HMCS Protecteur Leaving CFB Esquimalt Wednesday to be Dismantled

It is almost the end of the line for HMCS Protecteur. The Royal Canadian Navy's AOR that has was in service between August of 1969 to May of 2015 is getting ready for its final voyage.

David Pugliese of the Ottawa Citizen reported this morning that HMCS Protecteur is on its way to be dismantled. 

Here is the rest of his article:

Crews worked over the weekend at CFB Esquimalt to ensure HMCS Protecteur is ready to be towed to the east coast where it will be dismantled.

HMCS Protecteur is now expected to be towed starting Wednesday after a few delays meant that the ship could not leave on its originally planned date of Monday, February 22, 2016, Royal Canadian Navy officials toldDefence Watch.

In January Defence Watch reported that R.J. MacIsaac Construction of Antigonish, NS. had won a $39 million contract to dispose of HMCS Algonquin and HMCS Protecteur. Both ships are now paid off/decommissioned and at CFB Esquimalt, BC.

The plan is to tow the vessels to the east coast where they will be dismantled. The operation will involve towing the ships through the Panama Canal, according to officials. No details were available on the cost to tow the ships from the west coast to the east coast.

Christopher Clarke, mayor of Queens Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia where much of the work is expected to be done, had earlier told Halifax’s Chronicle Herald that HMCS Protecteur would arrive on the east coast around April 1. HMCS Algonquin will arrive in early July to be dismantled, according to government officials.

Project Resolve: CEO says Seaspan could Supply iAOR Cheaper/Faster

By Jonathan Whitworth,

Chief Executive Officer, Seaspan ULC

Let’s give the new Liberal government in Ottawa credit for taking a deeper dive into the reported costs associated with Canada’s search for an interim capability to support the Royal Canadian Navy’s supply ship needs in the aftermath of the unanticipated retirement of HMCS Protecteur and HMCS Preserver. This interim capability would provide a needed bridge to the greater capability of the future Joint Support Ship (JSS) to be built at Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyard.

Notwithstanding the indignation of certain commentators from Quebec, the Davie Shipyard-controlled Shipbuilding Association of Canada (neither Seaspan nor Irving are members of this organization) and some in the media, at the heart of the issue is whether Canada will get value for the reported $750 million it would be spending on a sole-source contract with Chantier Davie. Taxpayers should expect our federal government to have confidence in the answer they give to that question and one clear way of determining best value is through a fair, open and transparent competition.

Since Seaspan’s name has found its way into media articles related to this issue over the past week, I offer facts for the public record.

– Seaspan believes in competition and are proud to have won the federal government’s competition to build the next generation of vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard and Joint Support (supply ships) for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) under the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS).

– With no financial support from either the Province of British Columbia or the federal government we have invested $170 million of our own money to build North America’s most modern shipyard through which we have begun to produce the vessels that make up our initial inventory of work;

– The first of those vessels – the Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel for the Canadian Coast Guard – began construction in June and has 15 of 37 blocks presently under construction and is on plan;

– The engineering and planning phases are well underway on the next two classes of ships to be built in Vancouver. The Offshore Ocean Science Vessel for the Canadian Coast Guard and JSS for the Royal Canadian Navy are both benefiting from the world-class expertise that has been built at the Vancouver Shipyard under NSPS;

– This level of effort is currently providing employment to over 650 people at the Vancouver Shipyard and has resulted in contracts valued at over $321 million being awarded to some 140 Canadian suppliers. These numbers will continue to climb as our NSPS build program increases;

– Project delays that are often attributed to JSS are related to a failed procurement back in 2008 which predates NSPS and is unrelated to our current program. We are currently working to schedule and to budget with our JSS deliverables;

– We have formally expressed interest to Canada, at its request, to support the RCN’s interim capability need with a converted containership, similar to that offered by Davie but at a significantly lower price and faster, through our Victoria Shipyards. The work would be performed without compromise to our capacity at Vancouver Shipyards which will deliver JSS to Canada, in 2020;

– Seaspan’s Victoria Shipyards, and its trades-men and women, have enjoyed a very successful long-term relationship with the RCN including our delivery next summer of the fifth of five extensively refit Halifax Class frigates, each delivered to Canada on-time and on-budget. If Canada opens the interim supply ship project to best value competition, it is the Victoria Shipyard that stands ready to offer a winning, low-cost interim solution as a bridge to the much more capable Joint Support Ship.

