Re: Warships

by **Forcell** Mon 13 Jun 2022, 11:57 am

Liberals mull giving Irving an extra $300 million to build warships

Irving declines to discuss how much money it is seeking from taxpayers and what it will do with the funding if it is received

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Jun 13, 2022

Taxpayers are being asked to give at least $300 million to an East Coast shipyard so it can modernize its facilities to build navy vessels despite an earlier stipulation that public funds would not be required for such upgrades.

Irving’s Halifax shipyard was selected in 2011 as the winner of a multi-billion dollar program to construct the country’s new fleets of warships. Among the requirements for winning the bid was that the yard had the capability to build the vessels and taxpayers wouldn’t need to contribute funding to outfit facilities for the task.

But Irving is now retreating on that agreement and the Liberal government has been presented with a request for money. Industry sources say the Liberals are considering providing at least $300 million to the shipyard owned by one of Canada’s richest families.

Irving Shipbuilding president Kevin Mooney recently told The Canadian Press that the shipyard needed several upgrades that were not originally anticipated so it could build the new Canadian Surface Combatant Ships.

That surface combatant project, the largest single purchase in Canadian government history, has already fallen behind schedule and the cost to taxpayers has skyrocketed: from an original $26 billion to $77 billion, according to Parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux. MPs on the House of Commons government operations committee say they expect the cost for the 15 ships to be around $100 billion.

Procurement Minister Filomena Tassi declined to confirm how much Irving was asking for from taxpayers or when the Liberal government intended to make its decision. She also declined to comment on why she wasn’t cancelling Irving’s original winning bid as the firm had since indicated it would have difficulty meeting the project requirements without extra funding.

“I, along with my department, continue to work with our NSS (National Shipbuilding Strategy) partners to ensure the ships that the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard require are delivered in a timely and efficient manner,” she noted in a statement to this newspaper. “This involves continually monitoring progress and mitigating against risks to timelines and budgets. I cannot discuss any specific request at this time.”

Irving declined to discuss how much money it was seeking from taxpayers and what it would do with the funding if it was received.

Mary Keith, Irving’s vice-president of communications, said the Halifax Shipyard was on track to cut steel on the first surface combatant in 2024. “As is typical in any shipyard transitioning to a larger and more complex ship, (Irving Shipbuilding) has developed plans to optimize cost, schedule, and quality,” she noted in an email. “The business case demonstrates the significant benefit to the CSC program.”

The Conservative government started the surface combatant project, but in 2015 acknowledged the cost was increasing and the program might have to be scaled back.

But the Liberal government elected in 2015 reaffirmed its commitment to the CSC project. Under the Liberals, the cost has continued to climb. Critics have warned the project is out of control and is lacking oversight from government officials who have allowed the costs to balloon.

Parliamentary budget officer Giroux told MPs last year that part of the risk with the CSC project came from the Royal Canadian Navy’s decision to select the Type 26 frigate, which at the time existed only on the drawing board. “There doesn’t seem to be a clear rationale when it comes to explaining these cost increases,” Giroux noted during an appearance before a Commons committee last year. “I’m concerned.”

The Department of National Defence, however, has rejected the PBO cost estimates. It states the overall CSC project cost will be between $56 billion and $60 billion. DND officials have insisted that the cost will not go beyond those figures and that it has no intention of changing course or considering anything but the Type 26 design.

Earlier this year, an Australian government defence assessment found that country’s new warships, which have the same basic Type 6 design as the vessels Canada plans to build, are too slow and have been deemed unsafe. A November 2021 Australian Defence department “engineering team assessment” of that country’s frigate procurement highlighted concerns about the untested “immature” ship design.

Defence Watch

by Rocko Thu 30 Jun 2022, 5:25 pm

New navy supply ships face more delays and cost increases, federal officials confirm

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Jun 30, 2022

The delivery of the Canadian navy’s new supply ships will be delayed another two years and taxpayers will be hit with more costs, federal officials confirmed Thursday.

The first Joint Supply Ship won’t be delivered until 2025 and the second won’t arrive until 2027, said Simon Page, assistant deputy minister for defence and marine procurement at Public Services and Procurement Canada.

Those dates are two years beyond the last delivery schedule for the vessels being built by the Seaspan shipyard in Vancouver.

The cost for the ships will also increase but Page said that figure is not known at this point.

He blamed the latest delays and cost increase on the pandemic and ongoing challenges the shipyard is facing since the Joint Supply Ship or JSS is the first of its class.

At one point, the first JSS was supposed to arrive in 2012. That has been changed a number of times with the federal government later hoping for a 2018 delivery and then a 2019 arrival for the first vessel. The Department of National Defence then revised that delivery to 2022 or 2023.

