The Ship Model Forum

Finland gets a slice of $587-million Canadian supply ship program
Senior officials at National Defence aware of subcontract to Finnish shipyard

By Murray Brewster, CBC News Posted: Dec 23, 2016 5:00 AM ET Last Updated: Dec 23, 2016 7:59 AM ET


The Quebec company that's planning to supply the navy with a leased replenishment vessel next year outsourced some key portions of the conversion work to an offshore shipyard, CBC News has learned.

Federal Fleet Services Inc., which is operating out of the Davie Shipyard in Levis, Que., has a contract to convert a civilian cargo ship for military purposes. It is also tasked with leasing the ship to National Defence, with crew and support, for five years.

The total cost of taxpayers is $587 million.

But in order to meet the federal government's delivery date of fall 2017, the company has contracted with Almaco, a major builder of accommodations in the offshore industry.


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A tale of two shipyards

Mathieu Belanger/FOR The Globe and Mail

A Globe and Mail investigation has discovered the company that got the contract to provide a temporary supply ship for the Canadian navy is owned by a complex web of companies that can be traced from Canada and the United Kingdom to the tax havens of Monaco and the British Virgin Islands


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The shipbuilding project worth an estimated $667-million Canadian, according to the RCMP, is at the centre of a criminal probe of Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, the second-highest-ranking member of the Canadian military. Vice-Adm. Norman, who has been suspended as vice-chief of the defence staff, is alleged to have leaked secrets to help Davie pressure the Liberal cabinet into sticking with a project the Conservatives awarded the day before the 2015 election campaign began. On Aug. 1, 2015, the Tories signed a letter of intent, the first step to a contract and one that committed Ottawa to a break fee of as much as $89-million.

The Liberals were concerned about the viability of the shipbuilder, and the leaks hindered cabinet from doing due diligence on the plan, which was meant to revive the struggling Davie as Quebec was attempting to position itself as a transatlantic trade hub. But as the Finnish connection shows, not all of the work is being done in Quebec, and there are questions about the long-term value of the deal for Canadians.

A Globe and Mail investigation has discovered that Davie is owned by a complex web of companies that can be traced from Canada and the United Kingdom to the tax havens of Monaco and the British Virgin Islands.

In addition, the investigation revealed that the company – which bills itself as the country’s largest shipbuilder – has borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars from lenders of last resort, including Bay Street financier Newton Glassman and a small financing firm whose directors own a Windsor, Ont., paving company. These lenders extend credit to distressed companies at annual interest rates of up to 25 per cent.

Alex Vicefield, a former British fencing champion and chief executive offier of Inocea Group, an offshore consortium that bought Davie five years ago, said the ownership group is not public information.

“It is a blend of Western European private investors and major U.S.-based financial institutions and banks,” he said.

He acknowledged that the company approached Canadian banks for financing, but said that without a final contract in hand, “there was far too high a risk for a normal bank to finance.”

The Quebec government also provided a $14.2-million interest-free loan to Davie in December to address the company’s “short-term liquidity problems.” The province and Davie are in a commercial dispute over a contract to build two ferries, which have faced significant delays and a $100-million cost overrun.

Mr. Vicefield said he did not want to discuss the ferry dispute and defended the decision to outsource part of the supply-ship project to Finland, saying Davie could not have delivered the ship to the navy on time this fall had it done the work in Quebec.


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Bureaucrats tried to scuttle naval supply ship plan, worrying it would make government look bad

David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen 06.09.2017

Defence department bureaucrats fought against a plan to purchase outright the commercial vessel now being converted as a naval supply ship because they worried it would make the government’s shipbuilding program look bad.

While bureaucrats acknowledged buying the ship after a five-year lease would help the navy, they worried that would create a perception that there were problems with the federal shipbuilding strategy, according to documents obtained by the Ottawa Citizen.

The interim supply ship, which the Liberal government tried to derail in the fall of 2015, is at the heart of the case of Vice Admiral Mark Norman. Norman, a respected officer, was suspended from his job as vice chief of staff earlier this year after the RCMP alleged he leaked information about Liberal plans to scuttle the $700 million supply vessel deal.

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This is what happens when optics matters more to officials than actual procurement:

Ottawa Citizen

Resolve-class supply ship for Royal Canadian Navy to be unveiled next month
David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: June 15, 2017 | Last Updated: June 15, 2017 12:31 AM EDT

Chantier Davie has issued invitations for the unveiling of the Resolve-class interim Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment (AOR) ship. That will happen July 20. All members of the public are welcome according to the invitation.

