AOPVs

 Irving Shipbuilding Inc has reached another milestone in the Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessel program with AOPV 4 leaving Halifax Shipyard today (July 27) for builder's trials. The future HMCS William Hall AOP 433 is the fourth of eight AOPVs that ISI is building for the Royal Canadian Navy plus two variants for the Canadian Coast Guard.

The shipyard appears to be working full out to overcome the delays due to COVID and "supply chain" issues. The major building blocks of AOPV5, the future HMCS Frédérick Rolette will be rolled out soon.

 

Things do not appear to be operating quite so swimmingly on the Navy side.

 HMCS Harry DeWolf AOP 430, looking somewhat seedy, alongside HMC Dockyard.

 By the end of July activity in the far north is usually well underway with the first arctic sealift ships arriving at outposts and the Coast Guard icebreaking fleet begining their work. And indeed that is the case this year with ports such as Iqaluit welcoming the first ships of the year. Tugs are also standing by there for the first ships to load ore at Milne Inlet. (This year they must wait until ice starts to break up naturally).

However the RCN's three AOPVs are still at their docks in Halifax There appears to be some activity with dive tenders alongside, so perhaps departures are planned.

HMCS Max Bernays AOP 432 (left) and HMCS Margaret Brooke AOP 432 (right), with what appear to be commercial diving vessels alongside, possibly for hull cleaning.

 The RCN is stepping up its efforts to attract recruits. Some reports indicate that there is a 20% vacancy rate and an urgent need for 1,400 more people. Applications to join all of the armed forces are about half of what is needed.

It is hard to imagine how the RCN will be able to operate all the new AOPVs if they are so short of people with not even half the projected number of the ships delivered.

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