The cost of the project to build the new naval ships, originally set at $2.3 billion, has also been steadily increasing. In June 2018 the government acknowledged the cost of the project had jumped from $2.3 billion to $3.4 billion. Then it went to $4.1 billion.

The news of the delays and cost increases comes a little more than a week after Defence Minister Anita Anand was claiming successes in military procurements. “I know that is a narrative that many espouse,” Anand said referring to the widespread belief that military procurement is a mess. “I will say that our government has made significant steps in contracting and in getting procurements out the door.”

Conservative MP Kelly McCauley has pointed out that the Joint Support Ships that Seaspan is building are based on an existing design already in service with the Germany navy. But McCauley said that National Defence and PSPC keep making changes to the ship, driving up costs and adding to delays.

Troy Crosby, the assistant deputy minister for procurement at National Defence, said Thursday that the design had to be updated for specific Canadian requirements and the shipyard has had to deal with the complex nature of the project.

Page said the decision to announce the delay and cost increases for the JSS project on a Thursday before a long weekend was not an attempt to limit coverage of the bad news.

“Our thinking was let’s do this before the summer vacation,” Page said. “Coincidentally, it was the right time for us when we had completed our analysis and we had the right discussions with our chains of command and with the shipyard about this information.”

But defence sources say government officials have known about the delays and cost increase for at least a month now.

To deal with the further delays for JSS, the federal government will now negotiate an extension to its leasing of the Asterix supply ship, a commercial vessel converted by Quebec’s Davie shipyards for military use. The Asterix has been used since 2018 to refuel and resupply Royal Canadian Navy and allied warships.

Davie Shipyards delivered Asterix to the government on time and on budget in a deal worth $659 million. In 2018 it offered to sell a second similar ship at $500 million but the Liberal government rejected that deal.

The Liberal government originally tried to derail the Asterix project shortly after being elected in the fall of 2015. The move came after cabinet ministers, including Scott Brison and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, received a letter from the powerful Irving family with a complaint that an Irving proposal for a similar supply ship was not examined properly. Irving has denied any suggestion it was involved in political meddling.

Taxpayers are expected to get hit with another major cost increase associated with the government’s shipbuilding program. The Canadian Surface Combatant project, the largest single purchase in Canadian government history, has already fallen behind schedule and the cost to taxpayers has skyrocketed: from an original $26 billion to $77 billion, according to Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux. But MPs on the House of Commons government operations committee say they expect the cost for the 15 ships to be around $100 billion.

Defence Watch

by **Spider** Fri 01 Jul 2022, 9:32 am

Canadian navy to be without new support ships until at least 2025 due to production delay

By Staff The Canadian Press
Posted June 30, 2022

Global News

by **Navigator** Thu 22 Sep 2022, 7:46 pm

Irving recruiting foreign workers to build Royal Canadian Navy's new warship fleet

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Sep 22, 2022

Irving Shipbuilding wants to bring in more foreign workers to help construct the Canadian navy’s new fleet of warships.

Irving is involved in a recruiting campaign to bring in workers from the Philippines as it gets ready to construct the first of 15 Canadian Surface Combatants.

That warship program has been touted by federal government representatives, defence analysts and Irving officials as a catalyst to create top paying jobs for Canadians.

But Irving employees told this newspaper that the firm is losing skilled Canadian shipbuilders because the firm is not paying enough and benefits are lacking.

The Embassy of the Philippines in Ottawa is helping with the Irving recruiting campaign. On Sept. 20, under the banner of “Filipinos Invited to Build Canada’s Naval Fleet”, it noted that a delegation from the embassy and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office visited Irving Shipbuilding on Sept. 19 where they were received by the firm’s human resources vice president Jim Rennie.

“With Irving Shipbuilding contracted to build the CAF’s next generation Canadian Surface Combatants fleet, the company is currently recruiting Filipino shipbuilding employees to meet its manpower requirement for this critical contract,” the embassy noted. “During the meeting which followed the worksite visit, Rennie provided an overview of the support services they have in place to ensure the successful integration of their prospective Filipino employees to the company and the Halifax community.”

Mary Keith, Irving vice president of communication, said 98 per cent of the company’s workforce is Canadian and the firm’s priority is to hire Canadians with experience.

She stated that foreign workers being brought in by the firm “are achieving permanent residency and citizenship, contributing to Canada’s economy.”

She noted that the shipyard union, Unifor Local 1, is aware the firm is seeking skilled trades workers inside and outside of Canada and those individuals would be union members.

