Built for use as auxiliary craft, Caribou primarily served as an at-sea training platform for junior naval officers, boatswains, reserve personnel and Sea Cadets at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Esquimalt.

[3] Like other YAG 300 vessels, Caribou was 75′ long overall, 18′6″ wide, had a draft of 4′6″, measured 70 tonnes, and was powered by twin 6-71 Detroit Diesel engines.

Re-designated as YFP 314 (Yard Ferry, Personnel) in 1960, she was transferred to the Royal Canadian Airforce (RCAF) and renamed M.975 Nimpkish II.

In November 1975 Caribou transported 369 people from Port Alice, British Columbia after a mudslide forced the evacuation of many residents.

[7] In 2017, Caribou was sold and renamed MV Tamarind by private entrepreneurs offering coastal and celestial navigation services off the coast of Vancouver, British Columbia.