We invite journalists and those who comment through the media to come and visit us at Seaspan, in both Vancouver and Victoria, to see with their own eyes why we are bullish on the future.

Project Resolve: RCN's Interim Supply Ship

There is new(er) news about Project Resolve. Please be sure to also read: Asterix to Salvage Parts from HMCS Protecteur & Asterix iAOR to be ready by 2017

During election campaign, people expect little more than future promises on Defence issues - but we got news the other day that the Government has signed a letter of intent with Davie Shipbuilding in Levis, Quebec to retrofit a civilian container ship, the Asterix (a 1,702 TEU Boxship).

(*TEU - a Unit of Measurement = Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit (i.e. a 20 Foot Sea Container))

According to several sources Davie Shipbuilding has purchased the Asterix for around $20 million and will spend upwards of $350 Million on retrofitting it to meet the Royal Canadian Navies requirements. 

For this all to take place,the Government was required to change its rules on sole-sourcing defence purchases. Otherwise, multiple firms would have been required to bid for the project, which could have led to further delays. 

The Government quietly added a line to the contract back in June 2015, that allows a deal to move forward to a single company, if the requirements are "urgent operational reasons, and fulfills an interim requirement."  This can possibly set a dangerous precedent for future projects or governments, as what defines urgent or interim? 

Little is known about the final ownership of the Asterix. It is highly unlikely that the ship will be owned by the Royal Canadian Navy - as it is Davie who reportedly purchased the ship. In all likelihood, Davie will then lease the ship to the Navy on a long-term basis until the planned Queenston-Class AOR vessels are built (The first in late 2020). The estimated cost for the lease - between $65 and $75 Million per year. What will happen to the Asterix after all 3 Queenston AORs are operational? That is another unanswered question - it will most likely continue to operate as a broader part of the Navy, most likely helping out on more humanitarian missions or as a central command ship for larger international deployments. The modified Asterix is expected to be in service for at least the next 20 to 25 years. There are no reports about whether or not Davie will sell the ship to the Navy at the end of the initial lease agreement. 

The Royal Canadian Navy currently does not have a supply ship, and temporarily rented a Chilean Supply Ship for exercises on the West Coast, and have leased a Spanish supply ship for the East Coast.  The Asterix will give the RCN supply capability until the Queenston-Class AORs arrive, but will also allow the Navy to maintain a high level of training on supply vessels. 

The Asterix is currently capable of carrying 1,702 twenty-foot sea containers. Davie will convert the ship into a Naval Supply Vessel, capable of replenishing other Navy vessels at sea. 

The conversion will include, modifying the hull and ballast systems, to be capable of carrying 10,000 liters of spare fuel. A landing pad will be added to the ship, large enough to allow for two Chinook sized helicopters to use it. Although it is more likely that the Cyclones will operate off of the ship. Accompanying the landing pad, will be two hangers for the ships own aircraft be to be stored. Accommodations for up to 350 personnel, including a large medical facility (mobile hospital) and a command center. Unlike the Queenston-Class, no mention of any weapons systems have been added to the design of the Asterix. 

Once all the modifications are complete, the ship will also be able to carry an additional 40 twenty-foot sea containers. (Down form the 1,702) 

The project name Davie Shipbuilding is using for this overhaul - Project Resolve, which has led to the nickname Resolve-Class AOR for the Asterix. It is currently only a temporary name, but I think HMCS Resolve has a nice ring to it. 