“We currently have approximately 250 open positions for staff, leadership, and skilled trades,” Keith added.

In a May 2020 appearance before a Commons committee, Innovation, Science and Economic Development deputy minister Simon Kennedy claimed the federal government’s shipbuilding strategy had created or maintained almost 17,000 Canadian jobs. Kennedy also claimed ISED officials were regularly working on the surface combatant project with Irving and others to ensure the economic benefits promised to Canada were implemented.

But asked for comment on Irving’s recruitment campaign, Innovation, Science and Economic Development said they could not respond because the issue does not “fall under the department’s purview.”

Public Services and Procurement Canada did not provide comment.

The Canadian Surface Combatant project to build 15 warships to replace the navy’s frigates started out with a budget of $26 billion. National Defence says the budget is now around $56 billion to $60 billion. Critics of the shipbuilding program point out the surface combatant project has spun out of control, with some parliamentarians now suggesting the price tag has climbed to $100 billion.

Conservative MP Kelly McCauley, who is on the Commons government operations committee, said the push to hire foreign workers for the new warship program is disappointing. “We have had government and industry officials repeatedly telling our committee about all the great jobs this program will create for Canadians,” he said. “I find it very disappointing that after the tens of billions of dollars thrown to Irving for shipbuilding that they are not reaching across our country to recruit workers.”

McCauley said there should also be an emphasis on recruiting Indigenous people for such jobs and questioned the lack of training for shipbuilding trades for Canadians.

Irving has previously brought in foreign workers. In 2017, the Chronicle Herald newspaper in Halifax reported about Irving hiring workers from Poland to work on the Royal Canadian Navy’s ships. Irving also had a deal with the Spanish firm Gabadi LC that involved Spanish carpenters being brought to Halifax to work on the navy’s Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships.

At the time Irving claimed the newspaper reports were false.

But it then released a statement confirming foreign workers were being recruited. “Because Canada has not had a naval new build program in place for almost 25 years, some specific shipbuilding expertise does not exist in Canada or we have exhausted efforts to recruit Canadians for certain positions,” Irving noted in the statement at the time. “Under these exceptional circumstances, skilled workers need to be sought internationally.”

Union officials representing employees at Irving’s Halifax shipyard did not provide comment on the latest foreign worker recruitment program. But in June 2018, David Baker-Mosher, president of Unifor Local MWF1, said union workers at Irving objected to temporary foreign workers in the yard. “The temporary foreign workers have created huge animosity,” he said at a news conference.

Baker-Mosher told reporters that while Irving was hiring foreign employees, he knew of skilled workers who had to leave Nova Scotia to take jobs in western Canada, in particular Alberta.

Earlier this year, this newspaper revealed Procurement Canada was quietly seeking what it called influencers to push out social media messages that the government’s shipbuilding program was a success.

The influencer recruiting program was aimed at officials in various companies and defence analysts and academics who are deemed supportive of the national shipbuilding strategy or NSS. They were to be provided with positive messages and data by Procurement Canada about federal shipbuilding with an emphasis on jobs being created.

“The NSS has resulted in many social and economic benefits, from creating and sustaining more than 16,000 jobs annually to showcasing the innovations applied to shipbuilding, and we know we have content that would be of interest to your followers and networks,” the potential influencers were told by Procurement Canada.

Defence Watch

by **Kizzer** Fri 14 Oct 2022, 4:40 pm

Construction of navy's new supply ship halted by strike — government unsure how shipbuilding strategy will be affected

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Oct 14, 2022

Work on the construction of new navy supply ships as well as coast guard vessels is at a standstill on the west coast because of a labour dispute that has entered its second month.

Workers on Seaspan tugboats started job action in late August after contract negotiations between the union and the company came to a halt. In a notice to members, the Canadian Merchant Service Guild said negotiations with the employer had reached an impasse, and it was commencing strike action on all 30 Seaspan tugs in British Columbia.

While Seaspan shipyard employees are not on strike they have refused to cross picket lines set up by the tugboat staff, the result being a work stoppage on the construction of the navy’s Joint Support Ships and a vessel for the Canadian Coast Guard.

Ali Hounsell, director of communications for Seaspan, confirmed in an email that construction of ships at Vancouver Shipyards has stopped due to the strike. “Design and engineering work continues on our NSS (National Shipbuilding Strategy)-related programs,” noted Hounsell. “It would be premature to estimate the impacts as the strike is ongoing, however we are working to resolve the issues and minimize the impacts to our customers and the broader industry.”

Officials with National Defence as well as Public Services and Procurement Canada say they have no idea how the shipbuilding programs will be affected by the strike. “Given that the strike is ongoing, Canada is unable to comment on any impacts to NSS projects at this point,” noted PSPC spokesman Jeremy Link. “Canada will assess any such impacts once this situation is resolved.”

