The New build shuttle tanker Beothuk Spirit arrived at pier 9 yesterday morning on her delivery voyage from Korea. She will go into service shuttling crude oil from the Hiberina and Hebron Oil Fields off Newfoundland to various refineries.
BAE Systems has announced they have submitted a variant of their British Type 26 Frigate design for the Canadian Surface Combatant project. They Published the Intro Video below.
Trident is reporting that the Queenston Class Support ships will now be the Protecteur Class, and will now be named Protecteur and Preserver. The previous Conservative government named the to be built support ships in October 2013 as HMCS Queenston and HMCS Chateauguay .
The recently scrapped supply ships HMCS Protecteur and Preserver were the original Protecteur Class, and the new class will continue the legacy of the Old ships. Given these vessels were in service in 2013, the names were unavailable for re-use.
These Vessels are scheduled to be built by Seaspan in Vancouver.
Davie Shipyard announced today they would be opening a Halifax Office for Federal Fleet Services in the Fall as part of Project Resolve – the Interm Supply ship they are building and leasing to the Navy. Federal fleet Services is the Subsidiary who holds the contract with the feds for the ship.
The Interm ship is a converted Container vessel, that was purchased and refit at Davies Yard. The Ship was re-floated for the first time in the Dry Dock Earlier this week. Also contained in the announcement, is confirmation that the ship will be stationed in Halifax.
The Ship is meant to fill the gap between the retirement of HMCS Preserver, and the Construction of the new Berlin Class Ships. Given the Cost of relatively new, Panamax container-ships – conversions like the Asterix make alot of Sense.
Below is a Before Picture of the vessel. Above photo from Davie, via twitter.
Halifax has 2 new pilot boats, Nova Pilot and Scotia Pilot. Both came from Holland via Emskip containership at the end of June. After some training and familiarization both are now in service.
The existing boats have been reassigned. The below photos are of the delivery, and were provided by a friend of the site.
Bonus: Video of a pilot leaving an outbound PCTC
Atlantic towing recently won a renewal for offshore contracts off Newfoundland and announced they were building new PSV’s to do the work. These vessels would be built offshore.
Seems the built offshore bit is a sort of, as is thier arrival today. Rather then build complete vessels the top sides arrived today aboard the Biglift vessel Happy Sky. Presumably the bottom parts will arrive shortly on a semisubmersible vessel. The tops can then be joined to the hulls completing the ship.
Previous Atlantic towing offshore vessels were built at halifax shipyard. Due to clearances in the old assembly hall top sides were constructed and attached to the hull in the yard, so this procedure is nothing new to Halifax shipyards. I suspect in this case importing ship parts results in less duty to be paid then the 25% paid on imported vessels.
UPDATE: Further research has provided a more interesting case. The ships were assembled Entirely at the Damen Shipyard in Romania. The two vessels were then Towed to Cadiz Spain, where the topsides appear to have been removed directly from the hulls by the Happy Sky. The Hulls are in tow to Halifax by tugs Fairplay 30 and Fairplay 31, and due next week.
Photo From Maasmond Maritime Daily News Clippings February 28th.
the Craig Blake arrived from the builders over the weekend and is tied up along the ferry terminal pier at Alderney landing.
(below)Christopher Stannix (left) Craig Blake (right)
Davie has revealed that the have received the go-ahead to convert a commercial ship to a new Interm replenishment ship.
To be called the Resolve, She is the former 1708TEU Containership Asterix, which Davie purchased in July for 20 million dollars. The conversion is expected to cost 350 million, and the vessel will be leased to the Navy.
the Converted vessel will carry 2 helicopters, 40teu, 10,000ton fuel tanks. the ship has a cruising speed of 20.5 knots.
WATCH Defence Minister Jason Kenney LIVE here at 1 pm ET
CBC News has learned that Defence Minister Jason Kenney will announce today a plan for Quebec’s Davie shipyard to retrofit a commercial cargo ship to serve as a temporary naval supply ship.
CBCNews.ca and CBC News Network will livestream his announcement at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa starting at 1 p.m. ET.
