Danish Arctic Patrol Ship coming to Halifax

By: David Pugliese, Defence Watch 

Representatives from Canada’s defence industry are being invited to tour a Danish Arctic patrol ship that will be in Halifax April 4-5.

The EJNAR MIKKELSEN (EJMI) is one of three KNUD RASMUSSEN-class Arctic vessels, supplementing the four units of the larger THETIS-class, Lt. Col. Per Lyse Rasmussen of the Danish embassy in Washington, pointed out to Canadian industry.

The ship is similar in design to Canada’s Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships being built by Irving but it is smaller. What is also significantly smaller is the cost. Each AOPS is estimated to cost $700 million. The Danish ships are estimated to cost $70 million to $80 million each.

Here are some more details about the ship provided by Rasmussen to Canadian industry representatives:

EJMI is primarily used in the Arctic and specifically in the waters around Greenland as an Arctic Patrol Vessel. Main missions are surveillance, sovereignty enforcement, search and rescue, fishery protection and support to the local community. Other tasks include environmental monitoring, assistance to research and scientific studies, navigational tasks, ice reconnaissance, collection of weather and oceanographic data, icebreaking, explosive ordinance disposal and transportation of personnel and materiel. Additionally, EJMI also offers assistance to Greenland’s Home Rule Government, the Danish Meteorological Institute, the National Police of Denmark, Customs Authorities and many others.

Some useful facts about EJMI, which was named 13 September 2008 after one of the Danish polar explorers:

Length (total): 71,80 meters

Beam: 14,60 meters

Draught: 4,95 meters

Displacement (standard): 2,050 tonnes

Engines: Two MAN diesels 7.770 hp, three generators

Speed (eco): 12 knots

Speed (max): 17 knots

Icebreaking capability: about 3 feet (up to 5 feet)

Basic crew: 19 (up to 43/45)

Range at 12 knots: 7,050 nm

Container positions: 4 standard flex

Weaponry: One 3-inch Oto Melare gun, two 50-cal heavy machine guns, two light machine guns

Other facilities: Flight deck, hospital, SAR-vessel, RHIBs.

Photos Courtesy of the Danish Navy. 

iAOR Asterix Loses Power before Massive Storm

By: Tom Ayers, The Chronicle Herald 

A new naval supply ship lost power in Halifax Harbour last week just ahead of a winter storm that packed nearly 80 kilometre-per-hour winds at the dockyard and gusts that exceeded 100 km/h elsewhere in the province.

The MV Asterix, a large former commercial container ship that has been converted into an interim auxiliary naval replenishment vessel, arrived in Halifax late last month and will be leased to the Royal Canadian Navy once it passes sea trials.

With the storm coming and the Asterix tied up at the pier next to the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market, the harbour authority asked the ship’s owners to move its berth up the harbour, said Spencer Fraser, CEO of Federal Fleet Services, the company that refurbished the vessel.

The ship was accompanied by tugboats, as usual, he said, and after the power went out, an extra tug was called in just as a precaution.

“The reason we moved berths was I guess it was too exposed and they don’t want to suffer damage to the jetty with the ship knocking in, so the ship was in fact moved before the storm approached,” Fraser told The Herald.

“There was a power blackout ... a sensor on the lube-oil system failed on the power generation, but the emergency power generation kicked in as required, and the extra tug was kept there just because of the pending storm and sorting out the sensor problem, which has been solved.

“We did that and we’ve subsequently done more harbour moves in the harbour. We’re now tied up at the navy dockyard at jetty November Bravo.

“So all systems worked. There was a failure of a sensor and then the backup systems worked as engineered. There was no damage to the ship, no storm damage, no cost to us other than standard repair.”

Fraser declined to discuss financial issues, but said there was no extra cost because the large ship always requires tugboats to manoeuvre around the harbour.

“It’s a new ship and it’s new to the Halifax Port Authority so everyone’s being extra cautious and professionalism came through,” he said.

Ken Hansen, a retired navy commander and defence consultant, said finding a faulty sensor is a common aspect of sea trials before a ship goes into service.

And lubricating oil is a critical component of a ship’s mechanical operations, so running drills related to the lube-oil would be expected, he said.

“Lube-oil failures are a very common thing to practise and the engineering staff have to take action so that they can determine whether or not it’s a faulty sensor or quickly shut down,” Hansen said.

“Lubricating oil is vital. It’s one of those real, honest-to-God emergencies that happen in a ship, because if the engine or the transmission runs dry, you can very quickly end up with a catastrophic failure.”

However, he said, the incident with the Asterix sounds like it was fixed right away and was not serious.

“It’s like cars,” Hansen said. “Cars are the same. In fact, I’ve got a faulty engine light in my car right now, and I know it’s a sensor, because all the other indications — running temperature, fuel efficiency, power response, all that stuff — is normal, so we don’t pay any attention.”

As an auxiliary naval replenishment vessel, the Asterix will provide the navy with fuel, cargo, ammunition, a floating hospital, a platform for two helicopters and quarters for humanitarian and rescue operations.

It will be leased to the federal government for five years at a cost of about $700 million, with an option to renew for an additional five years, while another firm builds new replacement ships for the navy.

The Asterix is currently crewed with a mix of 36 civilian and 114 Canadian Forces personnel and is set to run through sea trials this month.

Fraser said he expects the navy will put the ship into service in February.

iAOR Will Alternate between CFB Halifax and CFB Esquimalt

By: David Pugliese, The Ottawa Citizen 

There was a report out of Halifax last week claiming that the new Resolve-class supply ship, being leased to the Royal Canadian Navy would be based out of that city for the next decade.

Not so, says the RCN.

The headquarters for the civilian crew will be in Halifax, the RCN says.

But the ship itself will alternate between the east and west coasts.

After its acceptance procedures at the end of this year – done in Halifax – the ship will sail for CFB Esquimalt, BC. It is expected to be based at that port in early 2018 as the RCN concentrates on expanding its presence in the Pacific, according to a RCN spokesman.

At some point in 2018 the ship (Asterix, shown above in a Davie provided photo) will sail back to Halifax but it is unclear at this point when that would happen. And then back and forth between the two coasts as needed for operations.