In November 2015, the Liberal government tried to derail the $669 million project for the supply ship but backed down after their attempt became public.

Project Resolve was approved by the previous Conservative government and involved Davie shipyards in Quebec quickly converting a commercial vessel into an AOR. The ship had already been delivered to Davie to begin the conversion process when James D. Irving, co-chief executive officer of Davie’s rival, Irving Shipbuilding, wrote a letter on Nov. 17, 2015, to then procurement minister Judy Foote and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan. Irving requested its proposal for a similar vessel, already rejected by the Conservative government, be examined.

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Davie unveils interim AOR ship for the RCN, the MV Asterix


Marcello Sukhdeo Jul 21 2017

In an elaborate ceremony yesterday in Levis, QC, Chantier Davie Canada Inc. unveiled the MV Asterix, the first such naval equipped ship that is being built in Canada for over two decades.

Commonly known as Project Resolve, the MV Asterix is an European-built containership that was purchased in 2015 and is being converted at Davie’s shipyard in Levis into an Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment ship. This Resolve-Class naval ship will be leased to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) for five years with the option for annual renewal for five more years.

The idea of converting a containership into a naval fleet auxiliary ship is not unusual and has been done for both the Royal Navy and the United States Navy. As such, in 2014, Chantier Davie pitched an unsolicited plan to supply a converted interim supply ship to the RCN to fill the gap left by the HMCS Protecteur and HMCS Preserver which were both decommissioned earlier than expected.

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Canadian Resolve-class oiler ‘Asterix’ hits the water

Canadian shipbuilder Davie Shipbuilding launched the Royal Canadian Navy’s Project Resolve auxiliary oiler replenishment ship ‘Asterix’ this weekend at its shipyard in Quebec.

The naval support ship started life as containership MV Asterix and was converted into the naval support ship after arriving in Lévis in October 2015.

The shipbuilder said commissioning of all onboard systems began in early September and the ship is expected to start its sea trials on November 16, 2017, prior to achieving full operational capability.

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Here are the details on how Asterix will be crewed by the Royal Canadian Navy
David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: October 24, 2017 | Last Updated: October 24, 2017 9:16 AM EDT

Defence Watch was told that the Royal Canadian Navy was originally looking at having two crews, one on each coast, for MV Asterix. That is now off the table. Here is the latest from the RCN on how Asterix will be crewed:

MV Asterix will sail with a combined crew of civilian and military personnel, featuring 36 civilian personnel and up to 114 military personnel.

The embarked basic military specialist crew consists of 67 personnel which will provide sustained underway replenishment, aviation, medical and dental services support for CAF requirements at home and abroad. The military crew design is fully scalable and flexible to enable task-tailored capabilities in order to conduct assigned missions and tasks up to the maximum allocated military berthing.

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Garneau says Royal Canadian Navy doesn’t need a second supply ship. Really?

David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: December 5, 2017 | Last Updated: December 5, 2017 12:52 AM EST

Politicians and unions in Quebec are turning up the heat on the Liberal government, questioning why Davie shipyards in the province isn’t getting any more work from the federal government. Davie converted a commercial container ship into a supply vessel for the Royal Canadian Navy. It was on time and on budget. The ship, the Asterix, goes into service early next year and under the agreement will be leased to the RCN.

Davie is ready to quickly convert another vessel into a supply ship.

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Davie ramps up campaign to convert second ship for Royal Canadian Navy
David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: December 14, 2017 | Last Updated: December 14, 2017 12:12 PM EST

Davie shipyards is increasing its campaign to pry more work out of the Liberal government. The company has intensified political meetings over the last few weeks in order to obtain a contract for a second replenishment vessel, the Obelix, from the federal government, the firm noted in a news release Thursday.

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Defence bureaucrats rejected high-tech guns for new supply ship because they’re expensive
Davie Shipbuilding is pushing back against recent claims by the Royal Canadian Navy that the Asterix supply vessel it converted for the Canadian Forces can’t go to war

David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen

February 22, 2018
8:48 PM EST

Last Updated
February 23, 2018
7:27 AM EST

Defence department bureaucrats rejected a plan to outfit the navy’s new supply ship with high-tech guns needed for its protection because they wanted to save money, officials with a Quebec shipyard say.

