The Royal Canadian Navy’s AOPS remains adrift

OTTAWA—Last week, it was reported that HMCS Max Bernays was sitting in the United States navy's Pearl Harbor dockyard awaiting repairs after experiencing flooding while at sea. The story broke on July 22 after crew members of HMCS Max Bernays contacted Ottawa Citizen reporter David Pugliese to tell him they were temporarily stranded in Hawaii. While I can think of few better places for Canadian sailors to find themselves beached, this incident is yet another embarrassment for the Royal Canadian Navy. HMCS Max Bernays is an Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship—known as an AOPS—and, at less than two years in service, it is practically brand new. The vessel was part of Canada's contribution to the U.S.-led Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024, a multinational naval exercise involving warships and aircraft from more than 40 countries. The Department of National Defence subsequently confirmed to Pugliese that HMCS Max Bernays had to return to Pearl Harbor on July 12 after experiencing mechanical issues, and seawater flooding a part of the ship. It reportedly took the crew more than 30 minutes to stop the flooding, but in that timespan, HMCS Max Bernays had taken on 20,000 litres of seawater. For the math experts out there this amounts to roughly 19.8 tons of seawater, which is not exactly a bird bath's worth of fluid. When technicians discovered additional problems with some pumping and cooling systems, the decision was made to return to port. HMCS Max Bernays had to sit out the RIMPAC 2024 exercise as repairs were made. On July 25, the Navy announced the ship was back in the exercise. The incident with HMCS Max Bernays is just one of a series of problems that has plagued the AOPS fleet, which is constructed by Irving Shipbuilding. To date, it has been reported that other AOPS have experienced similar flooding, which has caused excessive corrosion; there were mechanical failures of the anchors; a refuelling system was too heavy to use; and design flaws were hindering the operation of Cyclone maritime helicopters from the flight deck. The AOPS purchase totals nearly $5-billion, but that price tag grows with each new revelation of these “teething trouble” defects. For some unexplained reason, the government procurement officials involved in the AOPS project only requested a one-year warranty from Irving. That means that every time Irving has to sort out these glitches, the Canadian taxpayer is on the hook for the cost. Of course, the embarrassment of the Navy having to suspend participation in a major international exercise is incalculable. The RCN is already is struggling with a crippling personnel shortfall of more than 1,600 sailors fleet wide. No doubt the news of a practically new warship breaking down and flooding will not send Canadian citizens flocking to the recruiting centres. Those who follow the RCN closely will recall the 2014 incident involving the supply ship HMCS Protecteur on a return voyage from Pearl Harbor. In heavy seas, HMCS Protecteur experienced a catastrophic engine fire. It took the crew more than 11 hours to extinguish the blaze, but by then, the ship was without power and wallowing in three- to four-metre swells. The 279 crew members showed impressive innovation as they jury-rigged generators from items contained in the supply ship's cargo hold. At the time of the fire, HMCS Protecteur was 46 years old, making her older than the captain and the crew. It would prove to be her final voyage, but she was not officially scheduled for decommissioning until 2017. At the time, the heroism of HMCS Protecteur's crew—saving themselves at sea from their own ancient ship—should have been a positive story. But that tale could not be told without some measure of blame being assigned to the successive governments that failed to build replacement supply ships. The current saga of HMCS Max Bernays crapping out in Hawaii will be even tougher to spin. These AOPS are the future of Canada's maritime defences. It will be even tougher to recruit, and retain sailors based on the AOPS’ performance to date. Scott Taylor is the editor and publisher of Esprit de Corps magazine. The Hill Times

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The Royal Canadian Navy’s AOPS remains adrift

The news of a practically new warship breaking down and flooding will not send Canadian citizens flocking to the recruiting centres.

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