By David Prior, 2 June 2025
A new Russian fleet under construction is being built with monolithic fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin-infusion. In Lunenburg, NS, aerospace components are being manufactured using resin infusion. A proposed Canadian vessel, the Polar Multi-functional Security Vessel (PMSV), is ideally suited for fabrication with this modern composite technology that is readily maintained and repaired in the freezing and wet field conditions often found in Canada’s High Arctic. The hull and superstructure will not corrode or fatigue, greatly reducing maintenance, and some epoxies can be applied to wet surfaces, or even underwater.
The PMSV is a practical vessel that avoids the problems plaguing the similarly purposed American Expeditionary Fast Transport (T-EPF). In 2018, the newly-built T-EPF vessels were experiencing problems1; by 2025, they were being decommissioned.2 There were multiple problems with the aluminum T-EPFs. They were designed to carry 600 tons of cargo 1,200 nautical miles at 35 knots but in tests, T-EPFs could carry 600 tons of cargo only 848 nautical miles at 31 knots. In addition, T-EPFs are not survivable in a hostile situation because of a lack of weaponry and armour, both of which add weight and kill speed. A heavily armed and armoured Canadian PMSV is also built of lightweight material but will likely carry 1,200 tons of cargo 4,000 nautical miles at 16 knots. Both the PMSV and the T-EPF can perform as expeditionary cargo ships for hostile engagements and as forward operating bases but the ruggedized PMSV is far more effective logistically, and contributes far more naval strength. Very high speed comes with a very high price, as the T-EPF demonstrates.
The need for Canadian PMSVs is clear. For example, the T-EPF requires a pier for offloading a large tank and other heavy vehicles but the PMSV does not. This is critical in the Canadian High Arctic. A hostile incursion onto Canadian soil may not occur beside one of the very few Canadian piers in the polar region. It is a long way (1,200 km) from the pier at Canada’s naval base at Nanisivik, NU, to the northern coast of Ellef Ringnes Island where a intrusion may occur (and where there are no piers). A logical next step in protecting Canada’s North is to build the PMSVs by utilizing modern armoured composites. This will require a new shipyard with the unique capabilities that are required for fabricating large composite structures under controlled conditions. These capabilities will also make the new shipyard a good fit with the global civilian market. It will enable composite fabrication for large industrial items that are far more advanced than what is currently offered in Canada.3 It will also provide to the RCN another 400m long graving dock, one that is fully enclosed for year-round work.
The new shipyard will be a fully enclosed graving dock, equivalent in size to the facility in Esquimalt, BC.4 It will be roofed over with a conventional insulated steel structure and utilize ground heat augmented with in-floor heating provided by an ocean-source or Great Lakes-source heat pump. This facility will be built with conventional construction methods that are economical and reliable. Multiple overhead cranes, each with medium capacity, largely complete the facility. Other innovative features required for it are minor in nature, so are easily provided. On some vessels (e.g., CSC), the highest-mounted antennae and electronic equipment may need to be designed to lay flat at the push of a button in order to enter/exit the graving dock. Today, this capability is proven, simple, lightweight and low cost.
Manufacturing vessels with resin infusion in a modern assembly hall requires only a modest number of well-trained workers who have a talent for doing careful work. Because a large labour force is not required, the new facility can be located outside of large urban centres. The work is also pollution free, clean and quiet, performed in a safe and comfortable environment, and does not require significant strength. Any healthy person can become highly skilled. By utilizing a graving dock as an assembly hall, nature does the heaviest lifting, not machinery. This is inherently safer, and more economical. Extensive shore facilities and piers are not required. Company-run training programs can effectively provide many of the new skills required.
The location of this new shipyard is flexible; it could be built on Canada’s West Coast, Great Lakes or East Coast. Southern Vancouver Island is desirable because it will strengthen CFB Esquimalt at a time when China has been determined by Ottawa to be Canada’s most significant opponent. It can service two CSCs at the same time, with space left over for smaller vessels totaling less than approximately 75m LOA. In an enclosed assembly hall there will be no need for elaborate tarpaulin systems covering the vessel, thus saving considerable time and expense. On the Great Lakes, Thunder Bay is an ideal location and already hosts a graving dock5 that could be enhanced. Icebreakers can, if need be, maintain a route to open tidewater. Global warming is steadily reducing this challenge.
The large new fleet of Russian minesweepers, now being built and deployed to the Black Sea war zone and to the Arctic, utilizes a conventional mold to fabricate the fiberglass hulls. The Canadian PMSVs will use a different system, more in line with conventional steel and aluminum shipbuilding. Extensive use will be made of waterjet cutting. The Canadian PMSVs, fabricated with composites and resin-infusion, will have the same beneficial attributes that the new Russian ships possess: “Such a body is not afraid of corrosion, and the service life, subject to the norms of operation, is practically unlimited.”6 Building ships with monolithic and/or composite fibreglass brings other advantages too.
1 https://www.defensedaily.com/dod-oig-finds-epf-not-achieve-performance-capabilities/navy-usmc/
2 https://www.arctictoday.com/the-need-for-more-ships-u-s-navy-edition-commentary/
5 https://maritime-executive.com/article/ontario-shipyards-shuts-down-yard-in-thunder-bay
6 https://maritime-executive.com/article/russia-readies-world-s-largest-monolithic-fiberglass-ship
3 thoughts on “The Case for Large Canadian Naval Vessels Built with Modern Materials”
Ok lets break this article down.