National Defence spokeswoman Jessica Lamirande said the department is keeping a close eye on the situation. “Once matters are resolved, we will work with Seaspan and PSPC to further determine the effects of the labour dispute and to regain production momentum as quickly as possible,” she noted.

A legal application by Vancouver Shipyards to stop the striking tugboat captains from setting up picket lines outside the yard was rejected Sept. 27 by the BC Supreme Court.

Seaspan says it recently tabled an offer with significant changes and concessions, including wage increases and inflation protection.

In late June before the strike and work shutdown, federal government officials admitted that the delivery of the Canadian navy’s new supply ships would be delayed another two years and taxpayers would be hit with more costs.

The first Joint Supply Ship won’t be delivered until 2025 and the second won’t arrive until 2027, Simon Page, assistant deputy minister for defence and marine procurement at Public Services and Procurement Canada, confirmed at the time.

Those dates are two years beyond the last delivery schedule for the vessels.

The cost for the ships will also increase but Page said that figure is not known at this point.

He blamed the latest delays and cost increase on the pandemic and ongoing challenges the shipyard is facing since the Joint Supply Ship or JSS is the first of its class.

At one point, the first JSS was supposed to arrive in 2012. That has been changed a number of times with the federal government later hoping for a 2018 delivery and then a 2019 arrival for the first vessel. The Department of National Defence then revised that delivery to 2022 or 2023.

The cost of the project to build the new naval ships, originally set at $2.3 billion, has also been steadily increasing. In June 2018 the government acknowledged the cost of the project had jumped from $2.3 billion to $3.4 billion. Then it went to $4.1 billion.

The news of that delay and cost increase came a little more than a week after Defence Minister Anita Anand claimed successes in military procurements. “I know that that is a narrative that many espouse,” Anand said referring to the widespread belief that military procurement is a mess. “I will say that our government has made significant steps in contracting and in getting procurements out the door.”

Federal officials have continued to claim that the National Shipbuilding Strategy is a great success but most of the projects are delayed and the costs have increased by billions.

Taxpayers are expected to get hit with another major cost increase associated with the government’s shipbuilding program. The Canadian Surface Combatant project, the largest single purchase in Canadian government history, has already fallen behind schedule and the cost to taxpayers has skyrocketed: from an original $26 billion to $77 billion, according to Parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux.

But MPs on the House of Commons government operations committee say they expect the cost for the 15 ships to be around $100 billion.

Defence Watch

by **Starman** Thu 27 Oct 2022, 7:31 pm

Taxpayers face $300 billion price tag for new navy warships, warns Parliamentary Budget Officer

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Oct 27, 2022

Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux has flagged a couple more torpedoes related to the Royal Canadian Navy’s problem-plagued project to buy new warships.

Taxpayers are now facing a price tag of more than $300 billion for the 15 ships, Giroux warned Thursday.

That includes the construction cost of the Canadian Surface Combatants plus operating, maintaining and upgrading the vessels over the course of their life.

Giroux’s numbers are stark — the development and purchase of the 15 ships, which the government approved with a $26 billion price tag, will now cost Canadians $84.5 billion.

The cost of operating and maintaining the ships over the next 65 years will be $219.8 billion. That includes mid-life upgrades for the ships with additional technology.

That last figure is a significant leap in cost for taxpayers; in 2013 the Auditor General’s office noted that figure would be $64 billion over 30 years.

“Every time we look at this (project), the costs go up,” Giroux said Thursday.

The Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) project — the largest single expenditure in Canadian history — has become the poster child for the country’s troubled military procurement system. Concerns have been raised about a lack of accountability and oversight of the program as well as secrecy surrounding the initiative.

Even as costs continue to rise, National Defence is steadfast that it will not be altering course.

Previously, National Defence officials claimed they didn’t expect the price tag to increase.

On Thursday, the department acknowledged it does not yet have an idea how much the ship purchase will ultimately cost taxpayers. “The full cost for the project will continue to be refined” it noted.

“Project costs will evolve throughout the duration of a project,” the department added.

Construction of the first CSC warship isn’t scheduled to begin until 2024.

Defence Minister Anita Anand and deputy minister Bill Matthews have overseen the CSC project since early 2019, first when they were at Procurement Canada and now at National Defence.

Anand has downplayed concerns about problems in the country’s military procurement system, instead stating that there are many success stories.

Conservative MP Kelly McCauley, a member of the Commons government operations committee that requested Giroux examine CSC, said there doesn’t appear to be any interest in government to try to put a stop to the increasing costs. “Every new update brings more delays and billions in added costs with no end in sight,” he said.

