Canada's Harry De Wolf Arctic Patrol Ships(AOPS)-updates

[Haijun watcher]

Maritime Executive

Landing Craft for Canada's AOPS Complete Sea Trials
By The Maritime Executive 2019-10-23 19:41:44
The landing craft being built for the Royal Canadian Navy's Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) have completed sea trials.
The 12-meter (39-foot) vessels have been built by ABCO Industries, based in Nova Scotia, to Lloyd's Register requirements. Each AOPS will have one landing craft onboard to deploy vehicles, such as all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles or trucks, from the ship�s vehicle bay. They will also be used to transfer personnel and equipment to shore where there are little or no port services available. The vessels can carry four tonnes of cargo, vehicles or personnel and transfer them to a beach or pier via a bow door or an installed crane.
ABCO has also manufactured many items for the AOPS including gangways, ladders, hatches and fuel tanks.
The AOPS are currently under construction at Irving Shipbuilding's Halifax Shipyard. According to the Conference Board of Canada, Halifax Shipyard�s facility modernization and the building of six Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) is expected to be boost economic activity across Canada by $3.42 billion between 2013 and 2022.
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[Haijun watcher]

Global News

Job cuts possible as Irving considers buying fully-assembled components for Arctic patrol ships
By Alexander Quon Global News
Posted November 4, 2019 4:25 pm
WATCH: Fri, Nov 2: Federal Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan was in town Friday to make that formal announcement, just a day after the shipyard learned it will lose out on maintenance work it's been fighting to keep. Alicia Draus reports
Irving Shipbuilding says that they may cut as many as 40 shipbuilding positions as they consider purchasing parts used in the construction of Canada�s Arctic and offshore patrol vessels from international markets rather than assembling them in Dartmouth, N.S.
In a statement provided to Global News on Monday evening, Sean Lewis, director of communications for Irving Shipbuilding, said the cuts could come once the company finishes a new �pilot program� they�ve initiated.
The program would weigh the benefits of purchasing fully-assembled pipe sections instead of purchasing raw materials and assembling the sections at their Marine Fabricators facility in Dartmouth, N.S.
�The pilot program will provide us with a clear analysis of the cost difference [between the two],� said Lewis.
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[Haijun watcher]

Delay, delay, delayyyyy.........

Canadian Press

Delivery of the navy's first Arctic and offshore patrol ship delayed until 2020
1 day ago
HALIFAX � The delivery date for the navy's first Arctic and offshore patrol ship has again been pushed back.
The original plan was to have Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax deliver the ship in 2018, but in August that date was pushed to the end of 2019.
However, Irving Shipbuilding released a statement Tuesday saying the new ship, HMCS Harry DeWolf, will be delivered during the first three months of 2020.
The company says it had always intended to "revisit" the delivery deadline, given the fact it is building a newly designed ship with a new supply chain, a new shipyard and a new and growing workforce.
Irving spokesman Sean Lewis says the ship will be the largest naval vessel built in Canada in more than 50 years.(...SNIPPED)

[Timmy C]

Lovely video of Harry DeWolf on her first sea trials:

[Haijun watcher]

A article to add to what Timmy posted above:
Naval News

Royal Canadian Navy�s first Harry DeWolf-class AOPS Completes Builder�s Sea Trials
On November 23, 2019, the shipbuilders at Halifax Shipyard completed a successful Builder's Sea Trial on the future HMCS Harry DeWolf, Canada�s lead Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS).
Nathan Gain 03 Dec 2019
The lead AOPS departed Halifax Shipyard at 0945 on November 22 and, using its diesel-electric engines, moved to the Bedford Basin to start initial builder�s sea trails associated with anchor handling, the integrated bridge and navigation system (IBNS), fin stabilizers, Multi-Role Rescue Boat (MRRB) launch and recovery, and communication systems.
Initial builder�s sea trials will continue over the next few weeks and will be followed by formal sea trials and acceptance by the Royal Canadian Navy. This will span into the first quarter of 2020.
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[Haijun watcher]

