Sea Power - April 2015

SPECIAL REPORT / PARTNERS IN GLOBAL PRESENCE

combat and close-quarter battle as well as tactical ques-

tioning and identification of improvised explosive devices.

Retired Canadian Navy Capt. Norm Jolin said the

forward-deployment proposal for the ships will save

the RCN money during a time of fiscal restraint.

Because of the long distances from Canada to areas

such as the Persian Gulf or regions in the Pacific Ocean,

it can take several weeks for a Canadian warship to get

on station, he noted. That costs both time and fuel.

With forward deployments and crew-swapping,

those issues are dealt with.

“It certainly does maximize the ship’s availability for

operations,” said Jolin, an analyst with the Navy

League of Canada, a nonprofit organization that pro-

motes interest in maritime affairs throughout Canada.

“Ships tend to work better when they are being used.”

As an example of the value of having ships in the right

area at a time of crisis, RCN spokesman Lt. Kelly Boyden

pointed to the case of the Halifax-class frigate HMCS

Regina. In spring 2014, the ship was assigned to conduct

counterterrorism patrols in the Indian Ocean under

Operation Artemis, Canada’s contribution to the U.S.-led

Combined Task Force 150.

When tensions increased because of the situation in

Crimea and Ukraine, HMCS Regina was able to be

quickly redeployed to take part in NATO maritime

efforts directed at that crisis, Boyden said.

But the one major hurdle the RCN faces with

Norman’s international engagement strategy is its lack of

an at-sea supply capability. On Sept. 19, he announced

that the service would decommission its only two resup-

ply vessels — HMCS Protecteur and HMCS Preserver —

both of which are more than 40 years old.

Protecteur had been severely damaged by a fire while

sailing off the coast of Hawaii in February 2014. An

extensive assessment of the ship concluded it was

damaged beyond economical repair.

Preserver was being taken out of service because of

levels of corrosion that degraded the structural integri-

ty of the ship below acceptable limits, the RCN noted.

Both of the supply vessels carried fuel, food and ammu-

nition for warships. They also provided medical services

and helicopter support and maintenance facilities.

The RCN acknowledges it will not have a replace-

ment fleet — the new Joint Support Ships — fully

ready until 2021. That leaves a gap where it will not be

capable of resupplying its warships at sea.

“The retirement of current refuellers and the delay

in the construction of Joint Support Ships have led to

capa city issues, which have a ripple effect,” Norman

W W W. S E A P O W E R M A G A Z I N E. O R G S E A P O W E R / A P R I L 2 0 1 5 47

Canada’s Halifax-class frigates and Victoria-class submarines, such as HMCS Victoria shown here on Feb. 26 off the

country’s west coast, will play a role in the Royal Canadian Navy’s plan to maintain a global presence.

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