McCauley and some fellow MPs believe just the construction of the CSC will eventually cost more than $100 billion.

Giroux said a one-year delay in the project added $7 billion to the final estimated tally.

CSC was started by the previous Conservative government but by the summer of 2015, it was talking about limiting increasing project costs by reducing the number of ships to be built.

But the incoming Liberal government dismissed that notion and committed to all 15 warships.

More costs for CSC could soon emerge over the coming months.

Irving’s Halifax shipyard was selected in 2011 as the winner to build new fleets of warships for the navy, including CSC. Among the requirements for winning the bid was that the yard had the capability to build the vessels and taxpayers wouldn’t need to contribute funding to outfit the facilities for the task.

But Irving is now asking the federal government for additional money so it can modernize its facilities to build the CSC. Industry sources say the Liberals are considering providing at least $300 million to the shipyard owned by one of Canada’s richest families.

Former National Defence procurement chief Alan Williams claimed it is now clear the CSC project is out of control.

He said the only good news is that a contract has yet to be signed and it is not too late for the Liberal government to take a different approach.

“I feel for the Royal Canadian Navy,” said Williams. “They need new ships but if they continue down the current path with CSC they might not get any.”

Defence Watch

by kodiak Mon 05 Dec 2022, 8:19 pm

Navy's new Arctic ship sidelined until April because of mechanical problems

The repairs to HMCS Harry DeWolf won’t be covered by Irving Shipbuilding because the warranty for the company’s workmanship on the vessel, delivered in 2020, was only for one year, a National Defence spokesperson said.

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Dec 05, 2022

Canada’s new Arctic patrol ship HMCS Harry DeWolf will be out of service until April because of ongoing mechanical problems, but the military doesn’t yet have an idea how much repairs are going to cost taxpayers.

In addition, a second Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship, HMCS Max Bernays, was accepted in September from Irving Shipbuilding even though a system that allows the vessel to manoeuvre wasn’t functioning properly, this newspaper confirmed.

The repairs to HMCS Harry DeWolf won’t be covered by Irving Shipbuilding because the warranty for the company’s workmanship on the vessel, delivered in 2020, was only for one year, said Jessica Lamirande, a Department of National Defence spokesperson.

The problems are affecting the vessel’s four main diesel generators that provide electrical power and ship propulsion. HMCS Harry DeWolf left Halifax on Aug. 15 for an Arctic exercise, but already one of its main diesel generators was inoperable. Several days later, when the ship was off the east coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, another of the main diesel generators failed, forcing a return to Halifax.

National Defence is now conducting a technical investigation to try to figure out the problem, and repairs will be made at taxpayers’ expense.

“As the repairs are ongoing, we don’t yet have a full estimated cost,” Lamirande said. “It is expected that HMCS Harry DeWolf will return to operations in April 2023.”

The investigation will also look at whether the problem, which could be linked to an engine cooling system, might affect two other Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships, HMCS Max Bernays and HMCS Margaret Brooke.

Lamirande also confirmed HMCS Max Bernays was docked on Nov. 23 to deal with problems with the vessel’s bow thruster. The bow thruster enables the ship to fine-tune its positioning during specific station-keeping manoeuvres, according to National Defence.

The problem with the bow thruster was known prior to the Royal Canadian Navy’s decision to accept delivery of the vessel from Irving in September.

Lamirande said the work on the ship should be complete by mid-December. Because that vessel is still under a one-year warranty, the repairs will be covered by Irving.

Irving declined to comment.

This newspaper was tipped off to the ongoing problems by Royal Canadian Navy sailors who have raised questions about the capabilities of the Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships, also known as AOPS.

The navy had previously stated HMCS Harry DeWolf would return to service by early December.

But the failure of the main diesel generators is just the latest in a series of mechanical problems for HMCS Harry DeWolf. The vessel was to have joined in on the Arctic exercise, Operation Nanook, in early August, but was left in port because its fire suppression system wasn’t working properly. Sailors told this newspaper that system had been out of service for about a month.

With the fire suppression system repaired, HMCS Harry DeWolf left Halifax, but then the generator problems emerged. The Royal Canadian Navy stated that the failure was an “isolated incident”.

But in October 2020 the Canadian Press reported HMCS Harry DeWolf was forced to return to port after its freshwater generator and communications systems failed. It was while the ship was docked that the crew also found the cooling pumps on two of the ship’s four diesel generators had broken, the news service reported. HMCS Harry DeWolf was officially delivered by Irving to the navy on July 31, 2020.

