Canadian shipbuilder Irving Shipbuilding hosted a steel-cutting ceremony on December 19, marking the construction start on the Royal Canadian Navy’s third arctic and offshore patrol ship (AOPS), the HMCS Max Bernays.
Carla Qualtrough, Canadian public services and procurement minister, announced the start of construction works at the ceremony in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Future HMCS Max Bernays follows its predecessor ships HMCS Harry DeWolf and HMCS Margaret Brooke which started construction in September 2015 and August 2016, respectively.
Earlier this month, the lead ship in the class HMCS Harry DeWolf became complete as mega-block 3 was moved outside the Ultra Hall to the land level exterior production area and was joined to the first two mega-blocks to make up the entire vessel.
The 103-meter ships will displace 6,440 tonnes and carry a crew of up to 65 people, plus an additional 22 to support an enhanced naval boarding party, army troops, special operations forces and other government departments to support science and research. The ice-capable ships are designed to conduct sovereignty and surveillance operations in Canada’s ocean areas of interest, including in the Arctic.
“Today’s announcement speaks to the value of collaboration with the Royal Canadian Navy, and other partners at the federal, provincial, municipal and community level,” Carla Qualtrough, Canadian public services and procurement minister, said. “Working together, we are turning the goals of the Strategy into reality while ensuring the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces get the equipment they need to do their jobs.”