[url=mapleleafnavy.com/2019/12/06/aops-mk38-machine-gun-system/?fbclid=IwAR3Ww3BcNJGi4N1xaeV7lhYNVNfcBmzbBQ5vClHQOGgmlAVpnZZmoRcVPtY]Maple Leaf Navy[/url]

AOPS Weapon Systems Mirrors HMCS St Laurent Fiasco of 1955
December 6, 2019 adminmaple

What does AOPS Harry DeWolf have in common with HMCS St Laurent (II)? In the video below, notice the two single 40mm Bofors guns. For some inexplicable reason, the mandarins in Ottawa okayed the purchase of the guns but refused to pay for the directors. Only the first few of the St Laurent Class were fitted with the guns and the concept was abandoned as the 40mm mountings would be nearly useless.
Fast forward 65 years and Harry DeWolf will commission without the infrared/radar system of the MK38 mount, rendering it of questionable value.
To quote Yogi Berra, �it�s deja vu all over again.�
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[Timmy C]

I don't know where that site gets their info from - it's clear the mount is installed, and the IO/IR system is built right into the mounting. Unless a source is cited, it doesn't seem to be worth noting.

(plus, the DeWolf's mission sets are way different from the St. Laurent's, so even if the claim is true, it's nowhere near as important)

[maxim]

The St. Laurents had the 40 mm removed, because the 3" were considered to be sufficient.

In case of the Harry De Wolf I really wonder: these are patrol ships. NOT fighting ships. Why there is the critique of their armament? Next someone asks about their abilities to destroy ballistic missiles?

[Haijun watcher]

Ottawa Citizen

More delays affect delivery of navy's new Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships
David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: March 6, 2020
The delivery of the first Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship to the Royal Canadian Navy has been delayed once more and the arrival of the second ship has also fallen behind schedule.
In November, the Department of National Defence stated the first Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships, or AOPS, was expected by the end of March.
That won�t be happening, DND confirmed to this newspaper.
The department can�t provide any specific details on a new delivery date for the ship being built by Irving Shipbuilding Inc. on the east coast. But it noted that delivery would happen sometime before June 21.
The first AOPS was to have been delivered in 2013, with Arctic operations set for 2015. But ongoing problems with the government�s national shipbuilding program and delays in awarding the contract continued to push schedules back.
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[Haijun watcher]

Naval News

How GE powers Royal Canadian Navy�s Harry DeWolf-class Arctic patrol vessels

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) has taken delivery of HMCS Harry DeWolf, its first full-electric power and propulsion ice class patrol vessel with combat package. GE�s Power Conversion business was the designer and provider of the high-voltage electric power system (HV) and electric propulsion drive trains, with specialist capability for operations in multi-year ice, for the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) Harry DeWolf class of six vessels.

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[Haijun watcher]

Ships For CANADA

Major milestones for future HMCS Margaret Brooke with first fuel and radar installation
Two major construction milestones for the future HMCS Margaret Brooke at Halifax Shipyard, as the vessel took on first fuel and also completed installation of the Surveillance and IFF Radar Antenna. The forward gun was also mounted this past week.
Andrew Miller of the Test & Trials team at Irving Shipbuilding says first fuel marks a significant milestone for mechanical and electrical commissioning.
�Loading fuel to supply our emergency/harbour diesel generator is a step towards supporting the first start and testing of this engine in the coming weeks, enabling the ship to generate 1.3MW of electrical power and allowing the start of significant commissioning of the ship�s 440V electrical switchboard system�, said Miller. �These achievements support our path to starting the ship�s main diesel generators later this year, which will bring the next member of Canada�s future fleet to life.�
The second of six new Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) for the Royal Canadian Navy, the future HMCS Margaret Brooke follows the recent delivery HMCS Harry DeWolf on July 31st of this year, the lead vessel in the new DeWolf Class.
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[Haijun watcher]