Navy used eBay to keep HMCS Preserver operational

The Ottawa Citizen's Defence Watch learned recently that Royal Canadian Navy personnel went to extreme lengths to keep HMCS Preserver operational over the last few years. 

The Canadian Press, who supplied the information to Navy Commander Vice-Admiral Mark Norman showed that technicians were fighting a loosing battle to keep Preserver on duty. 

Despite the fact that the Canadian Armed Forces announced in 2014 that Preserver  and her sister ship Protecteur would be retired in 2015, personnel fought to keep them operational as long as possible, in several cases even using eBay to purchased used parts to repair the ship. 

This extreme step was taken as the original manufacturers long ago stopped making spare parts - which led to a disproportionate amount of time being used to find replacements. In many cases when the military requires a part that is no longer produced, they upgrade the equipment in question, or find a manufacturer to produce a specified amount of the required part for the remaining lifespan of the equipment. In the Navy's case - for Preserver that was not an option because of its impending retirement. 

An exact date for Preserver`s "Paying Off" (retirement) has not been set. 

Many critics are calling for an interim solution to be found for the Royal Canadian Navy's supply gap - construction on the new supply vessels are not set to begin until 2017 - and will not be ready before 2019/2020. 

Updated: RCN Seeks Supply Vessel Lease

Originally Published Feb 15, 2015
Updated: May 24, 2015

So with Canada's plan for a new fleet of Navy Vessels still on the drawing board, while more and more of its ships are forced into retirement, including the last of its supply vessels earlier this year, Canada will not have to lease the missing pieces it requires to operate the Royal Canadian Navy efficiently. The replacement fleet will not be ready until 2021 at the earliest.

The Government of Canada will look at domestic or international companies to lease commercial vessels that can act as resupply ships so the RCN can resupply warships at sea.

Originally the government intended to purchase surplus US Navy ships but that is likely no longer an option based on the cost and the low availability of the surplus ships.

There are specific requirements the commercial supply ships must meet - but the most important according to DND is that they must be able to refuel vessels at sea and moving.

The US Navy has kindly offered assistance, and the RCN is working to better coordinate the movement of its ships to be within US Supply range when needed - but that convenience also has a cost. Just think of the increased cost of goods when you visit a convenience store.

This solution is limited, because the RCN is not always operating within range of the US ships, and then must put the burden on other Allies in the region.

The Navy will not operate these leased vessels, they would be run by commercial crews, but with Navy personnel managing the communications equipment and the refuelling/restocking systems.

Canada has selected the German Navy's Berlin-class design for its new supply ships, which as more than 20,000 tons and 600 feet long. They will carry two helicopters and medical facilities, but they will not be complete until 2020 and not operational until 2021.

UPDATE:
On Friday May 22, 2015, DND released hints that the Government of Canada will most likely announce this coming week that they are seeking commercial ships to fill the void left by HMCS Preserver  and HMCS Protecteur. The commercial tanker ships will require modification to fit the needs of the Royal Canadian Navy - a process that will be expedited by removing equipment that is still usable (and parts are still available) from the two retired supply ships.

The lease or purchase of two commercial ships would allow for the Navy to at least be refuelled at sea - something that it currently is relying on its Allies in deployment regions for. Naval supply ships allows a Navy to operate for upwards of six months without heading into a port for supplies and fuel. It also helps ships when working out of a battle group, or in a region of the world where allied ports are unavailable.

The Conservative government is taking heat over its "Made in Canada" rebuild of the Navy. While the process will create jobs, it will also likely run over budget and be delayed. This is because there is no large ship building firms in Canada. No corporate memory for such projects. Critics point to the United Kingdom who are acquiring four commercial supply ships for the Royal Navy from South Korea - at a much cheaper cost than the Queenston-Class ships Canada is planning on building. (And they are getting four vessels not three as planned in Canada)

Norway is planning a similar purchase. The release states that several companies have already come forward with options for the Navy's supply vessel problem.



Original Source: Defence News