Proposed Arctic patrol fleet to be trimmed

O T TAWA • The Harper government is trimming its expected order of Arctic patrol ships and evaluating a set of unsolicited proposals to convert civilian cargo ships for use by the Canadian navy, The Canadian Press has learned.

Both steps are a sign that more-modest expectations have been set for the government’s national shipbuilding strategy, which has yet to deliver a single vessel some three years after the shipyards were chosen in 2011.

The navy is set to retire its two replenishment ships, HMCS Preserver and the firedamaged HMCS Protecteur, without having any replacements ready to sail, despite a decade-long replacement program.

New joint support ships are only slated to begin construction in late 2016, with an in-service target of 2019-20, but the government has yet to sign a construction deal with the designated shipyard, Seaspan of Vancouver.

Officials insisted last year that Canada could rely on its allies to refuel and rearm its warships in the meantime, but government and defence sources say a newer proposal from the Quebec-based Davie Shipyard would provide beefed-up civilian ships under a five-year lease.

There is “growing interest” in the plan as a stopgap until the new supply ships arrive, said one defence source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Questions involving price, timeline and the general viability of the proposal are still being explored, a second industry source confirmed.

At the same time, negotiations with Halifax-based Irving Shipbuilding for the construction of new Arctic offshore patrol ships have seen the government scale back its plan to buy between six and eight of the vessels to enforce sovereignty in the North.

The new plan is to buy five light icebreakers, with an option for a sixth.