VICTORIA, British Columbia — Canada will look to domestic or international firms to lease commercial vessels as it tries to deal with a capability gap in resupplying warships at sea.
The Royal Canadian Navy had looked at the potential purchase of surplus US Navy ships but that is no longer being considered because of the cost and lack of availability of vessels.
The Navy RCN is officially removing from service over the next 16 months its two aging supply ships, HMCS Preserver and HMCS Protecteur. But already that capability is considered shut down. Preserver has serious corrosion issues and HMCS Protecteur was severely damaged after a fire broke out on the ship when it was on exercises off Hawaii in early 2014. It was towed back to its home port in Esquimalt, British Columbia, and will not be repaired.
The Navy won't have a replacement fleet fully ready until 2021, leaving. That leaves it with a gap when it will not be capable of resupplying its warships at sea. So To deal with that problem, Canada has now asked companies for information about what at-sea services they can provide.
Industry sources said Canada is looking at leasing a commercial ship capable of resupplying its frigates and other vessels. At a minimum, the leased ships must be capable of refueling ships underway at sea.
"The Department of National Defence is investigating interim options to address the at-sea support services capability gap," confirmed Ddepartment of National Defence spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier said. "No decision on the way forward has been made at this time."
But industry sources expect that decision to come sometime this year as the need for a solution to be in place is critical.
HMCS Preserver and HMCS Protecteur carried fuel, food and ammunition for warships. They also provided medical services and helicopter support and maintenance facilities.
Vice Adm.iral Mark Norman, the head of the Navy, has said the loss of the supply ships is of particular concern and must be dealt with as soon as possible. He noted the retirement of the two ships creates "a significant gap for Canada that we need to look to mitigate as quickly and as cost-effectively as we can."
Le Bouthillier said Canada will also look to deal with the capability gap by making arrangements with its key allies. The US Navy has offered assistance and the Canadian Navy is working to better coordinate at better coordinating the movement of its ships with the US'N's supply ship availability.
But Norman has acknowledged that solution is limited. The services of allied resupply ships are in high demand for their own navies, he noted. In November, he estimated that Canada could rely on receiving help for at-sea resupply from its allies for about a year.
"The challenge we have now is that the gap is here today, and in addition to that, it's longer than 20 to 24 months, it's several years," Norman explained to journalists. "No matter what we do, we don't see a long-term, sustainable solution coming from our allies."
The lease arrangement would see the ships manned by commercial crews, although Navy personnel would operate communications equipment and the replenishment-at-sea systems that can transfer fuel to the frigates, industry sources say. The plan would eventually see those commercial crews replaced by Navy personnel.
That move would deal with Norman's concern that Navy personnel currently assigned to Preserver and Protecteur would lose their skills if they were not using them those on a regular basis.
Joyce Murray, the defense critic for the opposition Liberal Party, said she believes the Navy will move forward with the lease option. "Norman left the door open to leasing capacity because it was clear the supply ship gap is not one where we can solve with capacity of our allies," she said. "There's too many years of gap there to fill."
Jack Harris, defense critic for the opposition New Democratic Party, said the gap shows the failure of the ruling Conservative government's defense strategy. Problems with the procurement system as well as a lack of government action delayed the construction of new supply ships, he said.
Without its own supply ship fleet, the ability of the Canadian Navy's ability to conduct international missions is severely hindered, Harris added.
Canada plans to spend CAN $2.6 billion (US $2.5 billion) on two new Joint Support Ships to replace HMCS Protecteur and HMCS Preserver. But construction of the ships at the Seaspan yards in British Columbia has yet to start. That isn't expected to happen begin until late 2016.
Canada has selected the German Navy's Berlin-class design for the ships. The Berlin-class ships are 20,200 tonnes and are almost 600 feet long. The Canadian versions would carry two helicopters ands well as be equipped with medical facilities. Canada is negotiating a contract with ThyssenKrupp for the Berlin-class design, which will then be turned over to Seaspan. Although two ships are planned, there has been suggestions that a third Joint Support Ship could be built if there was enough money is left in the project budget.
Government procurement officials have confirmed those new ships will not be ready until around 2019 or 2020. But full operational capability isn't expected until 2021.
Email: dpugliese@defensenews.com
David Pugliese is the Canada correspondent for Defense News.
