The vessel was constructed in 1990 by Versatile Pacific Shipyards of Esquimalt, British Columbia for the Canadian Coast Guard.

Initially named CCGS John Jacobson,[note 1] the vessel was deployed for search and rescue missions along Canada's coastlines.

[1][2] John Jacobson and sister ship CCGS Gordon Reid were ordered as larger, more capable replacements for the R-class patrol vessels that the Canadian Coast Guard operated at the time.

Renamed Coriolis II, the ship's main scientific focus is to study the sediment in the Saint Lawrence River.

[6][7] In June 2014, the ship was hired by a subcontractor of Shell Canada to perform geological surveys for oil exploration off the Nova Scotia coast.