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Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ship AOPS

So far all the AOPS crests are quite good. I think having an individual who did heroic things gives the artists more opportunity to tell a little bit of a story. There is plenty to draw on for inspiration, the individuals background, their actions etc...
 
Some very nice photos from HMCS Harry DeWolf meeting HMCS Haida recently, a fitting intermingling of the old and the new alongside a great view of the size difference in the ships.

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HMCS Harry DeWolf delivered the Grey Cup to Ontario on this stop as well.

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Some great relationship building and history lessons for the crew of HMCS Harry DeWolf as well, considering the relationship they share with the vessel famously commanded by their namesake.

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Oldgateboatdriver said:
When did they build those funky looking decorative container cranes on the waterfront trail?
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About 6 years ago. They aren't container cranes though. Underneath them is a "shakespear in the park" style setup facing the water. I honestly think its for event\ lighting etc... as there is a walkway all the way to the end of the boom.

Took a good buddy of mine out for diner last night and he gave me an AOPV tour. The ship is gigantic and very much has a BC ferry feel walking the flats. However the safety features designed into the ship are impressive. On AOPS all the drop "deakheads" are a fire barrier, as are the pannels on the bulkheads. The stairwells are coated to withstand a raging inferno for over an hour. Its the Alamo/panic room for casualties and to get clear of smoke. If you can get to a stairwell you'll likely be safe as its got amazing smoke control as well.

All the below waterline doors are sliding hydraulics that just cut the water off with no closing action required.

Their gasoline storage is actually designed to be jettisoned (inside the container) right overboard in the event of an emergency. So much is heated, including a number of railings and decks outside.

And there is a ridiculous amount of space everywhere. It's insane how much room the cabins, flats, and engineering spaces have. Nothing seems crammed at all.
 
It’s crazy how the HDW dwarfs the old Tribal destroyer, which is 377’ long itself.

Looks much more like a civilian super yacht than anything.
 
Underway said:
About 6 years ago. They aren't container cranes though. Underneath them is a "shakespear in the park" style setup facing the water. I honestly think its for event\ lighting etc... as there is a walkway all the way to the end of the boom.

Took a good buddy of mine out for diner last night and he gave me an AOPV tour. The ship is gigantic and very much has a BC ferry feel walking the flats. However the safety features designed into the ship are impressive. On AOPS all the drop "deakheads" are a fire barrier, as are the pannels on the bulkheads. The stairwells are coated to withstand a raging inferno for over an hour. Its the Alamo/panic room for casualties and to get clear of smoke. If you can get to a stairwell you'll likely be safe as its got amazing smoke control as well.

All the below waterline doors are sliding hydraulics that just cut the water off with no closing action required.

Their gasoline storage is actually designed to be jettisoned (inside the container) right overboard in the event of an emergency. So much is heated, including a number of railings and decks outside.

And there is a ridiculous amount of space everywhere. It's insane how much room the cabins, flats, and engineering spaces have. Nothing seems crammed at all.
Click to expand...
Except the fire insulation has all been thickly coated with.... normal marine enamel paint that is flammable, and much thicker then paint buildups we've done testing on where it will fail all the IMO limits, which will now fill those stairwells up with smoke. The jettisonable gas storage is a good idea in theory, except you have to actually be able to get up close to it and operate some items on the actual container. So essentially if you can jettison it, you don't need to. To be fair, no one has a practical system, but it would have been better to simply fix some kind of cooling spray system instead of needing people to manually cool it.
 
Underway said:
And there is a ridiculous amount of space everywhere. It's insane how much room the cabins, flats, and engineering spaces have. Nothing seems crammed at all.
Click to expand...
I had a tour of a CPF and an AOPS on the same day, the difference in space and accommodations is quite substantial. To be fair, the CPF's are proper warfighting ships while the AOPS are built to civilian standards alongside being designed with long duration Arctic voyages in mind, however the jump in modernity, quality of living and space is very nice. I do not believe there has been a view or description of the enlisted accommodations posted online but from my tour, I was quite impressed with it especially compared to a CPF. A lot of the folks I've talked to involved with AOPS seem pretty enthusiastic regarding their futures with the class, as enthusiastic as one can be in the RCN I suppose haha.

From what I recall, the compartment I saw had 6 bunks (maybe 8 but I think 6) with a good amount of locker space, private bathroom with a shower, sink, toilet, another sink separate outside the bathroom and a small work desk. I've been told the only vessel that beats AOPS for accommodations is MV Asterix but isn't very surprising. The embarked staff accommodations were more cramped but that is reasonable given their largely temporary nature and how many people it could fit, I think it was around 20 in a large and mostly open compartment. Having separate gear storage and planning areas aboard gives the impression that an embarked team can really get comfortable and do their mission effectively. Seeing the various messes, cafeteria, mission bays, boat storage, bridge, hanger, etc aboard really helps reinforce how all of this space and tonnage are utilized to make an effective design.

The tour definitely gave me some more respect for the AOPS design, I have been generally pretty supportive of the concept/design for a few years now but its entirely different once you get to take a peek around. These ships should serve the RCN well for decades to come.
 
Comparison CPFs to AOPs isn't really fair; if you compare the CPFs to the 280s that's a much better apples to apples, and the CPFs are a big step up accommodation wise from a warship.

I think CSC will be pretty similar to CPFs for accommodation breakout, but at least will come with a dedicated gym and proper storage, as well as a sweet mission bay. That will make a great temp gym when not packed full of extra stuff.

The lockers for wet weather gear outside the AOPs accommodations is pretty great, and some other really good ideas, but in general just a lot of things they can't do on a warship where you have a lot more people and way more stuff crammed into the same space.
 
Navy_Pete said:
Comparison CPFs to AOPs isn't really fair; if you compare the CPFs to the 280s that's a much better apples to apples, and the CPFs are a big step up accommodation wise from a warship.

I think CSC will be pretty similar to CPFs for accommodation breakout, but at least will come with a dedicated gym and proper storage, as well as a sweet mission bay. That will make a great temp gym when not packed full of extra stuff.

The lockers for wet weather gear outside the AOPs accommodations is pretty great, and some other really good ideas, but in general just a lot of things they can't do on a warship where you have a lot more people and way more stuff crammed into the same space.
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Hopefully they do mockup of the CSC berthing arrangement and let NCM sailors test them out. I realize they are constrained by an existing hull and powerplant. But there might be little tweaks that can be done to improve life aboard.
 
daftandbarmy said:
So AOPS isn't really a warship then?

firefly what GIF
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Nope, it's built to LR commercial standards, with a small gun, and painted grey, but is definitely not a warship. It's classed as a 'non-combatant', which covers everything from MCDVs, Orcas, to tugs and barges.

I'm not sure what an army equivalent is, maybe a standard heavy duty pickup painted matte green?
 
Navy_Pete said:
Nope, it's built to LR commercial standards, with a small gun, and painted grey, but is definitely not a warship. It's classed as a 'non-combatant', which covers everything from MCDVs, Orcas, to tugs and barges.

I'm not sure what an army equivalent is, maybe a standard heavy duty pickup painted matte green?
Click to expand...
Simple...in jouralistic terms they are all "tanks"
 
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