Big News at Irving Shipbuilding Inc

 There was a lot of news for and from Irving Shipbuilding Inc (ISI) in the last few days (August 8-10).

 

 The first bit that caught my attention was that on August 8 Halifax Shipyard (HSY) began to cut steel for the first of the (as yet unnamed) Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV) variants for the Canadian Coast Guard. Following award of the contract to build six AOPVs for the Royal Canadian Navy, the government added two more ships for the CCG, in part to keep HSY busy until construction starts on the Canadian Surface Combatants (CSC) frigate replacement program. It is also in aid of closing the gap between the military Navy and the civilian Coast Guard by sharing similar patforms.

AOPS 4 William Hall is at the Shipyard having completed its first builders sea trials. That puts it on target for handover to the RCN later this year. There is also evidence that the roll out of the first Mega Blocks for AOPS 5 Frédérick Rolette will be taking place this weekend August 11-12.

 However the third piece of news drew scant attention from the mainstream media - some of which merely reprinted a press release. It is that an additional $463 million will be injected into the physical infrastructure to "enhance efficiency of ship construction" for the surface combatants. There was also surisingly little detail in what will be done at all three main sites, Halifax Shipyard, Woodside Industries and Marine Fabricators in Dartmouth. 

It seems obvious that a re-tooling of some scale will be needed to shift from AOPS to Frigate construction, and so why no one pressed for details is surprising at the very least. As the main engine generator for the Halifax economy at present and for many years to come, one would think that "expansion and modification" is hardly a sufficient explanation. If the money will be spent on outside contractors building fit out wharves, adding to buildings, raising building roofs, enhancing launch facilities, etc., that is very good news indeed, and indicates money going directly into the local economy while at the same time improving the capabilities of the shipbuilder. If instead it is an investment in AI and robotic welders, that's not such good news for employment or the local economy. Are the newsrooms all on vacation?

One overlooked item in the press release was the seeming re-confirmation (if needed) of the 3 command ships tacked on to the initial 12 replacements for the Halifax class frigates - all built on essentially the same Type 26 platform. Construction is still due to start in 2024 with a (current) price tag of $56 to $60 billion over at least twenty years. Even with inflation under control that will at least double every ten years.

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Halifax Harbour - sublime to ridiculous

 There is seemingly no end to the variety of shipping activity in Halifax harbour. From containers to bulk cargo, tankers to cruise ships, Navy and Coast Guard and personal recreation to super yachts.

Then there are the specialty vessels in several categories, among them the offshore installation ship Orion with its 5,000 tonne capacity crane dominating the skyline again. The ship returned Thursday, July 27 after its first session installing wind turbine towers off Massachusetts.

Due to some technical issues, the ship took a long time to install the first six towers. Now two heavy cargo ships are anchored in the harbour each carrying six more towers. The time clock must be running out on the installation season.

GPO Grace (pictured) and sister ship GPO Sapphire are both anchored in Halifax - each carrying the components for six wind towers. The components are to be transferred (six at a time) to the Orion which will them go to the Vineyard wind site for intallation.

Little notice is thereby given to the "ordinary" ships such as STI Marvel which also arrived July 27 from Amsterdam with a cargo of refined pteroleum products for Irving Oil. 

Built in 2019 by Hyundai Vinashin Shipyard Co in Ninh Hoa, Vietnam it is a 29,991 gt, 47,499 dwt chemical and product tanker operated by Scorpio Tankers Inc. It carried the name Marlin Marvel to 2020. The ship is due to sail this evening (July 29).

Similarlry, without fanfare, the Canadian flag self-unloading bulk carrier Baie St.Paul made its way to the Gold Bond Gypsum pier in Bedford Basin this afternoon (July 29) to take on another load, probably for Hamilton, ON.

The ship delivered a cargo of coal from the Great Lakes to Sydney, NS and arrived Halifax light ship.

The William Hall, the fourth Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessel is undergoing builder's sea trials off Halifax. It left Halifax Shipyard July 27 and after calibrations in Bedford Basin put out to sea. The ship has been put through its paces, allowing Irving Shipbuilding Inc to perform multiple tests and adjustments before handing the ship over to the Royal Canadian Navy later this year.

 At this time of the year the harbour is busy with pleasure craft and tour boats. many of the former are elegant sailing vessels or sleek motor yachts. The tour boat category includes a variety including sailing vessels and motor vessels - the latter are seldom elegant, but well suited to carrying passengers around the harbour and entertaining them as they feel necessary.

One vessel with a fake paddle wheel and fake chimneys and not fooling anyone as a Mississippi River boat. has been a regular in Halifax for decades and has a well earned reputation as a party boat and is very popular among locals and visitors.

Built in the improbable shipbuilding centre of Oromocto,NB in 1985 as Pioneer Princess II it has been operating in Halifax since 1986.

I wonder how long the Mi Cabana will operate in Halifax. Introduced in June of this year by Tiki Tours Halifax it is a pontoon craft built by Soudure Technikal 13 Inc of Shawinigan, QC [soudure translates as welding] earlier this year. It is one of several similar craft operating in Ottawa and Lake Huron all with the Tiki theme.

 Although its gross tonnage is listed as only 4.99 tons and it has two outboard motors, it is registered in the ship registry by name as a passenger vessel. The three aluminum pontoons would provide a stable ride in moderate conditions. That may mean that there will be some days off depending on wind and sea state. (Batten down the thatches?)

