Athabaskan home again

HMCS Athabaskan returned to Halifax this morning after a 53 day mission in the Caribbean called Operation Caribbe (sic) during which it spent 53 days at sea, participated in six intercepts and recovered many tons of cocaine.
Canada's only operational command and control vessel, has returned to port just in time to see sister Iroquois paying off, likely before before Remembrance Day.
The ship's history is too well known to dwell on, but suffice it to say, it was laid down in 1969, launched in 1970 and commissioned in 1972. It completed a TRUMP refit in 1994 (roughly mid-life) and a refit in 2012. On return from the latter it was damaged in a collision with its towing tug. Workups following that refit started in April 2014.
Sister Tribal Huron was sunk as a dive site and Algonquin will not be repaired after it was rammed by another ship. With only one true destroyer in the fleet the RCN will be severely compromised for many years to come. Athabaskan is not likely to last much more that a year to eighteen months under the present plan. 

Back in 1984
HMCS Athabaskan was in its prime with its very racy twin canted funnels from its gas turbine propulsion system.:

Athabaskan is cold moved from November Alpha November (Bedford Magazine) back to HMC Dockyard by Glen tugs (see today's Tugfax for more on the Glen class.)

Meanwhile at HMC Dockyard steamers ruled the day:

HMCS Annapolis and probably HMCS Huron.

HMCS Saguenay

Steam crane YD 251 is connected to shoreside steam, but HMCS Sackville has been allowed to go cold. Its post war superstructure is being removed as it is restored to its war time appearance.

And visiting ships included RFA Sir Geraint L3027 a Roundtable class Landing Ship Logistic.

 

 

Built by no less than the Alexander Stephen shipyard it was commissioned on the glorious 12th of July 1967. It was just about to enter refit when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands April 2, 1982. The ship was very quickly returned to service, stored, bunkered and loaded with commandos, helicopters and other gear and sailed April 6. It arrived off Ascension Island April 14 transferring cargo to other combatants. From then until July it transferred bunkers from commercial tankers into the war zone, landing on several beaches to fuel and restore ground forces. It returned, unscathed, via the Ascension Island to the Marchwood, UK arriving July 23. Of the six sister LSLs in the war  Sir Galahad was lost  and three others were damaged.

The ship was finally decommissioned in 2003 and sold for scrap in 2005.

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Halifax Shipyard - No Good News

CCGS Labrador in Halifax Shipyard's graving dock.

The first RCN vessel to transit the Northwest Passage, it was the navy's last arctic class ship when decommissioned in 1957 and handed over the Department of Transport.

A noted defence analyst sounded warning bells in today’s local newspaper about the much touted naval shipbuilding program at Halifax Shipyard.


Irving Shipbuilding hasn’t had much good news to report recently. With their Georgetown (Eastisle) yard shut down and little work in Shelburne (Shelburne Ship Repair) and much of its workforce now laid off, and the sudden departure of Halifax Shipyard’s CEO, the signing of a new labour agreement in Halifax with the CAW union should have been a bright spot this week.

However it is overshadowed by the possibility that a big change may be coming in the much touted Defence Procurement program.

The big shipbuilding agreement saw Halifax “the winner” with the award of the arctic patrol vessels (up to eight ships) and the frigate replacement (12 ships) but it now seems that the arctic patrol component may be canned.

In recent rumblings in Ottawa, from the Minister of National Defence among others, it seems that the Canadian Coast Guard will become an Armed Force, and will given the defence of the arctic - something the navy has had no experience with since the 1950s. At that time their icebreaker HMCS Labrador, was yanked from them and handed to the Department of Transport (later becoming the Coast Guard.) Powerful factions in the RCN have always shunned the arctic as beneath their dignity, but creating a new Armed Force seems an extreme way of dealing with these snobs. It seems more likely that political pressure from the US for border security and all sorts of environmental/ sovereignty/ and arctic navigation issues are at the root of the “armoring up” of the CCG.

This would mean cancellation of the Navy’s arctic patrol vessels in Halifax Shipyard, and adding ships to the Polar icebreaker program with Vancouver’s Seaspan Shipyard. The boats planned for Halifax were compromise ships, with reduced endurance/ice capability to offset the need for speed, weight of armour and weapons. The CCG wants long endurance heavy icebreakers that could work year round in any conditions, and with relatively light armament. This would be easy to achieve by building more Diefenbaker class icebreakers (only one had been planned originally.) With the USA in severe compromise for heavy arctic ships, and extended navigation in the arctic, this would make excellent sense.

But what a kick in the pants for Halifax!

So what will happen? According the analyst, Halifax will need a lot of work to make up the gap between the end of the Hero class and the ramp up to the start of the frigates, but there is no sign of anything yet. Much scrambling is in order, and much uncertainty is ahead for Halifax-in my prediction, lasting for two or three years at least. Worst case scenario - a major strategic alliance with a proven foreign hi-tech shipbuilder and the farming out of the really lucrative work.

Best case scenario? Nothing in sight.
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Too bad.

Defense Minister unveils more than a name

CCGS Caporal Kaeble at the BIO dock yesterday, with a tarp over the name, prior to an unveiling ceremony.

At the "unveiling" ceremony for CCGS Caporal Kaeble VC at BIO yesterday, the Defense Minister allowed as how the new Hero class of nine patrol boats will have to be armoured up.