The AOPS program has, over the years, faced delays and spending increases. Under the original timetable, the first AOPS was to have been delivered in 2013, with Arctic operations set for 2015.

But that first ship wasn’t delivered to Canada until July 2020.

In January 2015, the federal government announced it had awarded Irving Shipbuilding a $2.6-billion contract to build five AOPS. In 2018, that deal was expanded to add a sixth vessel. National Defence currently lists the project as costing taxpayers a little more than $4.3 billion.

In 2017, the Senate Defence Committee raised concerns about the vessels’ capabilities. “This (concern) is based on the fact that these ships cannot operate in ice more than a metre thick, are slower than a BC Ferry, can only operate in the Arctic from June to October and will require a Coast Guard escort when in the northern waters,” the senators pointed out in their report. “These limitations are troubling and raise the question of whether the taxpayers are receiving value for the monies spent.”

In the past, federal bureaucrats have been sensitive about news coverage of AOPS issues. In March 2019, officials with National Defence and Public Services and Procurement Canada warned Irving this newspaper was asking questions about problems with welds on the AOPS. Irving, in turn, threatened this newspaper with legal action.

National Defence, however, later confirmed there had been minor issues with welding on the AOPS and the article was published. No lawsuit was filed.

Defence Watch

by **RazzorSharp))** Fri 16 Dec 2022, 5:32 am

Sailors provided with bottled water after lead contamination concerns on new Arctic patrol ships

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Published Dec 15, 2022

Drinking water on board the Canadian navy’s new fleet of Arctic patrol ships is believed to be contaminated with lead, forcing the military to provide crews with bottled water.

The lack of drinking water on the Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships is the latest problem associated with the $4 billion program.

An investigation has revealed that some fittings and valves in the potable water system were manufactured from alloys that exceeded the allowable amount of lead, National Defence has confirmed. Irving Shipbuilding installed the fittings and valves on HMCS Harry DeWolf, HMCS Margaret Brooke, HMCS Max Bernays, and HMCS William Hall.

Royal Canadian Navy sailors contacted this newspaper to provide details of the potentially lead-contaminated water as they believed the navy and National Defence were trying to hide the problem from the public.

Information about the water problems was later confirmed by National Defence.

“Acceptance tests of HMCS Harry DeWolf indicated concerns with water quality,” the department noted in its statement. “In particular, the tests demonstrated a possibility of accumulated lead contamination in the water, especially in areas where the water remains stagnant.”

“An investigation ensued, revealing that some fittings and valves in the potable water system are manufactured from alloys that exceed the lead requirements specified in the build contract,” the statement added.

National Defence noted that since safety of military personnel is a priority the Canadian Forces is now conducting regular water testing and providing bottled water for the crews on HMCS Harry DeWolf and HMCS Margaret Brooke. Similar measures will be put in place for HMCS Max Bernays, which has not yet started operations. If needed, the same will be done for HMCS William Hall which will be delivered in the fall of 2023.

Irving Shipbuilding has come up with a solution to install a filtration system as well as potentially replace the problematic fittings and valves, National Defence noted in its statement. Taxpayers, however, could end up paying extra for that even though the department acknowledged that Irving used fittings and valves manufactured from alloys that exceeded lead requirements outlined in the build contract. Negotiations on who pays is currently under discussion, according to National Defence.

Going forward, new valves will be installed In the other Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships to be built by Irving.

Irving spokesperson Mary Keith stated that “Canada and Irving Shipbuilding have been working together to address design issues that, under certain conditions, could contribute to degradation of potable water systems on delivered ships.”

She noted the remaining four AOPS to be built for the navy and the Canadian Coast Guard “have been redesigned to eliminate the potential for degradation of these systems and therefore the need for filters.”

Keith stated Irving is “committed to the safety of Canadian sailors on the ships we build and maintain for the Navy.”

The water problem is the latest issue to hit the Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) fleet.

Last week this newspaper reported that HMCS Harry DeWolf will be out of service until April because of ongoing mechanical problems, but the military doesn’t yet have an idea how much repairs are going to cost taxpayers.

In addition, HMCS Max Bernays was accepted in September from Irving Shipbuilding even though a system that allows the vessel to manoeuvre wasn’t functioning properly.

The repairs to HMCS Harry DeWolf won’t be covered by Irving Shipbuilding because the warranty for the company’s workmanship on the vessel, delivered in 2020, was only for one year, said Jessica Lamirande, a Department of National Defence spokesperson.

The problems are affecting the vessel’s four main diesel generators that provide electrical power and ship propulsion. HMCS Harry DeWolf left Halifax on Aug. 15 for an Arctic exercise, but already one of its main diesel generators was inoperable. Several days later, when the ship was off the east coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, another of the main diesel generators failed, forcing a return to Halifax.

