RCN and Irving Look to Sell AOPS Internationally to Fill Construction Gap

By: David Pugliese, National Post

The gap between the building of new ships for the navy could be as much as 18 months, opening the possibility of east coast shipyard employees to be laid off.

But the Defence department’s top equipment official says changes to the shipbuilding procurement process will reduce some, but not all, of that gap. Workers that could be affected would be blue-collar shipyard employees at Irving Shipbuilding.

The 18-month gap between finishing construction of the fleet of Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships or AOPS and starting the new Canadian Surface Combatant vessels at Irving shipyards in Halifax is outlined in documents obtained by Postmedia through the Access to Information law.

“We are still concerned about a gap,” Pat Finn, assistant deputy minister for materiel at the Department of National Defence, acknowledged in a recent interview.

The engineering workforce in the Irving yard is about to ramp up dramatically, he added, so there are no concerns there. “The issue is on what we call the blue‑collar workforce, and particularly (in) the early stages of construction,” Finn explained. “Those are the people that, once you’ve finished cutting steel in the last AOPS, ideally the next day you start cutting steel on the first surface combatant. Well, right now we’re not lined up to do that.”

Construction of the first surface combatants isn’t scheduled to begin until the early 2020s.

The first AOPS will be in the water in the summer and the other vessels are expected to follow fairly quickly.

“The gap is still a few years away, but clearly if we’re going to make sure there’s continuous flow of work, we’ve got to be dealing with that now,” Finn said.

He said the Royal Canadian Navy is lending its support to help promote the AOPS to international customers in the hopes of drumming up more work to shrink the size of the construction gap.

Procurement Minister Carla Qualtrough has also said she is open to the idea of additional AOPS being purchased for Canada.

Irving spokesman Sean Lewis said Wednesday that the company, the federal government and a third-party expert continue to look at the issue. “The construction of additional AOPS for Canada or international export opportunities is being considered and various options pursued,” he explained. “At this time it is premature to comment further.”

It’s way too early to talk about layoffs

In November federal government and Irving officials acknowledged their worry that highly skilled employees and their expertise could be lost in any potential gap between construction of AOPS and the surface combatants. “It’s way too early to talk about layoffs,” Irving Shipbuilding president Kevin McCoy said at the time.

The same problem has emerged in the federal shipbuilding program on the west coast and unions there warn that layoffs are coming. Seaspan Shipyards in Vancouver acknowledges there will be a gap between the construction of coast guard vessels, a situation it is trying to deal with by drumming up more work from the federal government or from the commercial marketplace.

Such gaps were supposed to be prevented by the federal government’s national shipbuilding strategy, which called for the continuous build of vessels, ensuring steady employment for a skilled labour force.

The Canadian Surface Combatant program will cost between $55 billion and $60 billion. Fifteen ships will be eventually built. Three consortiums have bid on the program.

Artits Rendering of the BAE Type-26 Global Combat Ship; which many believe is the frontrunner in the CSC Fleet Proposal.

Finn said a contract is expected to be awarded by the end of the year.

About half of the cost of the surface combatants is for systems and equipment that will go on the 15 ships, according to federal documents obtained by Postmedia through the Access the Information law. “Approximately one-half of the CSC build cost is comprised of labour in the (Irving’s) Halifax yard and materials,” the documents added.

Last year, Jean-Denis Fréchette, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, estimated the CSC program would cost $61.82 billion. He also warned that every year the awarding of the contract is delayed beyond 2018, taxpayers will spend an extra $3 billion because of inflation.

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau to be sponsor of HMCS Harry DeWolf

Royal Canadian Navy Press Release

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) has announced that Ms. Sophie Grégoire Trudeau has agreed to become the sponsor of Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Harry DeWolf, the lead ship in the RCN’s upcoming class of Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels.

Artist's impression of the Harry Dewolf-Class Arctic/Offshore Patrol Vessel

The appointment of a ship’s sponsor is a long and storied naval tradition. The function of a sponsor is to be part of the naming of a ship, typically breaking a bottle of champagne across the ship’s bow during its naming or launching ceremony. Sponsors are often prominent women who have served their communities in a variety of capacities. Many sponsors continue their relationship with their ship for many years and remain key stakeholders and supportive members of the RCN family.

Ms. Grégoire Trudeau is a volunteer, speaker, and long-time champion for a variety of important causes such as gender empowerment, mental health, self-esteem, and equality issues relating to women and children. She has raised the profile of many causes that focus on the health and well-being of families.

“I am honoured to serve as the sponsor of HMCS Harry DeWolf. Vice-Admiral Harry DeWolf was a true Canadian hero who is remembered for his legacy of service, courage, and determination. I am confident that this ship, and all those who serve on it, will continue to build on that legacy—one that all Canadians can be very proud of. I have great respect for the men and women who serve in the Royal Canadian Navy, and I’m very eager to meet the sailors and their families,” said Ms. Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, sponsor of HMCS Harry DeWolf.

Construction of HMCS Harry DeWolf is now underway by Irving Shipbuilding Inc. in Halifax. The ship is expected to be launched in a naming ceremony that will involve Ms. Grégoire Trudeau in 2018.

All of the RCN’s commissioned ships have sponsors and many prominent women have served or are currently serving as sponsors, including Ms. Aline Chrétien, the sponsor of HMCS Shawinigan; and Ms. Mila Mulroney, the sponsor of HMCS Halifax, lead ship of the Halifax Class Canadian Patrol Frigates.

The Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels will be large, ice-capable ships, more than 100 metres long, and designed to conduct a variety of missions in Canada’s waters, including in the Arctic. The vessels will be capable of conducting armed sea-borne surveillance, providing government situational awareness of activities and events in these regions. They will also be able to cooperate with partners in the Canadian Armed Forces and other government departments to assert and enforce Canadian sovereignty, when and where necessary.

Vice-Admiral Harry DeWolf was a decorated naval commander in the Second World War. He took part in numerous Atlantic convoy escort duties, in the rescue and evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk after the fall of France in 1940, and was known as a fearless and bold tactician throughout the war. During his 14 months in command of HMCS Haida, VAdm DeWolf led in the sinking of many enemy ships, earning him a Distinguished Service Order for gallantry, and a Distinguished Service Cross for courage and skill in action against German destroyers. In 1956, upon promotion to the rank of Vice-Admiral, he was appointed Chief of the Naval Staff, a position he served in until his retirement in 1960.

The names of five of six Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels have been announced to-date, each one named after Canadian naval heroes: HMCS Harry DeWolf, HMCS Margaret Brooke, HMCS Max Bernays, HMCS William Hall, and HMCS Frédérick Rolette.