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.

.

 

HMCS Harry DeWolf puts to sea

 HMCS Harry DeWolf AOPV 430 put out to sea today June 12. As lead ship in the Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessel program, it has had its share of issues. Delivered by Irving Shipbuilding Inc's Halifax Shipyard in July 2020, it was commissioned June 26, 2021 and in its first season it participated in the RCN's northern exercise Operation Nanook starting in August 2021. It returned to Halifax having made a Northwest Passage, a stopover in Esquimalt and after transiting the Panama Canal, participation in Operation Caribbe.

Initial issues with the ship's fire suppression system and non-spec potable water valves took the ship out of service, but they seem to have been resolved. The failure of two of the ship's generators in the summer of 2022 sidelined the ship and this is its first move under its own power since then.

HMCS Harry DeWolf passes the BIO outbound from Bedford Basin.

 After a brief calibraiton trial in Bedford Basin the ship made for sea. Some Kingston class ships have been exercising off Halifax, and the Harry DeWolf appears on AIS in the same area. The AIS tag says "patrol", so perhaps the ship has returned to full service. 

 .

In from the cold

 Recent warm weather may be cause to forget that there is cold weather ahead. However two of today's arrivals have put the cold weather behind them - at least for a while.

CCGS Jean Goodwill returned to its base at the Bedford Institute after its first season in the arctic for the  Canadian Coast Guard. 

 The former icebreaking / anchor handling tug/supplier, Balder Viking has been upgraded for Canadian Coast Guard use, although that work may not be entirely complete. Built in 2000, the 18,020 hp ship is considered an "interim" solution to icebreaking needs until new vessels can be built.

Today's other arrival from the north is of a similar age, but is larger and vastly more powerful. The USCGC Healy WAGB-20 was commissioned in 1999 and develops 46,350 hp.

It is arriving in Halifax having made a Northwest Passage from its home base in Seattle. This is the ship's second visit to Halifax. The first was in the year 2000. It will now return to Seattle via the Panama Canal. While en route it will pass the HMCS Harry DeWolf AOPV 430 which has recently completed its own Northwest Passage from east to west, arriving in Esquimalt October 4. It will be returning to Halifax via the Panama Canal too.

While Harry DeWolf is in full service as the first of the RCN's Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessels, the second, Margaret Brooke AOPV 431 is alongside HMC Dockyard. AOPV 3 to be named Max Bernays AOPV 432 is under construction at Halifax Shipyard. 

Launch date for the ship has not been announced yet, but that is expected soon after October 15 when the coasting license for Boa Barge 37 kicks in. (It is used as the launching platform.)

On this visit to Halifax USGC Healy is tied up at HMC Dockyard. But back in the pre 9/11 days of April 2000 the ship berthed at Pier 20, with minimal security.

.

Government Ships

 It was a day for various government marine services vessels to move in and out of Halifax Harbour, and for merchant vessels to remain largely invisible.

The most notable move was that of the newly commissioned HMCS Harry DeWolf as it prepared to embark on its first mission as an Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessel. It is the first, and "name ship" of a new class of ships to be built for the Royal Canadian Navy. The ship first made a short move from HMC Dockyard to Irving Oil to top up its fuel bunkers. 

It later put out to sea on what will be an epic voyage combining arctic exercises, a transit of the Northwest Passage from Atlantic to Pacific, followed by a long west coast voyage to the Panama Canal. The ship will then participate in drug interdiction operations in the Caribbean with the United States Coast Guard before returning to Halifax completing a circumnavigation of North America.

The voyage will mark many firsts in addition to a return to arctic operations by the RCN. The navy has not had an icebreaker in its fleet since HMCS Labrador was transferred to Department of Transport in 1957. Tellingly Harry DeWolf's trip will retrace that of HMCS Labrador in 1954 when it became the first warship to make a Northwest Passage and then completed a circumnavigation of North America. Some considered the 1957 transfer of the Labrador to civilian service a slap in the face to the Navy, and a purely political move. Whatever it was, the RCN transferred its focus to anti-submarine warfare. The (previous) Canadian government's determination to assert its sovereignty in the Arctic lead in part to the current national shipbuilding program which will see more Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessels, frigates, Naval supply ships and icebreakers.

Alluding to the Canadian Coast Guard, there have been "visiting" CCG patrol boats in Halifax recently. As Halifax based boats are in refit, boats from other bases have appeared in Halifax. Today CCGC Caporal Kaeble V.C. was noted at the Tall Ships Quay.

The second in the Hero class of patrol boats to be built by Halifax Shipyard, it was commissioned in 2013 and is based in Quebec City. The boat is a modified Damen Stanpatrol 4207 (42 m long by 7 m wide). The boat also carries an RCMP crew when it is engaged in law enforcement duties. However it appears to be more likely to be engaged in Coast Guard College cadet training at the present time.

Unlike the Canadian Coast Guard ships which are crewed by civilians (plus police as needed), United States Coast Guard ships are military. Two USCG vessels sailed from HMC Dockyard today after a weekend in Halifax. They had previously been exercising off Nova Scotia.

USCG Richard Snyder WPC-1127 is a Sentinel class patrol vessel commissioned in 2018. (Based on a Damen Stanpatrol 4708 (47 m long x 8 m wide), this is the size and type that the CCG should have acquired due to their better sea keeping ability.)