National Defence is now conducting a technical investigation to try to figure out the problem, and repairs will be made at taxpayers’ expense. “As the repairs are ongoing, we don’t yet have a full estimated cost,” Lamirande said. “It is expected that HMCS Harry DeWolf will return to operations in April 2023.”

Lamirande also confirmed HMCS Max Bernays was docked on Nov. 23 to deal with problems with the vessel’s bow thruster. The bow thruster enables the ship to fine-tune its positioning during specific station-keeping manoeuvres, according to National Defence.

The problem with the bow thruster was known prior to the Royal Canadian Navy’s decision to accept delivery of the vessel from Irving in September.

There were also problems with the fire suppression system on HMCS Harry DeWolf.

In October 2020 the Chronicle Herald newspaper reported HMCS Harry DeWolf was forced to return to port after its freshwater generator and communications systems failed. It was while the ship was docked that the crew also found the cooling pumps on two of the ship’s four diesel generators had broken. HMCS Harry DeWolf was officially delivered by Irving to the navy on July 31, 2020.

The AOPS program has, over the years, faced delays and cost increases. Under the original timetable, the first AOPS was to have been delivered in 2013, with Arctic operations set for 2015. But that first ship wasn’t delivered to Canada until 2020.

In January 2015, the federal government announced it had awarded Irving Shipbuilding a $2.6-billion contract to build five AOPS. In 2018, that deal was expanded to add a sixth vessel. National Defence currently lists the project as costing taxpayers a little more than $4.3 billion.

In 2017, the Senate Defence Committee raised concerns about the vessels’ capabilities. “This (concern) is based on the fact that these ships cannot operate in ice more than a metre thick, are slower than a BC Ferry, can only operate in the Arctic from June to October and will require a Coast Guard escort when in the northern waters,” the senators pointed out in their report. “These limitations are troubling and raise the question of whether the taxpayers are receiving value for the monies spent.”

In the past, federal bureaucrats have been sensitive about news coverage of AOPS issues. In March 2019, officials with National Defence and Public Services and Procurement Canada warned Irving this newspaper was asking questions about problems with welds on the AOPS. Irving, in turn, threatened this newspaper with legal action.

National Defence, however, later confirmed there had been minor issues with welding on the AOPS and the article was published. No lawsuit was filed.

Defence Watch

by Firestrike Tue 20 Dec 2022, 5:21 am

Government has spent $4.8 billion so far on new warships — construction of first vessel expected in 2024

The new figures presented to the House of Commons provide a limited window into some of the spending so far on the Canadian Surface Combatant or CSC project.

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen

Published Dec 19, 2022

The federal government has spent $4.8 billion so far on the new warships it hopes will be built starting in two years.

But National Defence has now acknowledged it doesn’t fully know the cost of maintaining and supporting the ships that will replace the navy’s Halifax-class frigates.

The new figures presented to the House of Commons provide a limited window into some of the spending so far on the Canadian Surface Combatant or CSC project. Two months ago, the parliamentary budget officer estimated the total cost of the CSC would be more than $300 billion.

That project, the largest single purchase in Canadian history, has already fallen behind schedule and the cost has skyrocketed. The estimated price tag for constructing the ships has climbed from an original $26 billion to $84.5 billion, according to parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux.

He noted when operations, maintenance and upgrades of the 15 warships are included over the life of the fleet, the entire cost would be $306 billion.

In a response to the House of Commons order paper, Public Services and Procurement Canada confirmed that it has signed six contracts so far on CSC totalling $3.1 billion. The bulk of those have been awarded to Irving Shipbuilding, which will construct the ships starting in 2024.

Irving received $116 million to develop documentation and other material needed to select the CSC design. It received another $3 billion to start engineering work and lay the groundwork for the vessel construction.

National Defence told the Commons it had spent almost $1.7 billion on CSC. But the department did not give a breakdown of the contracts, the dates they were awarded or what they were for, despite a specific request from the Commons to do so.

National Defence did note that in 2017 it originally estimated the lifecycle cost of CSC was between $126 billion to $147 billion. That figure, however, is now no longer valid as the project was in its early stages when that cost was calculated.

“As the project progresses through the design phase and towards the start of ship construction, National Defence will update its lifecycle cost estimate for the Canadian Surface Combatant, which will be informed through collaboration with allied and industry partners,” National Defence said in its response to the Commons.

