The ship was towed from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador and underwent the 10-month conversion of "Sir John Franklin" at a shipyard in Les Mechins, Quebec. There, part of the vessel's storage holds were transformed into laboratory space. The refit included the addition of a moon pool, which enables scientists to lower scientific instruments from inside the hull without cutting a hole in the ice, multi-beam sonar, the replacement of heating and electrical systems, and installation of state-of-the-art scientific equipment. The vessel was recommissioned into the Canadian Coast Guard as "Amundsen", named in honour of Arctic explorer Roald Amundsen, on 26 August 2003. "Amundsen"s sponsor was Lily Schreyer, the sponsor of "Franklin" when the vessel first entered service. The ship remained the property of the Canadian Coast Guard and continues to support Coast Guard functions but is the dedicated science platform for scientists in the Arctic.