Canadá se deshará de sus barcos de reaprovisionamiento.

Canadian navy retires four warships
PAUL MCLEOD OTTAWA BUREAU
Published September 19, 2014 - 6:08am
Last Updated September 19, 2014 - 9:43pm

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HMCS Preserver is pushed by tugs in Halifax Harbour on Oct. 19, 2011. The Canadian navy is going to retire four veteran ships that have been in service for decades. (ANDREW VAUGHAN / The Canadian Press / File)


OTTAWA — The Canadian navy is facing a major downgrade as it retires four ships, leaving 1,400 sailors with an uncertain future.

Canada will be left with no resupply ships and just one destroyer-class warship, which acts as a command ship on naval missions.

The navy says it will lean on the refitted Halifax-class frigates to mitigate the drop in capability and could rent or lease foreign resupply ships.

“The Canadian navy has just taken a major step down in the hierarchy of navies,” said Ken Hansen, defence analyst at Dalhousie University and a retired navy commander.

“You’re looking at making do for a better part of a decade and maybe even longer.”

The government announced Friday it is decommissioning two Iroquois-class destroyers, HMCS Iroquois and HMCS Algonquin, as well as two Protecteur-class resupply ships, HMCS Protecteur and HMCS Preserver.

The lone destroyer left will be HMCS Athabaskan. In essence, it means the Canadian navy will have to lean on its allies for missions outside of Canadian waters.

Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, didn’t have any specifics on where the ships’ crews would be reassigned, but said the navy does not plan to shed staff.

“The removal from service of these four ships is the most reasonable approach and responsible approach given where we are today,” Norman said.

The Iroquois and Preserver are based in Halifax, the other two ships are based in British Columbia.

Last year HMCS Protecteur and HMCS Algonquin collided en route to Hawaii. Protecteur returned to sea but this February it caught fire near Hawaii.

Norman said the damage was so serious that it made no economic sense to restore the ships. The Protecteur was supposed to last until 2017 while the Algonquin was supposed to last until 2019.

HMCS Iroquois was to be retired in 2015, while the Preserver is being retired two years early after unsafe levels of corrosion to the ship’s hull were discovered.

Meanwhile the navy is midway through a major refit of its 12 Halifax class frigates. While the frigates will have updated equipment and can take over some of the roles of the destroyers, they lack the same long-range defence capabilities.

“Ultimately, if we find ourselves in a situation where that extended-range capability is required, we’re not going to be going anywhere by ourselves,” said Norman.

Canada is building a new class of warships in Halifax to replace the destroyers but those won’t be built until the next decade.

Meanwhile the government announced the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships soon to be built in Halifax will be known as the Harry DeWolf class. The first ship will be named HMCS Harry DeWolf.

DeWolf was a war hero from Bedford who was Canada’s most highly decorated naval officer of the Second World War. He commanded HMCS Haida and famously once wrestled a live torpedo that had gotten loose on the deck of his ship.