Some MPs and defence procurement specialists have raised warnings about the CSC costs and what they say is a lack of oversight of the program as well as the secrecy surrounding the initiative. Alan Williams, the former head of procurement at National Defence, has argued it is not too late to withdraw from the CSC project as the construction contract has yet to be signed. He has noted it should be possible to acquire a less expensive ship.

Even as costs continue to rise, National Defence is steadfast that it will not be altering course.

Previously, National Defence officials claimed they didn’t expect the price tag to increase.

But in response to Giroux’s report, the department acknowledged it has no idea on how much the ship purchase will ultimately cost taxpayers. “The full cost for the project will continue to be refined,” it noted.

“Project costs will evolve throughout the duration of a project,” the department added.

Defence Minister Anita Anand and deputy minister Bill Matthews have overseen the CSC since early 2019, first when they were at Procurement Canada and now at National Defence.

Anand has downplayed concerns about problems in the country’s military procurement system, instead stating that there are many success stories.

CSC was started by the previous Conservative government, but by the summer of 2015 it was talking about limiting the increasing project costs by reducing the number of ships to be built.

But the incoming Liberal government dismissed that notion and committed to all 15 warships.

Defence Watch

by **Accer** Mon 06 Mar 2023, 4:25 pm

Cost to fix mechanical problems and lead-tainted water on new Arctic ships remains unknown

“Clearly costs are going up, and that comes from the departments themselves.”

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen

Published Mar 06, 2023

Taxpayers will find out in two months how much extra it will cost to fix the mechanical problems and lead-tainted water on board the navy’s new Arctic and offshore patrol ships.

But Procurement Canada’s top bureaucrat has reassured parliamentarians that costs on the multi-billion vessels are coming down, despite figures showing the price tag actually jumped another $780 million over the past year.

This newspaper reported in December that the first Arctic and offshore patrol ship, HMCS Harry DeWolf, would be out of service until April because of ongoing mechanical problems, including issues with diesel generators. Concerns have also been raised about the safety of drinking water on the vessels, also known as AOPS.

An investigation revealed that some fittings and valves in the potable water system were manufactured from alloys that exceeded the allowable amount of lead, National Defence confirmed. Irving Shipbuilding installed the fittings and valves on HMCS Harry DeWolf, HMCS Margaret Brooke, HMCS Max Bernays and HMCS William Hall.

National Defence originally acknowledged that Harry DeWolf wouldn’t be back in operations, but now can’t say when that might happen.

Paul Thompson, deputy minister at Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), recently told parliamentarians that repair costs remained unknown. He told the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee on Feb. 13 that he could not talk about ongoing discussions with AOPS builder Irving Shipbuilding.

But in December 2022, National Defence officials confirmed the repairs to HMCS Harry DeWolf wouldn’t be covered by Irving Shipbuilding because the warranty for the company’s workmanship on the vessel, delivered in 2020, was only for one year.

Simon Page, assistant deputy minister for defence and marine procurement at PSPC, told MPs it would take at least two months before some of the repair costs for the ships were known.

Thompson, however, highlighted the AOPS program as a success. “Canada has seen good progress in the Arctic and offshore patrol ships program, with three ships delivered so far and the cost per ship decreasing,” he told MPs. “As the Canadian industry continues to gain more experience along the way, we expect to see even more efficiencies.”

In early January, however, Thompson’s own department noted the cost of AOPS was increasing. It had jumped by $780 million over the past year. The cost of the ships now exceeds $6 billion.

National Defence and Public Services and Procurement Canada noted the extra money was needed to deal with reduced labour availability, higher costs resulting from COVID-19 protocols such as screening and cleaning, and price increases on transportation and spare parts.

Conservative MP Kelly McCauley, who closely monitors military procurements, said spending on the AOPS project was out of control and there was no oversight on the program.

McCauley said in an interview Friday that the information provided from PSPC about AOPS costs supposedly going down didn’t match reality. “This is just more BS from PSPC,” he said. “Clearly costs are going up, and that comes from the departments themselves.”

Irving spokesperson Mary Keith previously noted “Canada and Irving Shipbuilding have been working together to address design issues that, under certain conditions, could contribute to degradation of potable water systems on delivered ships.”

In addition, HMCS Max Bernays, another AOPS, was accepted in September from Irving even though a system allowing the vessel to manoeuvre wasn’t functioning properly.

There were also problems with the fire suppression system on HMCS Harry DeWolf.

David Pugliese is an award-winning journalist covering Canadian Forces and military issues in Canada. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe

Defence Watch

by Geoman Fri 21 Apr 2023, 11:35 am

Defence Department expecting clarity on cost of new warship fleet later this year

Lee Berthiaume - Published April 21, 2023

The Canadian Press

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