Hero-class patrol vessel

CCGS Private Robertson V.C., The first Hero Class to roll out.
Class overview
Name: Hero-class patrol vessel
Builders: Halifax Shipyards
Operators: Canadian Coast Guard
Built: 2011–2013
In service: 2011–
In commission: 2011–2013
Planned: 9
General characteristics
Class and type: Hero-class
Type: Patrol vessel
Displacement: 257 t.(estimate)
Length: 42.8 m (140 ft)
Beam: 7.11 m (23.3 ft)
Draft: 2.85 m (9 ft 4 in)
Speed: 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range: 2000 nautical miles, at 14 knots
Endurance: 2 weeks
Boats & landing
craft carried:		 7.53m(RHIB),1 in C&E and 2 in Maritime Security variant
Capacity: 14
Crew: 9 + 5 Fishery/RCMP officers

The Hero-class patrol vessels, previously the Mid-Shore Patrol Vessel Project, is a series of nine patrol boats constructed by Halifax Shipyards for the Canadian Coast Guard.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Naming

Each of the nine Hero-class patrol vessels will be named after personnel from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP officers), Canadian Coast Guard (sailors, aircrew), Department of Fisheries and Oceans (fishery officers) and Canadian Forces (soldiers, sailors, aircrew) who are credited with performing exceptional or heroic acts during their service.[7][8][9]

Vessel design

The initial Mid Shore Patrol Vessel Project centred on medium-sized patrol boats of 37 to 42 metres (121 to 138 ft) in length, operating up to 120 nautical miles (220 km) offshore at a maximum speed of 25 knots (46 km/h). Each vessel would carry one or two rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs) and have accommodation for nine CCG personnel as well as up to five Department of Fisheries and Oceans or RCMP officers. The vessels were originally designed to be equipped with a stern launching ramp, allowing RHIBs to be launched and retrieved while the vessel was in motion.[10] Canadian Coast Guard versions will have a single point davit launching arrangement instead.

The final designs for Hero-class vessels are based on those of the Damen Stan 4207 patrol vessel, which will support a crew of nine, including up to five RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency or Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) officers. Each vessel will be approximately 43 metres in length, have a top speed of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) and a range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi), and be able to stay at sea for two weeks without replenishing supplies.

According to the CBC News on November 13, 2012, Canadian Minister of Defence Peter MacKay announced that Canada was considering arming the Hero-class vessels, during a speech he delivered at the launch of the CCGS Caporal Kaeble V.C., the second vessel of the class.[11] MacKay said the Organization of American States had suggested Canada reconsider arming Canadian Coast Guard vessels to help counter the drug trade and people smuggling. CCG vessels have never been armed before, while, occasionally, when carrying elements of the RCMP, the mounties have carried small arms. A Senate committee recommended CCG vessels should be armed. Michael Byers, a law professor and commentator on Arctic sovereignty and maritime law has argued that CCG vessels should have the "quiet authority of a deck-mounted gun".[12]

Employment

The main task for these vessels will be for maritime security and fisheries enforcement off Canada's Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Secondary tasks will be marine search and rescue and marine pollution control. Four of the vessels are planned to provide security on the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence Seaway.[6] Because the vessels will replace eight older vessels, the CCG fleet will increase by only one vessel.

A paper addressing the stability of high-speed patrol vessels, in high seas, co-written by naval engineers from Damen Group, was delivered at the High Performance Marine Vehicles Symposium in November 2009.[13] The paper compared two hull designs, which the paper called the enlarged ship concept and the axe bow concept. The paper called the Damen Stan 4207 design, the underlying design chosen for the Hero class, the first example of the enlarged ship concept. According to the paper, the new axe bow design's bow rudder and vertical stem would give it improved safety in stern quartering seas. The Damen Stan 4207 vessels do not have the "axe bow" with bow rudder or a "vertical stem".

Procurement history

In 2006, the Government of Canada under Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised to continue the Mid Shore Patrol Vessel Project initiated by the government of former Prime Minister Paul Martin that envisioned eight vessels; however, no funding was provided. The 19 March 2007 Federal Budget committed $324 million to build the eight mid shore patrol vessels (previously announced), as well as the two offshore fisheries science vessels (previously announced) and an additional four mid shore patrol vessels. This would have created a class with a total of 12 mid shore patrol vessels.