Here is a comparison photo of CCGS Constable Carriere taken July 27.

Also sailing was the Boston based USCGC Escanaba, WMEC 907, a Famous class cutter that has called here several times since it was commissioned in 1987.

Unlike the USCG, the CCG also operates outside the enforcement sphere. Since 1995 the CCG has also incorporated the Department of Fisheries and Oceans fleet of research vessels. This included CGS Alfred Needler which arrived today as CCGS Alfred Needler.

Built by Ferguson Industries Ltd in Pictou in 1982, it is a fisheries research trawler. It must be very close to decommissioning as the current National Shipbuilding procurement Strategy has completed all three of the new "Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels". The two east coast vessels, CCGS John Cabot and CCGS Captain Jacques Cartier have been delivered and are supposedly in servic, replacing Alfred Needler and Teleost. Maintenance issues with other ships, including CCGS Hudson may explain why the Needler is still operational.

The sole merchant ship movement noted today was the early morning arrival of MSC Anya which has been anchored off Halifax since July 29. Presumably it is bound for Montreal.

MSC Anya was visible on holiday Monday, through the haze, as it waited at anchor off Halifax.

.

HMCS Harry DeWolf

 The Royal Canadian Navy's first Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV) can now carry the designation HMCS Harry DeWolf (AOP 430) after it was officially commissioned Saturday June 26. Technically it was AOPV1 during the last 11 months since handover by Irving Shipbuilding and during post acceptance trials.

With bunting on the rails and a tent on the helo deck, AOPV1 was making ready for commissioning yesterday morning. The containment boom deployed about the ship was perhaps an overly cautious case of belts and suspenders.

As I have observed before, construction cranes on the Halifax skyline are due in large part to the economic impact of high paying shipbuilding jobs. The region is thriving and experiencing a population boom, which is expected to continue (despite COVD-19) for some time to come.

Halifax shipyard has three more AOPVs under construction for the RCN with another two to follow plus two more for the Canadian Coast Guard for a total of eight ships. AOPV2, to be named for Margaret Brooke, is under builders trials and AOPV3 to be named for Max Bernays will be floated this fall. AOPV4 the future William Hall is assembling under cover.

AOPV2 (AOP 431) is alongside the shipyard undergoing builder's trials. AOPV34 ( AOP 432) has been rolled out.

Pre-construction activity on the RCN "Surface Combatant" program is also ramping up to the design stage. The Canadianized version of the BAE Type 26 frigate, to be built by Irving Shipbuilding, is expected to see steel cutting in 2024. Up to 15 ships, in a "build them slow" program will extend out over a twenty year period.

. 

Roll Out the Bow

Halifax Shipyard marked more milestones today when they rolled out the bow megablock for AOPS2, the second arctic patrol vessel, and officially started construction of AOPS4.

The bow megablock is coaxed into position late this afternoon for AOPS2, while AOPS1 lies alongside at the fitting out berth.

AOPS2, the future HMCS Margaret Brooke was laid down May 29, 2017 and the first two megablocks were rolled out September 21 and 22, 2018. Today's megablock (actually Megablock #1 in the shipyard's plan) completes the major assembly phase.  It took much longer to bring this bow section out than it did on the first ship of the series AOPS1 (future HMCS Harry DeWolf) - 7 1/2 months versus 5 months.

AOPS1 was launched September 15, 2018 and it is alongside the shipyard fitting out. It will be delivered this summer. Based on the previous timeline it may be up to 9 months before AOPS2 is actually launched.

The Defence Minister was in town today to witness the start of construction of AOPS4, the future HMCS William Hall. He agreed that there have been production delays because a sixth ship was added to the contract. How that explains the delays he did not elaborate.

He is also reported to have said he wasn't concerned about delays if it meant quality standards are upheld. This may be a veiled reference to problems that have been rumoured, but never acknowledged. Certainly Irving Shipbuilding and Sesapan started close to ground zero in shipbuilding, and all sorts of issues would have been anticipated. Much was made of welding quality in Seaspan's ships, and some had to be re-done.

The sixth AOPS ship is expected to be completed in 2024. The minster apparently did refer to the gap between that delivery and the start of the frigate replacement program, when the shipyard will not be able to sustain full employment for some period of time. The sixth vessel was supposed to reduce that gap, but it is by no means clear on how the government plans to "mitigate" it.

  .

MAN for AOPS

At Halifax Shipyard work is progressing on the construction of the first of the Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessels. Since the work is going on indoors in the shipyard's new Assembly facility it is rare to get a glimpse of any activity.

Today I was fortunate enough to see one of a pair of MAN diesel engines underway from pier 9C to the shipyard. Rigging and transport of the engines was being carried out by Anderson Haulage of Stouffville, ON.

 The engine is sitting on a Scheuerle motorized dolly, controlled by an operator walking behind. (The rig is moving to the left in this picture.)

In the background the telephone wire is raised for the dolly to pass. The operator follows and there is an escort vehicle with an understated sign.

The first AOPS, the future HMCS Harry DeWolf was laid down September 1, 2015, followed by HMCS Margaret Brooke. They are to be powered by four x 3600 kW / 4800 hp diesel generators driving two 4500 kW / 6,000 hp electric motors [ratings are approximate].

.