The Government of Canada will enter into preliminary discussions with Chantier Davie Canada Incorporated to pursue an interim supply ship capability, Defence Minister Jason Kenney announced yesterday.
These discussions with Chantier Davie will help determine if it can provide an interim solution at a cost, time, and level of capability acceptable to Canada and the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). Should the Government of Canada decide to pursue a provision of service contract agreement, it would provide the required standard of service to bridge the gap until the first Joint Support Ship (JSS) is anticipated to be operational, in 2021.
The JSS will be a robust warfighting capability with all military crewing and contain the capacity to be continuously upgraded over the next 30 to 40 years to meet with the Navy’s evolving operational requirements. An interim supply ship would provide a more modest capability and would not conduct full-spectrum military operations in high-threat environments.
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) relies on the capability provided by Auxiliary Oil Replenishment ships (AORs) to supply fuel, ammunition, water, spare parts and food to individual ships or naval task groups, as well as to support task group helicopters.
Image: Canadian Navy