Category Archives: new build

NSPS Update from Vancouver

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A recent stopover in Vancouver allowed me the opportunity to pop over to the North Van side of the harbour to take a peak at the Seaspan facility there. Seaspan is currently building 2 supply ships for the navy (one is hull complete, the second has blocks under construction) as well as the Offshore Science vessel for the Coast Guard, which is the replacement for CCGS Hudson.

Much of the work in Vancouver is able to occur outdoors, owing to that cities better weather,so a good idea of the progress on both vessels can be easily had. The yards massive blue crane is also very impressive in person.

HMCS Margaret Brooke Commissioned

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Lost in the excitement of Fridays Arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford, was the commissioning ceremony for the second AOPS, HMCS Margaret Brooke, which took place at the dockyard.

The third AOPS, has been delivered to the navy, and is tied up along side the first. The 4th ship is due to be launched mid November from Halifax ship yard.

USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul

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USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul, LCS-21 arrived Sunday for a port visit. The ship is Due to sail tomorrow morning. Like most LCS built at Fincantieri’s Marinette Marine in Wisconsin, the ship stopped in Halifax on her way to her home port.

Previous ships of the class to stop ave included:
USS Freedom – Nov 2008
USS Fort Worth – Aug 2012
USS Milwaukee – Dec 2015
USS Detroit – Nov 2016
USS Little Rock – April 2018
USS Billings – July 2019
USS Sioux City – Nov 2019 (missed this one)
USS Witchita – Nov 2019
USS Indianapolis – Nov 2019 (Missed this one too)

USS St Louis Bypassed Halifax during Covid in 2020. Early ships faced issues with the Combining Gear – the Gear box that transfers power to the shafts form either the diesel engines or the turbines. Because of these issues, Completed ships were not accepted by the navy untill alterations could be made, which led to 3 visits in November 2019.

Due to the location of the combining gear, it was determined to not be cost effective to repair early ships. USS Freedom was Decommissioned in Sept 2021, and Fort Worth, Detroit and Little Rock are set to be decommissioned this year. 5 Additional ships are currently under construction.

William Hall Mega Block Rolled out

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The center mega block for AOPS #4 the future HMCS William Hall, was rolled out for the First time this evening. When i drove past at 7pm, they were just finishing, and removing the transporters.

Typically the Stern Mega Block follows the next day, and looks to be waiting in the right bay of the assembly hall.

William Hall’s bow section looks to be under construction in the left bay, behind where the first mega block was located prior to its roll out.

UPDATE 06/11: the stern Mega Block has now been rolled out.

CSL’s Newest Ship

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Nukumi arrived in Halifax and tied up at pier 25. the ship is owned and operated by CSL for Windsor salt and was specifically designed to service Windsor’s Magdalen Islands salt mines. It is the first Diesel Electric Laker, and the first bulk carrier in Canada to have single point loading. The single loading point means the ship will not have to shift along its berth to line up with the ship loading equipment to fill all the holds.

Construction of the ship began in August 2020, and the ship departed Jiangyin, China for Halifax at the end of January.

Update on large naval tugs

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Today the feds gave an update on the Large Naval tug project. this project will see 4 new tugs commissioned to replace the current fleet of Glen Tugs currently in use. The tugs are being built by Ocean Industries, at their Isle-aux-Coudres, Quebec shipyard.

The first two tugs (Haro and Barkerville) are scheduled to be delivered by sealift to the RCN’s Maritime Forces Pacific in Esquimalt, British Columbia, in 2022. The other two (Canso and Stella Maris) will sail to Maritime Forces Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2023 and 2024.

The new tugs are named as follows.

  • Naval Large Tug #1 Haro – This name is taken from the Haro Strait, which connects the Straits of Georgia and Juan de Fuca in British Columbia, and is frequently transited by Royal Canadian Navy vessels proceeding north from Esquimalt, the home of our Pacific Fleet. 
  • Naval Large Tug #2 Barkerville – This name is taken from the Second World War-era Ville-class tug of the same name, which capsized and sank at the entrance of Bedwell Harbour, British Columbia, on December 17, 1945, while towing His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Hespeler to its mooring. 
  • Naval Large Tug #3 Canso – This name is taken from the Canso Strait separating Nova Scotia from Cape Breton Island. This is a region that figures prominently in Canada’s formative history. It also reflects the Royal Canadian Navy’s past with HMCS Canso, a minesweeper that served in the Pacific and Atlantic during the Second World War, and was on hand at D-Day.
  • Naval Large Tug #4 Stella Maris – This name was selected in recognition of the valiant actions of the crew of the tug that came to the assistance of the French munitions ship, SS Mont-Blanc on December 6, 1917, in Halifax Harbour. The tug crew tried to fight a fire on board Mont-Blanc, and recognizing that they had insufficient water to quench the fire, selflessly attempted to tow the burning vessel away from shore. The tug was severely damaged and 19 personnel on board perished when Mont-Blanc then erupted in the disaster known as the Halifax Explosion.  

AOPS #3 in the Basin

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AOPS #3, the future HMCS Max Bernays moved into the basin for launch this morning. The barge will now be submerged over the coming hours, with AOPS #3 likely being floated off late this afternoon or early in the evening.

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