Canada - Need to maintain aging fleet hurting Navy’s flexibility

A new Defence Department report shows the Royal Canadian Navy stretched thin over the past year as aging ships were forced to into dry-dock for maintenance and refits to keep them floating.

The repairs were scheduled and the report says the navy was able to do its job despite having fewer ships available.

But the revelations highlight the pressure the federal government, shipbuilding industry, but especially navy commanders are under to start cutting steel on replacement vessels in the coming years as the existing fleet continues getting older.

According to the report, tabled in the House of Commons on Thursday, the biggest challenge facing the navy was when its two support ships, the HMCS Protecteur and Preserver, went into maintenance at the same time.

Both vessels are nearly 50 years old and were supposed to start being replaced this year, but design and money concerns have delayed delivery of the first new joint support ship until at least spring 2018.

The report describes the supply ships as “integral” to the navy’s ability to do its job, and says the repairs were essential to keep them operational.

But because of their absence in late 2011 and early 2012, the navy was forced to turn to allies for help replenishing other Canadian vessels at sea until the re-supply ships came back online.

Similarly, planned maintenance and scheduled refits reduced the number of Halifax-class frigates and Iroquois-class destroyers naval commanders had at their disposal, making it more difficult to respond to an emergency.

The report said “careful planning” ensured enough warships were available, but that the maintenance programs, particularly the frigate overhauls, “will continue to exert pressure on the total number of available major warships.”

A senior naval official said there are currently seven frigates unavailable for operations right now.

While the absence of so many ships has been anticipated and is being managed, the official confirmed it has reduced the navy’s flexibility.

That challenge will only increase as the existing ships get older and until replacements come on line, the official said.

The frigate-refit program is expected to run until early 2018, but that may not solve the navy’s problems as Postmedia News reported in June that the country’s nearly 40-year-old destroyers will begin retiring in 2017 — before replacements are ready.

There have also been fears a three-year delay in delivery of the navy’s first new armed Arctic vessels, which are being built by Irving Shipyards in Halifax as part of the federal government’s $35-billion shipbuilding strategy, will push back the timeline on replacements for the destroyers and frigates.