By Blair Shaw, 11 December 2024
Some positive news coming out of the Seaspan yards, finally, with regards to the Joint Support Ship program. The current HMCS Protecteur is not far off from float out and she is looking rather fine.
I am hoping, like many, that these ships will help bring the RCN back to the forefront with our allies and put us in good standing too.
But let's not get too excited just yet as we still have a long way to go.
All photo credits to Seaspan.
14 thoughts on “Joint Support Ship News”
How can a ship with NO troop-carrying capability be a joint support ship?
Ditto to Dave Shirlaw’s comment!
The program name of the Joint Support Ship is largely a carry over from the initial days of the program (2004 – 2009) prior to its termination, reevaluation and redesign. It has also been retained due to the fact that the current design can do some limited sealift capability, with its cranes, 60 20ft container payload and sea-to-shore connectors. There is also the fact that the design is outfitted to act as a naval task force flagship and joint headquarters for land, sea and air operations within a certain area.
I personally wouldn’t get too hung up over a designation, these ships are a vital addition to the RCN. Given the fact we’re also calling a 24 VLS cell frigate a destroyer, this sort of thing seems par for the course now.
Hello All,
Ship was launched on 13 December 2024.
Ubique,
Les
https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/seaspan-launches-hmcs-protecteur-canadas-longest-naval-ship-9952322
Sigh….Only the people on this page would criticize the name of the ship. How about for your peace of mind call it the Protecteur Class. It’s about the importance that soon, after a long period of time, we’ll regain the capability that we lost and have extra capability and capacity. While not with all the bells and whistles that you hoped for, it certainly can jointly support the Army and Air Force and house troops for a short period of time and get them ashore. We’ll never have that amphibious capability that you pine about. Be glad that we’ll be divesting ourselves of that albatross of a ship Asterix and its outrageous contract that’s draining our resources.
I’m glad she’s nearing completion. And I’ll be the first to acknowledge that form follows function. The onboard systems – including the machinery controls and (limited) combat system – are new. All good.
But as I survey allied navies, I can’t escape the notion that we’ve purchased an old design. I see allied support vessels with smooth-sided superstructures, or axe bows, or other latter-day design appearances which makes ours look….well… dated. Many of these vessels were ordered after ours were, and have been delivered already.
Can anyone reassure me that a sailor need not use those outside passageways to go forward or aft? It would not be pleasant in inclement weather.
Yes personnel can move the length of the ship internally. While still considered a variant of the Berlin Class, the ship is quite different internally from the Berlin Class. It’s based in part on the 3rd ship of the class, the Bonn, which took all the lessons learned from the first two and of course our Canada additions. Make no mistake, it’s a very capable ship. It’s the largest ship the RCN has ever built and more capable in many ways that we had before. This a great step forward in ridding ourselves once and for all of the Asterix contract.
Thanks, Ted. I look forward to learning more about her in the months/years ahead… Maybe even visiting her at some point.
You think we are getting rid of the Asterix? Or maybe just after HMCS Protecteur and Preserver are in service?
At the end of the current lease I suspect there won’t be another renewal. Asterix was only meant as an interim measure until the two Protecteur class are operational. If we bought it outright the cost of purchase would be upwards of 700M dollars for a ship that Davie paid 20M for and a couple of hundred million conversion that they slapped together and sourced a major part of it offshore.
Until January 2028? Or just until HMCS Protecteur is in service? Or until HMCS Preserver is ready?
That Asterix contract with FSS has been milking the RCN dry and to think they have the nerve to go in at $700m at end of lease purchase for a ship that basically has already been bought and paid for through the lease.
Would have loved to have sent that one up – someone’s laughing all the way to the bank and it isn’t the RCN.
Yes Jan 2028 as it’s a signed contract.
Makes sense. It will have served its purpose.