Davie Shipbuilding is pushing back against recent claims by the Royal Canadian Navy that the Asterix supply vessel it converted for the Canadian Forces can’t go to war.

Company officials point out Asterix can be used in combat as the vessel has been outfitted with similar navigation and other systems that will eventually be installed on a new future fleet of Canadian warships. In addition, the company has acquired insurance coverage for the vessel to operate in high risk and war risk areas, Davie noted in a statement on its website.

The vessel can also be outfitted with weapons, a capability Davie originally proposed to the Department of National Defence. But the installation of high-powered gatling guns – currently in storage in a military depot – was turned down by bureaucrats as a cost-saving measure, Davie sources and industry representatives point out.

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Navy's new resupply vessel won't be able to deploy into war zones

The Canadian Press
Published on: February 20, 2018 | Last Updated: February 20, 2018 4:35 PM CST

OTTAWA — While the Royal Canadian Navy is chomping at the bit to start using the newest addition to its fleet, a senior officer says the MV Asterix has some limitations — notably that it can’t sail into harm’s way.

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“So what this does is that where we’re able to program Asterix, we can be less concerned about that. So we can go where we need to go.”

But the Asterix isn’t a true military vessel, Skjerpen said, which is why it won’t be allowed to operate in dangerous environments.

That may not be an issue now, as the navy is not operating in any areas that be classified as overtly dangerous, but Skjerpen said: “All of our capabilities and everything we design and everything we need is about operating in that threat environment.”

Two true military resupply vessels are scheduled to be built in Vancouver and will include more powerful self-defence systems than the Asterix as well as better communications equipment and overall survivability against attack.

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Asterix more survivable than her immediate RCN predecessors, says institute

David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: March 5, 2018 | Last Updated: March 5, 2018 9:36 AM EST

There has recently been a flurry of discussion about the Asterix, the new supply ship being leased by the federal government to support the Royal Canadian Navy. The ship is expected to see much use as the RCN no longer has any supply ships of its own.

But there was some discussion about whether Asterix, a commercial vessel converted to a supply ship configuration, could be used in a combat zone. The RCN says no. That is because the ship does not carry defensive weapons.

The company behind Asterix, Davie Shipbuilding, says the ship can be used in a war zone.

So how would a supply ship be used in a conflict? Would it normally go into combat or stay on the outer perimeters of a conflict zone? Is Asterix much different from the RCN’s previous class of supply ships?

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Supply ship Mark Norman fought for now on its way to support RCN during major exercise
David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: April 13, 2018 | Last Updated: April 13, 2018 11:54 PM EDT

The MV Asterix left Halifax Wednesday to support the Royal Canadian Navy, first in the Caribbean and then later in the Pacific Ocean during the Rim of the Pacific exercise that starts in June.

The ship sailed two days after the first court by Vice Admiral Mark Norman on a breach of trust charge at an Ottawa court house.

Norman is considered the driving force behind ensuring that Asterix was delivered and ready via a lease arrangement for the RCN.

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Ships of the Royal Canadian Navy docked in Da Nang
SGGPThursday, September 27, 2018 13:08

Two ship carrying 230 sailors and officers led by Calgary Commanding Officer Commander Blair Saltel paid a visit to leaders of the People’s Committee of Da Nang City and the High Command of Naval Region 3.
The delegation also planned to visit famous destinations of Da Nang city and join in maritime activities with the Vietnam People’s Navy to expand and improve the cooperation network of the Royal Canadian Navy in the region, said Commander Blair Saltel
The visit is one of the activities marking the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Canada.
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Quebec pushing for more federal shipbuilding work – wants second naval supply ship from Davie to be delivered
David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: December 9, 2018
Quebec’s National Assembly has unanimously adopted a motion in support of the federal government re-examining the National Shipbuilding Strategy and how work on that strategy is allocated. The motion on Friday calls for more work to be directed to Quebec-based Davie Shipbuilding.

Davie has already converted one supply vessel, the Asterix, which is currently at the centre of the legal battle Vice Admiral Mark Norman faces. It is also converting a fleet of used icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard.

Quebec’s politicians want the Liberal government to proceed immediately with a second supply ship from Davie.

Not surprisingly, Davie officials and industry affiliates welcomed the political support and issued a news release Friday highlighting the National Assembly’s position.

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Military assessment shows a second supply ship from Davie is not needed, says Trudeau
David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: December 13, 2018
As the legal battle over the fate of Vice Admiral Mark Norman was being played out in an Ottawa court Wednesday just a short distance away in the House of Commons the country’s political leaders were dealing with a related issue.