First it is of interest to note that the boats' design criteria must have been established a long time ago. With the Coast Guard and the RCMP as the operators and users of this craft, it was always assumed that the (civilian) CCG would operate the boats and that the RCMP would provide whatever weaponry was needed, and that it would likely be portable. Up-arming (or armoring as he said) could cost a lot of money, and in fact may be very difficult with such small craft.To make such an announcement well into the construction period of the boats (the third is soon to be launched, and the ninth is to be complete in 2014) indicates a shift in policy somewhere.


Second, what is the Minister of Defence doing in this, since the boats would be the responsibility of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (for the CCG) and the Solicitor General (for the RCMP). Has the Minister of Defence decided to take over the boats? He has been front and centre with them since Day 1, both as political minister for Atlantic Canada, but also in promoting shipbuilding. His role as Minister of Defence in this file has always been a mystery to me.
Third has there been pressure applied by the US to up the ante on our patrol capabilities to align more with the USCG, which is a military organization, and which arms all its patrol craft? This seems highly likely, since the boats will be used in border patrol, but it would be a huge change to the CCG to make it a military organization, and hardly the kind of policy shift to be quietly mentioned in a press interview. The RCMP's much reduced marine division (it was at one time comparable to the USCG, having its roots in the Revenue Service) would seem a more likely place for this policy to go than to the Coast Guard of the RCN.

CFAV Quest, a view from the dark side

The strange bi-coloured paint scheme on CFAV Quest is still in place, but looking decidedly shabby. The ship has moved to Jetty Lima on the Dartmouth side of the harbour, at the berth recently vacated by the submarine Ojibwa.
Quest's port side was painted gray last year as part of RIMPASSE (Radar Infrared electro-Magnetic Pressure Acoustic Ship Signature Experiments) also known as Infrared Signature trials. As part of the work the ship was also rigged with removable side curtains, a hull cooling piping system, a degaussing loop, and its mast was modified. The ship is operated by the Queen's Harbour Master at HMC Dockyard, with a civilian crew, for Defence Research and Development Canada. More often associated with acoustical signature trials, DRDC participated in the NATO, German/Dutch RIMPASSE with Quest crossing the Atlantic from August to October of 2011.
Although a design has been prepared for a replacement, the 1969-built Quest will  remain in service for some time to come.
In fact there has been a major investment in the ship over the past couple of years to correct a long standing stability/safety issue. New water tight bulkheads were fitted within the ship and hull sponsons fitted toward the stern of the ship at deck level. Other equipment was removed, including oceanographic kit.

CFAV Quest 2012-06-14

The ship was built by Burrard Dry Dock in Vancouver in 1968 and commissioned in 1969 as a hydrographic research vessel (hence the white colour.) Nevertheless it has long been assigned to the RCN for operation as a research vessel. It is powered by four Fairbanks Morse diesel engines driving two GE electric motors through twin screws. It is known as a "quiet ship", used to test innovations to reduce its acoustical signature and avoid enemy detection.

CFAV Quest

The Canadian navy's research vessel Quest AGOR 172 is tied up at Jetty November Lima, with a reported malfunction. The ship was supposed to participate in the activities and exercises associated with NATO and the International Fleet Review, but at the last minute something broke down, and she was unable to sail.

Instead she sits forlornly at NL along with the decommissioned Fraser and the remaining Oberon class submarines - not a good sign!

Quest was built way back in 1968 by Burrard DD in Vancouver and commissioned in 1969 for the Defense Research to do hydrographic, oceanographic and acoustical work. She had a major refit in 1997-1999 and another last year. Powered by four Fairbanks Morse diesel engines and two GE electric drives, she is one of the quietest ships afloat.

Interestingly she was the reviewing vessel when the last fleet review was held in Halifax in 1985.

There has been talk of a replacement for several years.

Announcing ........what?

Today in Halifax the defence minister announced $2.6 bn in funding for two RCN supply ships to be built in Canada. This is down from the $2.9bn estimated price in 2008, which caused the project to be cancelled.
So it took 2 years and they have shaved a whopping 11% off the budget!
Can you believe that the price tag will not rise to $2.9 bn before it is done?
It will be another two years before we hear from shipyards on what they think the price will be, and then what happens? Do we go back to square one again?
Sorry, but colour me totally cynical on this one.
It is obvious that the navy has not pared back their requirements very much. (It is easy to lop 10% off any contract without giving up very much.)
It is obvious that the navy has convinced the government that more money was needed. (Their wish list is therefore pretty much intact, when a total rethink was necessary.)
It is obvious that the shipyards have not been involved yet, and so the $2.6bn is only a hoped for price. (Governments have a terrible record in predicting real world costs.)
It is obvious that this was no real announcement at all - just more politics.
It is obvious that no decision has been finally made on whether both ships will be built on this coast or by whom. (Yes the announcement was made here and yes the industry minister thinks Atlantic Canadians will be employed in the project, but who and where really needs to be decided, and two years is a long time to wait.)
The ships will take at least 5 years to build, and the present ships will be 45 or 46 years old by then and tens of millions will be spent keeping them pasted together in the meantime.

RCN birthday preparations

May 4 is the 200th annniversary of the founding of the Royal Canadian Navy. This event will be celebrated throughout the summer, but in preparation for tomorrow's Freedom of the City event, HMCS Toronto tied up at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic at noon time today.

After leaving HMC Dockyard (CFB Halifax) the ship sailed south and east of George's Island, then northbound west of George's where she was met by the tugs Glenevis and Glenside.

The Fleet Diving diving support vessel Sechelt was also on scene (and right in the way of my photos for most of the operation) and numerous smaller craft, including two RCMP vessels.