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Launch Plan

 Work is underway for the next "launch" at Halifax Shipyard. The fourth Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessel for the Royal Canadian Navy is expected to take to the water next weekend.

Built largely undercover in "mega blocks" the two main components of the ship were rolled out in June and August and joined on the hardstand at pier 8.

Weather permitting, the future HMCS William Hall AOPV 433 will be rolled onto the semi-submersible barge Boa Barge 37 and transported to Bedford Basin where it will be floated off as the barge is submerged.

The shipyard has no floating dock of its own, so has chartered the Norwegian flagged Boa Barge 37 which has been on standby for the AOPS launches and the odd component transfer across the harbour from the Woodside plant.

Halifax Shipyard did have floating drydocks at one time - see my post from November 9, 2015- and in fact it was forty years ago this month that its largest unit was delivered to Halifax (in two sections.)  It was called Novadock and was (old) Panamax size. It was built and owned by the Province of Nova Scotia as a means of keeping the then Halifax Shipyards (plural) competitive in ship repair. 

November 15, 1982 the tugs Irving Miami and Irving Cedar assisted by Irving Teak towing in the larger section of the Novadock from Sorel, QC, where it ws built. (A smaller section was built in Pictou and joined in Halifax.)

 Since the advent of the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS) Irving Shipbuilding has become a strictly naval shipbuilding and repair centre and no longer carries out commercial ship repair. It still has the graving dock, which can accommodate a Halifax class frigate for refits, but it is understood that they would like to increase their drydocking capacity and possibly have enclosed space.

The NSPS, now the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS), has been a bit of a double edged sword as it has opened up possibilities for several other shipyards for both repair and newbuilding work. But with Halifax booked to capacity for newbuilds and naval refits there is little room for repairs.

Davie Shipyard in Lévis, QC with two huge graving docks, has secured frigate repair work, icebreaker construction / conversions and has built and operates a supply ship for the RCN . (That ship, the Asterix is currently in drydock at the shipyard.) They also recently handed over CCGS Vincent Massey the last of three supply ship rebuilds as interim Coast Guard icebreakers, and completed a major refit on HMCS Toronto.

Heddle Marine from Hamilton, ON has rejuvenated the large graving dock in Thunder Bay and the former Port Weller Dry Dock in St.Catharines, ON and was recently awarded a big refit contract on CCGS Terry Fox.

Groupe Océan, operators of a small shipyard at Ile-aux-Coudres, QC, and a repair/ drydock/ fabrication facility in Quebec City, has completed the first of four tugs for the RCN. The Haro will be transported to Esquimalt, BC by heavy lift ship. The company has also acquired the Verreault shipyard in Méchins, QC, with its own large graving dock and extensive repair / fabrication (and future shipbuilding) capability. The Méchins yard is the closest large shipyard to the Atlantic coast, but is severely hampered in winter.

The only other large drydocking capability in eastern Canada is Newdock in St.John's, NL with a graving dock and synchrolift. (There are several capable smaller shipyards such as Pictou and Shelburne, NS that also do RCN and CCG refit work and commercial ship repair.)

The Royal Canadian Navy's own ship repair unit in Halifax, has a synchrolift that will need to be upgraded to accommodate larger ships. The facility now maintains submarines, and frigates.  

Without a large drydock, Halifax Shipyard is shut out of the commercial ship repair business, but that is to be expected as it now concentrates on naval work. It is inching ahead on the frigate replacement project which will keep the yard occupied for the next 10 to 15 years.

BoaBarge 37 transferring components across the harbour from Woodside to Halifax Shipyard.

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Bow for AOPS 4

The megablock bow section for the fourth Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship has now been rolled out of the Assembly Hall at Halifax Shipyards and wheeled into position.

The fourth ship in the series is to be named HMCS William Hall AOPV 433 once it is commissioned into the RCN.

With the bow now aligned with the rest of the ship, the "attachement" process of welding the sections together will not take long, so there may be a launch later this year.

 The third Arctic Offshore Patrol ship, AOPS 3 the future HMCS Max Bernays AOPV 432 has already had its first sea trials, and is alongside the shipyard completing fit out. HMCS Margaret Brooke AOPV 431 is in "post-acceptance trials" and is expected to commission this fall and HMCS Harry DeWolf AOPV 430 is fully commissioned. 

The latter two were due to participate in the annual Operation Nanook exercises in northern waters this summer. However HMCS Harry DeWolf remains in port due to deficiencies in its fire suppression system. The RCN says its participation is "delayed". The other participants in the exercise sailed from Halifax on August 2.

Construction started on AOPS 5 in June. AOPS 6 and the two ships for the Canadian Coast Guard are still in the planning stages.

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Halifax Shipyard continued

 The stern megablock for AOPS#4, future HMCS William Hall, has indeed been rolled out of the Assembly Hall and aligned with the midships megablock at Halifax Shipyard.

 The stern section was draped with the Canadian and the Nova Scotia flags to mark the occasion. The joining line looks almost like an open zipper, but final joining will not use that technology.

Meanwhile AOPS#3, Max Bernays was shifted this morning (June 11) end for end at the adjacent Pier 8, putting it one step closer to trials.  

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