On 25 March 2008, in an announcement that cancelled the bidding process for the Joint Support Ship Project for Canadian Forces Maritime Command, the Government of Canada placed the coast guard's Mid Shore Patrol Vessel Project on hold due to bids that were significantly higher than budgeted allocations.

The CCG submitted a modified vessel design based on reduced capabilities and cost. On 26 February 2009, the Government of Canada reissued a call for bids for 12 mid shore patrol vessels.

On 2 September 2009, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Minister of National Defence announced that nine mid shore patrol vessels were being ordered from Halifax Shipyard for a cost of $194 million.[1][10][14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Minister Shea Leads Purchase of Nine New Coast Guard Vessels". Department of Fisheries and Oceans. 2009-09-02. Archived from the original on 2009-09-07.
  2. ↑ "Mid-Shore Patrol Vessels – the CCG's On-Again, Off-Again 37-43m MSPVs – PWGSC Press Release and a MERX NPP". Canadian American Strategic Review. February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-05. mirror
  3. ↑ "Mid-Shore Patrol Vessels – What Happened to MSPVs and Fisheries Research Vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard?". Canadian American Strategic Review. February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-05. mirror
  4. ↑ Oliver Moore (2009-09-03). "Coast Guard to be beefed up with nine new ships". Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2009-09-12.
  5. ↑ "Canadian coast guard to get 9 new ships". United Press International. 2009-09-03. Archived from the original on 2009-09-12.
  6. 1 2 "New vessels ordered for Canadian Coast Guard". Marine Log. 2009-09-03. Archived from the original on 2009-09-12.
  7. ↑ "Harper Government Names New Coast Guard Vessels in Honour of Canadian Heroes". Canada News Service. 2011-02-10. Archived from the original on 2012-11-18.
  8. ↑ Bryin Weese (2011-02-09). "Fallen Heroes to be honoured with namesake ships Thursday". Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on 2012-11-18.
  9. ↑ "Canadian Coast Guard's "Hero Class" Of Vessels". Department of Fisheries and Oceans. 2011-02-10. Archived from the original on 2012-11-18.
  10. 1 2 "Contract for Canadian Coast Guard Mid-Shore Patrol Vessels: Damen Shipyards Announces $194M Award for partner, Irving". Canadian American Strategic Review. 2009-09-03. Archived from the original on 2009-09-07.
  11. ↑ "Government to consider arming coast guard vessels: Defence Minister Peter MacKay makes revelation in Halifax". CBC News. 2012-11-13. Archived from the original on 2012-11-19. Retrieved 2012-11-19. He said the Organization of American States has been putting pressure on Canada to arm its coast guard to aid in combating drug and other contraband from entering North America.
  12. ↑ Randy Boswell (2010-10-21). "Tories to consider arming Arctic-bound coast guard ships". Nunatsiaq News. Archived from the original on 2010-10-23. Retrieved 2010-10-23. And Michael Byers, a University of British Columbia expert on international law, said the "quiet authority of a deck-mounted gun" is a reasonable show of force in the Arctic, and does not constitute a provocation to foreign countries or "preparing for war with the Russians." All coast guard icebreakers, he said, should be "multi-purpose vessels" that not only perform navigational assistance, conduct scientific research and provide search-and-rescue services, but also bring both the symbolic and practical might of a "light machine gun" to the job of enforcing Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic. He added that sending two ships worth millions of dollars to deal with an Arctic security breach — an unarmed coast guard icebreaker, for example, and an armed Canadian Forces vessel — defies logic given the vastness of the Canadian Arctic and the evident efficiency of sending a single, armed vessel with a full range of capabilities.
  13. ↑ F.H.H.A Quadvlieg; F. van Walree; J.A. Keuning; K. Stambaugh (2009-11-09). "Course Keeping of High Speed Craft in Stern Quartering Seas" (PDF). High Performance Marine Vehicles Symposium 2009. Retrieved 2011-07-19. The Damen Stan Patrol 4207, the first ship incorporating the Enlarged Ship Concept
  14. ↑ "Contract for Canadian Coast Guard Mid-Shore Patrol Vessels: Fisheries & Oceans Announces Award for Irving Shipbuilding". Canadian American Strategic Review. 2009-09-02. Archived from the original on 2009-09-07.
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