1. Composite Hull Claims vs Harsh Arctic Realities
Claim: Resin-infused monolithic fiberglass is ideal for Arctic operations because it doesn’t corrode, fatigue, and can be repaired in wet conditions.
Reality:
Composite hulls like fiberglass are not proven for sustained Arctic naval operations. They are more susceptible to delamination, microcracking, and UV degradation—especially in extreme cold and ice-laden waters.
The Royal Canadian Navy and Coast Guard have consistently opted for steel hulls in ice-capable ships (AOPS, Icebreakers), not composites, due to their predictable behavior under ice pressure, strength, and structural integrity during collisions with ice ridges.
The claim that composites can be repaired in wet conditions is technically true, but impractical for field repairs in freezing, high-wind Arctic environments. The logistics of patching resin under load, in wet cold, is not operationally realistic.
2. Performance Comparison with T-EPF is Misleading
Claim: PMSV is superior to the U.S. Navy’s T-EPF, which was decommissioned due to poor performance and survivability.
Reality:
T-EPFs were purpose-built for high-speed intra-theater transport, not Arctic sovereignty or sustained patrols. It is an apples-to-oranges comparison.
T-EPF issues were known, but Canada never proposed a similar vessel—the AOPS or a modified Kingston-class would be the actual baseline for comparison.
PMSV proposes to carry 1,200 tons for 4,000 nautical miles at 16 knots, with composite hulls and heavy armament—a combination that lacks precedent and contradicts known naval architecture limits. You cannot load up a light composite hull with armament and expect structural soundness in combat or Arctic environments.
3. Shipyard Proposal is Logistically and Economically Questionable
Claim: A new shipyard using resin infusion will be simple, cheap, and revolutionary for the industry.
Reality:
Resin-infusion for large monolithic structures requires extreme quality control, vacuum bagging, heating, and controlled humidity—not achievable cheaply or “simply” in a new facility without years of trial and error.
The cost and delay in building a new graving dock the size of Esquimalt, indoors, is enormous. There is no proven cost model or buyer demand to justify such investment when existing infrastructure like Halifax Shipyard and Seaspan already struggle with shipbuilding delays.
The closure of Ontario Shipyards (cited ironically in the article) is a direct counterexample of why such “flexible shipyards” don’t work in practice in Canada’s industrial climate.
4. Russian Minesweeper Comparison is a Red Herring
Claim: Russian minesweepers built with monolithic fiberglass are a precedent for Canada.
Reality:
Russian minesweepers are lightly armed, small displacement, non-Arctic craft operating in calm waters. They are not armed Arctic sealift ships like the PMSV is proposed to be.
The Russians have no equivalent to a heavy Arctic patrol vessel made of composites—they use steel for such ships. This undermines the core logic of the PMSV proposal.
Composite corrosion resistance is not a new concept, but it does not equate to mission survivability, ice-breaking ability, or modularity—all of which are essential for northern Canadian missions.
5. Arctic Access and Pier-Free Logistics Are Already Addressed
Claim: PMSV can offload heavy vehicles without a pier, unlike T-EPF.
Reality:
Canada’s AOPS, designed specifically for the Arctic, already feature modular cargo areas, cranes, and vehicle ramps designed for beach landings and FOB resupply.
The claim ignores the practical limits of over-the-beach operations. Offloading MBTs or heavy trucks on unprepared Arctic beaches is a fantasy without large LCACs, causeways, or roadways.
Also ignored is the AOPS’ integration with CAF Joint Logistics, and Arctic camps, which provide more flexible capability than a large composite barge with a tank deck.
6. Manpower and Training Misrepresented
Claim: Shipbuilding with composites requires few skilled workers and is easy to scale.
Reality:
Composites demand very specific, highly-skilled labour—resin infusion, curing, vacuum sealing, and NDT testing for voids and delamination.
These skills are not interchangeable with traditional shipbuilding trades like boilermakers, welders, and marine pipefitters. A transition would require years of training and certification, and new regulatory oversight.
Canada’s shipbuilding workforce shortages already hamper NSS programs. Adding an entirely new material system only increases risk.
Conclusion: The PMSV Proposal Is Technologically Risky and Operationally Redundant
Rather than betting on an unproven, oversized composite platform:
Canada should invest in proven steel hull vessels tailored for Arctic use (AOPS-like platforms).
Improve logistics infrastructure (ice piers, prepositioned supply caches).
Leverage dual-use commercial Arctic logistics assets under Canadian registry.
Support and expand existing shipyard capacity, rather than invest in a fantasy graving dock that contradicts current naval strategy and budget realities.
Composite shipbuilding is not new and has been done for years. Norway built a number of composite hulled MCM ships, unfortunately a number of them experienced fires and accidents.
The PMSV proposal is a solution in search of a problem—built on questionable comparisons, technological optimism, and logistical naiveté.
Hi Retired,
Thank God for a voice of reason!
Ubique,
Les
Hello Retired RCN. Your ‘counters’ to David Prior’s PMSV proposals are just about bang-on and make a whole lot of sense! These PMSVs can certainly be viable, but not under year-round or High-Arctic/North Atlantic conditions and never will be. Their use would be better suited for more southern climates and not for the harsh realities of what the RCN does or needs! Good Canadian Steel is the way to go! Build 3 or 4 Multi-Mission Support Ships for the RCN with some ‘teeth’ like the British are proposing. Cheers!