marine engineering and her passions that go beyond the waves.
Transcript: Meet Charlotte Girouard-Ares, Chief Engineer aboard the CCGS Pierre Radisson
My name is Charlotte Girouard-Ares, and I'm a Senior engineer officer aboard the CCGS Pierre Radisson. I'm in charge of the engine room team, the maintenance, and the planning, as well as repairs on board the ship. Right now, we're undergoing refit. We've just come back from our Arctic season, and we're getting ready for the icebreaking season on the St. Lawrence River, and the Saguenay.
We're using this time to repair anything that may have broken during the season, to do the tasks we can't do while we're at sea. That's one of our main engines. We do surface preparation. We're going to remove everything, all the parts, inspect them, measure them, and then recondition the engine. As you can see, everything is open.
Right now, we're doing a pressure test on one of the blocks, and we've also changed some camshaft sections. We finished the inspection today. I grew up on and underwater, and my main passion is scuba diving. If I go on a boat, I'm usually underwater exploring the seabed.
I love seeing parts of the country that you wouldn't normally see, especially the Arctic. The Arctic is magical every time you go there. I must be on my 10th visit to the Arctic, but it's always so magical to go there. It's an amazing privilege because not everyone has the opportunity to go there.
Now we'll go and see the electrician, who's doing his annual maintenance. How are you? Good, you? Good. How's your inspection going?
As I told you this morning, I checked the brush holders, then I found some carbon stuck to them, so I scrubbed them, gave them a good shake, and cleaned them up.
We'll wait for the inspector's visit for the other details. I graduated from the Canadian Coast Guard College in 2014. During my first phase, I worked with one of the first female chief engineers in Newfoundland. There aren't many women on board. We're not in the majority, but there are some, the opportunities are there and we're seeing more and more of them, moving up the ranks.
The opportunities are there, you just have to take them and make the choices that allow you to advance to the level of your abilities.