Deal for Chilean ship plugs a hole in navy
Canada relying on stopgaps during six-year wait for resupply vessels
The Chilean Navy supply ship, the Almirante Montt, appears on the horizon looking like a grey speck. But as it moves toward a jetty at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, the immense size of the vessel soon becomes apparent.
It takes almost 20 minutes for Chilean Navy Capt. Andrés Rodrigo to gingerly manoeuvre the ship, which is the length of more than two football fields, to the concrete structure jutting out from the shore.
Canadian sailors on the jetty grab the lines thrown from the Almirante Montt, securing the vessel.
The ship is the newest recruit, albeit a temporary one, for Canada’s navy. Since early July, it has been going out to sea on refuelling and resupply missions for Canadian warships. “We’re here to help provide training and support,” says Rodrigo, who has 25 Canadian sailors on board.
Just 50 metres from the jetty is the reason Canada is relying on Chile to now resupply its ships and train its sailors.
HMCS Protecteur, severely damaged by an engine room fire in 2014, sits idle at a dock. Protecteur was decommissioned earlier this year. Canada’s other resupply ship, the aging HMCS Preserver, is expected to be decommissioned later, leaving the navy without the capability to refuel and support its ships at sea or train its sailors in the required skills for those operations.
Such supply vessels are critical to a navy since they provide fuel, ammunition and food for warships taking part in exercises or operations.
But the Canadian navy estimates it will be another six years before its planned Joint Support Ships — already beset by various delays — are ready to do that job.
In June, the Conservative government announced it was negotiating with Chantier Davie Shipyard of Lévis, Que., to lease a commercial refuelling tanker that could be used as a stopgap until the Joint Support Ships are operating. Industry officials say a deal is close to being finalized, but it could take another 15 months before the commercial ship is ready.
In the meantime, Canada has made a deal with Chile to provide the Almirante Montt for naval operations on the West Coast. Canada spent $6 million for access to the supply ship for 40 sea days this summer. The vessel arrived at CFB Esquimalt July 3 and has been at sea on a regular basis, refuelling warships such as HMCS Vancouver and HMCS Calgary.
A similar arrangement is expected to be reached with Spain’s navy later this year for a supply ship to support Canadian vessels on the East Coast.
Rodrigo said his crew find it easy working with the Canadians. “Our procedures are very similar,” he explained.
Rodrigo said this is the first time the Almirante Montt has supported such foreign training. But he noted that Chile and Canada have had a long-established military exchange program, with officers from both navies either studying at each other’s training facilities or serving on board ships.
“Twenty years ago, I served on HMCS Calgary,” Rodrigo said.
The Canadians training on Almirante Montt are almost evenly made up of veteran sailors and relatively new members of the navy. Canadian navy officers say it’s important to keep current on the specialized skills needed when transferring supplies between two moving ships at sea.
Such an undertaking involves bringing the Almirante Montt within 50 metres of a Canadian ship and linking the two by steel cables so supplies can be off-loaded.
Chilean Navy First-Lt. Branko Ljubetic, who provided the Citizen with a tour of the Almirante Montt, pointed out the massive hose systems positioned on the side of the vessel, which are used to pump fuel to a waiting warship. The Almirante Montt can carry up to 20 million litres of fuel.
“It’s quite a process and it takes special training,” he explained.
The sprawling ship has seemingly endless corridors and large cabins. The vessel has 12 decks, and a large area on the top deck for sea containers of equipment and a helicopter.
Six years ago, Chile faced its own decision on how to replace its aging supply ship. Instead of building a new vessel, it purchased a U.S. Navy ship that had been constructed in 1987 and mothballed nine years later.
Chile spent $30 million to purchase the ship and refurbish it. During that process, the engine systems were modernized and new communications equipment installed, said Rodrigo.
In 2010, the vessel, renamed the Almirante Montt, went into service as the largest ship in Chile’s fleet. Chile’s navy also purchased a commercial tanker and that vessel is back home providing support to the fleet, Rodrigo said.
He said the Almirante Montt will leave Canada on Aug. 25, arriving in Chile on Sept. 17.
“These days have been a remarkable period of operations at sea, with a strong and professional navy,” he noted. “We have built a remarkable relationship between both navies and unfortunately we are leaving good friends who made the port of Esquimalt as our home.”
But Rodrigo also said the Chilean ship will be back. The vessel is expected to provide support to Canada’s navy until 2017, he said.