Naval News

Royal Canadian Navy Harry DeWolf OPV trials new capabilities at sea
Naval News Staff 07 Dec 2020
RCN press release
The work is part of a normal process to incrementally test Harry DeWolf and its systems, and as sailors gain experience with this first-of-class ship, they�re also making an immediate impact on RCN business, explains the ship�s commanding officer.
�Tests and trials can be a limiting description. The ship is in naval service, and it has been since July 31, 2020,� said Commander Corey Gleason, referencing the official date Harry DeWolf was delivered to the Department of National Defence this past summer. That delivery was followed by an initial alongside work period before heading to sea.
While trials will continue over the next 12 months, they will be taking place alongside naval operations, Cdr Gleason added. During the most recent proficiency sail to Newfoundland and Labrador, for example, the ship contributed to Canada�s maritime domain awareness while also gaining proficiency with the new platform.

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[maxim]

Is it known if Harry DeWolf will keep these orange lifeboats? Or will they be replaced by fast RHIB?

One is visible here:
https://defpost.com/royal-canadian-navy ... ea-trials/

[Timmy C]

The lifeboats will be kept - very useful for rescuing and transporting, for example, passengers from a sinking cruise ship in the Arctic.

[maxim]

Thank you! That is unfortunate in that sense that in the original concept renderings a RHIB was shown there and is included (printed on) in the DFNM model. It will be not easy to remove and replace it...


https://www.shapeways.com/product/JHJ4X ... =105747828

There are some other small differences.

[Timmy C]

It's conceivable the lifeboats may be traded for RHIBs if it is operating in Caribbean or other places overseas as part of non-Arctic maritime security roles (they'd only go to the Arctic in the summers when there's actual traffic).

[maxim]

I would prefer the summer, Arctic fit - i.e. I will have to change that.

[Haijun watcher]

1st in class finally commissioned:

Canadian Press

Royal Canadian Navy commissions newest warship HMCS Harry DeWolf in Halifax
Sat., June 26, 2021, 1:01 p.m.�1 min read



HALIFAX � The Royal Canadian Navy commissioned its newest warship on Saturday, the first of several new vessels expected over the next several months.
HMCS Harry DeWolf is the navy's first Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship and was built at Irving Shipbuilding's Halifax Shipyard.
It is the first vessel delivered under the federal government's National Shipbuilding Strategy.
The ship is named after Vice-Admiral Harry DeWolf, a former head of the Royal Canadian Navy from Bedford, N.S.
Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin, also Minister responsible for Military Relations, participated in the commissioning ceremony Saturday on what would have been DeWolf's 118th birthday.
"Nova Scotia has long been known for its expertise in shipbuilding, and now we have the first commissioned vessel ready for deployment," Rankin said. "The economic value of these ship contracts is vital to Nova Scotia, providing millions of dollars in direct and indirect impact."
Over 1,100 Nova Scotians were directly employed in the construction of HMCS Harry DeWolf, which is nearly 104 metres in length.
The ship's first mission will begin in August as it circumnavigates North America - transiting 6 oceans, the Northwest Passage and the Panama Canal. It will be the first time in 50 years that this journey has been taken by a Canadian naval ship.
Next month, the shipyard will mark the delivery of HMCS Margaret Brooke to the Navy, and the future HMCS Max Bernays will be launched later this year.
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[Haijun watcher]

An interesting tidbit of RCN World War I history behind the naming of the 2nd in this class:

Canadian Press

Irving Shipbuilding delivers second Arctic patrol warship to Royal Canadian Navy
1 day ago

HALIFAX � Irving Shipbuilding officially delivered the second in its series of Royal Canadian Navy Arctic patrol ships today at a ceremony in Halifax.

The Arctic Offshore and Patrol Ship will be officially designated HMCS Margaret Brooke during a naming ceremony later this year.

Brooke, a nursing sister in the Royal Canadian Navy, was decorated for gallantry during the Second World War for her actions when the SS Caribou was torpedoed by a German submarine in the Cabot Strait.

The ships were built to operate in up to 120 centimetres of first-year sea ice. Construction of the following three ships in the series is ongoing, with construction of the sixth ship expected to begin in 2022.

The first ship, HMCS Harry DeWolf, was delivered to the Defence Department on July 30, 2020, and was officially commissioned into service on June 26.

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