Davie shipyard is located in Levis, Que., the riding of Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney
The earlier than anticipated retirement of the Protecteur-class ships has resulted in an unexpected loss of both capacity and capability for the RCN during this transition to the future fleet. The Government of Canada will enter into discussions with Chantier Davie to see if arrangements can be made for an interim ship that provides a solution at a cost, time, and level of capability acceptable to Canada and the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN).
The Government will enter into preliminary discussions with Chantier Davie Canada Inc. to determine if it can provide an interim supply ship at a cost, time, and level of capability acceptable to Canada and the Royal Canadian Navy. Should the Government of Canada decide to pursue a provision of service contract agreement, it would provide a required interim ship to bridge the gap until the first JSS is delivered.
The provision of service contract agreement would be for a commercial ship to be refitted for military use. An interim supply ship would provide a more modest capability and would not conduct full-spectrum military operations in high-threat environments.
The Full release:
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) is in the midst of the most intensive and comprehensive period of fleet modernization and renewal in its peacetime history, touching upon all elements of the fleet.
This period of transition includes the modernization of its 12 Halifax-class frigates, the retirement of two Protecteur-class replenishment ships and two Iroquois-class destroyers and the procurement of three new classes of ships, including the Joint Support Ships (JSS), the Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ships and the Canadian Surface Combatants, as well as the integration of new maritime helicopters into fleet service.
The earlier than anticipated retirement of the Protecteur-class ships has resulted in an unexpected loss of both capacity and capability for the RCN during this transition to the future fleet. The Government of Canada will enter into discussions with Chantier Davie to see if arrangements can be made for an interim ship that provides a solution at a cost, time, and level of capability acceptable to Canada and the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN).
On September 19, 2014, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, announced the retirement of the Navy’s legacy refueling fleet. HMCS Protecteur was an AOR ship based in Esquimalt, BC, and the lead ship of the Protecteur-class. Its sister ship, HMCS Preserver, was based in Halifax, NS.
HMCS Protecteur was retired after sustaining serious damage in a fire in February 2014. An extensive assessment concluded that the ship was damaged beyond economical repair. Considering the relatively short service life remaining for HMCS Protecteur, which was scheduled to be retired in 2017, the cost to re-instate the ship to full operational capability did not represent the best use of public funds.
HMCS Preserver was scheduled for retirement in 2016, but engineering surveys done in 2014 identified levels of corrosion that had degraded the structural integrity of the ship below acceptable limits. As a result, the cost to reinstate the ship to full operational capability also did not represent a responsible use of public funds.
These unexpected circumstances have resulted in the urgent need for Canada to obtain refuelling capacity in the short term to bridge the gap until the first Joint Support Ship is delivered.
The Joint Support Ship (JSS) project is designed to increase the range and endurance of the Canadian Armed Forces by enabling naval task groups to stay at sea for long periods without obtaining provisions from ashore. The Joint Support Ships will supply deployed Naval Task Groups with fuel, ammunition, spare parts, food and water. They will also provide an at-sea platform for maintenance and operation of helicopters, a limited sealift capability, and support to operations ashore.
As the selected shipyard for non-combat vessels, Vancouver Shipyards will be responsible for the construction of both Joint Support Ships at their shipyard in North Vancouver, British Columbia.
The two Queenston-class Joint Support Ships (JSS) will replace the Royal Canadian Navy’s Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment vessels. The new ships will provide core replenishment, sealift capabilities, and support to operations ashore. The Queenston-class will be capable of operating across a full spectrum of threat environments.
The JSS are a critical component for achieving success in both international and domestic CAF missions. The ships constitute a vital and strategic national asset. The presence of replenishment ships increases the range and endurance of a Naval Task Group, permitting it to remain at sea for significant periods of time without going to shore for replenishment.
The Government will enter into preliminary discussions with Chantier Davie Canada Inc. to determine if it can provide an interim supply ship at a cost, time, and level of capability acceptable to Canada and the Royal Canadian Navy. Should the Government of Canada decide to pursue a provision of service contract agreement, it would provide a required interim ship to bridge the gap until the first JSS is delivered.
The provision of service contract agreement would be for a commercial ship to be refitted for military use. An interim supply ship would provide a more modest capability and would not conduct full-spectrum military operations in high-threat environments.