Norman is charged with one count of breach of trust for allegedly providing information to Davie Shipbuilding which had entered into a deal with the previous Conservative government to provide a supply ship to the Royal Canadian Navy.

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer questioned the Liberal government why it was not moving ahead with having Davie provide t a second supply ship – the Obelix – to the navy. Scheer said the navy needed the second ship. “The Prime Minister has to stop playing political games and before Christmas should award that contract to Davie,” he told the Commons. “What’s he waiting for?”

But Trudeau accused Scheer of playing “petty politics.”

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Canada's new Naval Support Ship returns to Canada after a flawless one-year international deployment
News provided by
Federal Fleet Services Inc
Dec 18, 2018, 11:42 ET
VICTORIA, Dec. 18, 2018 /CNW/ - Today, Canada's Resolve-Class Naval Support Ship Asterix arrived back in Canada for the first time following a year-long deployment throughout the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Since delivery from Davie Shipbuilding in January 2018, the ship has maintained 100% utilization without a single day of downtime, something which is virtually unheard of in naval ship operations.
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Quebec's Davie offers second supply ship at reduced cost to entice Liberal government to buy
Naresh Raghubeer, a senior adviser to Davie Shipyards, said the Asterix sister ship — Obelix — can be ready for missions with the navy within 24 months: 'We’ve proven already we can do it'
David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen
December 23, 2018
1:55 PM EST
A Quebec company is offering the Liberal government a second supply ship at a reduced price as it warns about further delays on a similar vessel being built for the Royal Canadian Navy by a firm on the West Coast.
Davie Shipyards delivered its first ship, Asterix, to the government on time and on budget in a deal worth $659 million. It is now offering a second ship at $500 million to entice the Liberals to move ahead with such a purchase.
But industry representatives privately say Davie faces an uphill battle as Asterix is at the heart of the trial of Vice Admiral Mark Norman and any government move to buy a sister ship would signal the actions of that naval officer in supporting the original deal was right.
Naresh Raghubeer, a senior adviser to Davie, said the Asterix sister ship — Obelix — can be ready for missions with the navy within 24 months. “We’ve proven already we can do it,” he added.
Davie was selected by the previous Conservative government for a sole-source deal to convert Asterix, a commercial vessel, into a naval supply ship. That was done after the military’s two existing supply vessels were taken out of service because of damage and age.(...SNIPPED)

Military assessment ruling out the need for a second interim supply ship doesn’t appear to exist
David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: April 16, 2019
In December 2018 the issue of why the Canadian government declined to purchase a second interim supply ship – a sister ship to MV Asterix which is currently at sea supporting Royal Canadian Navy operations – became a source of debate in the Commons.
Conservative leader Andrew Scheer questioned the Liberal government why it was not moving ahead with having Davie provide the second supply ship, the Obelix, to the navy. Scheer said the navy needed the second ship.
But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Scheer of playing “petty politics.”
“The armed forces did an assessment,” Trudeau explained. “They don’t need the Obelix and for him to suggest that we should buy it anyway is pure base politics, the worst politics. We make our decisions based on facts. We recognize the quality of work done by Davie shipyard and we do want them to get good jobs but we are not going to make up work for political reasons.”
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Canada’s stopgap supply ship MV Asterix ‘pumped a lot of gas’ during 500 day deployment
Aaron Beswick (abeswick@herald.ca)
Published: 22 hours ago
Updated: 22 hours ago
Three hundred and fourteen thousand kilometres later, the MV Asterix is home.
Canada’s leased supply ship has returned to Halifax after a first deployment that saw it spend 500 days at sea.
The 182.5-metre German-built container ship owned by private company Federal Fleet Services was converted by Quebec’s Davie Shipyard to provide interim fleet support to the Royal Canadian Navy until two planned replacements for the decommissioned Protecteur class can be launched.
The first of those is scheduled to be launched in 2023 from the Seaspan Marine Corporation yard in Vancouver.
“We pumped a lot of gas,” said Lt.-Cmdr. Trent Nichols, commanding officer of the MV Asterix’s naval replenishment unit.
Nichols arrived in Halifax aboard the MV Asterix, having joined her in Brisbane, Australia, for the voyage home.
Though the ship was gone for nearly two years participating in missions and exercises in the Pacific, off Korea, the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf, its crews were constantly changing.
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