New Canadian Shipbuilding Strategy
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It appears Federal Fleet is pulling out all the stops to get retained LOL
retainasterix.ca
Retain Asterix
Learn more about the CSS Asterix, its role in supporting the Royal Canadian Navy, and why continued investment in Canadian shipbuilding matters for national defence, innovation, and economic growth.
retainasterix.ca
Oldgateboatdriver
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I've never put much faith in what comes out of Esprit de Corps. He mixes up a few stories in there to make it come out supporting his personal opinion. However it is a view (the conclusion) that is shared by some, even in the Navy.
He does make a big mistake on flags: Federal Services did not design it's own flag to fly (that would be illegal in any event) that would mimic the RCN's White Ensign. That Blue Ensign it flies has existed for a long time: it is the ensign of the CFAV's (i.e. the Canadian merchant service that operates the support vessels of the RCN, such as tugs, research vessels (when we had them), ferries (again, when we had them), and the Nanoose range vessels. Asterix is flying it by permission of the Navy.
Having said all of the above am I immensely jealous, in the best way possible, of those who are getting posted to these ships right now
I second that emotion!
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The RCN's own tankers are coming into service starting Dec 2027, though will be in the RCN June 27. Those will be far more capable and we'll have two.
Asterix has done a great job. But its time for her to go her own way. There might be an extension for a year or two but that's it.
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I am ok with keeping Asterix on contract, till the 2nd JSS is in service, that way we have two AOR's, one on each coast and that gives more berths for training up the next generation of AOR sailors.
Halifax Tar
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Fraser is moving forward!
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Royal Canadian Navy Today and Yesterday
Following a successful keel laying ceremony, the keel unit for the first River class destroyer, the future HMCS Fraser, has now been moved from the Module Hall to the Paint Hall at Irving...
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Not the best photo resolution but wow the fit-up and welding are brutal. Reminds me of some of the photos of Harry deWolfe first blocks that were out by inches.Fraser is moving forward!
Royal Canadian Navy Today and Yesterday
Following a successful keel laying ceremony, the keel unit for the first River class destroyer, the future HMCS Fraser, has now been moved from the Module Hall to the Paint Hall at Irving...
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Apparently the bow module was 3 inches off in overall width.
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That’ll buff right out.
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Irving is going to Irving. One would think that with the AOP's behind them, they would have learned how to survey and position things correctly. A known set of points in the build hall and laser based survey devices should have ensured that the pieces were placed correctly and that proper weld spacing and expansion, contraction were all accounted for.
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As long as the GoC refuses to enforce contract terms and conditions this will continue.
GK .Dundas
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There are times when I wonder what it is that Irving seems to have over both major political parties?
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It's not just Irving.
National champions have access to political leadership who intervene on their behalf. Contract delays are ignored or embraced; contracts written that transfer labour rate volatility to the Crown instead of leaving them with the vendor... Plenty of ways to transfer wealth to the contractor and shift risk to the Crown.
So rather than call out Irving for not making the potable water system on AOPS potable, and having them fix it at their expense, we suck it up and pay them to fix their own fuck up .
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And now they are asking to create a forum in Halifax to discuss any future hiring process that Hanwa or TKMS may implement to staff their sub maintenance facility. Again I ask the question, why should Hanwa or TKMS agree to this? What do they have to gain from this? If Irving has to open their pocket to keep key, experienced people from walking over to Hanwa/TKMS, then that's on them.
When Volkswagen started hiring last year for their new facility in St Thomas, I didn't read about the main manufacturing companies in the greater London area demand that a forum be created to discuss hiring and labour concerns. Its a free market, labour should - always - have free movement to go where there believe the best opportunity is for them. Companies can adjust their total compensation package accordingly.
Volkswagen is looking to hire 3,000 direct employees and support 30,000 indirect or spinoff jobs. So, in other words, Volkswagen is basically hiring the size of Irving's workforce in Halifax in a small town on the outskirts of a city similar in size to the metro Halifax area.
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Volkswagen is creating an entirely new industrial workforce in a region with a large manufacturing base, multiple colleges, universities, and a labour market measured in hundreds of thousands of people in the vicinity. Halifax's marine sector is much smaller and far more specialized. The concern is not about general labour mobility. It is about a limited pool of highly skilled submarine maintainers, welders, marine electricians, naval architects, planners, and technicians that already support critical national defence projects. Even companies like Thales are strapped for personnel on their management side and their sub contractors are hurting as well.
Irving's concern is not simply that workers may leave. Any company operating accepts that risk. The concern is whether Canada can simultaneously build River class destroyers, complete Joint Support Ships, maintain the existing fleet, and stand up a new submarine maintenance enterprise while drawing from the same limited labour pool. Delays to one strategic defence project can have national security consequences that go beyond normal commercial competition. Forget about future projects such as the CSC.
A labour forum would not necessarily be about restricting worker movement or fixing wages. It could be a mechanism for governments, training institutions, unions, and industry partners to coordinate workforce development, apprenticeships, recruitment, and training capacity so that one project does not unintentionally undermine another. Similar coordination already occurs in many major defence and infrastructure programs around the world. Done right every new project will have ample workers.
Workers should absolutely be free to move to whichever employer offers the best opportunity. However, when multiple billion dollar defence programs are competing for the same specialized workforce, some level of coordination may be reasonable to ensure Canada has enough skilled workers for all of them rather than simply shifting people from one project to another.
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Corporations collaborating on workforce management is never for the benefit of workers.
It's how they suppress wages. It's how they extort funds from governments. It's how they get legislation passed to restrict labour rights. It's how they arrange to import labour from offshore.
But nothing good for workers.
It's how they suppress wages. It's how they extort funds from governments. It's how they get legislation passed to restrict labour rights. It's how they arrange to import labour from offshore.
But nothing good for workers.
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The problem with this argument is that it assumes every issue discovered on a ship automatically means the contractor should pay to fix it. Shipbuilding contracts are far more complex than that. The real question is not whether a problem exists, but whether the shipyard failed to meet the contract requirements that existed when the ship was built and accepted.
In the case of the Harry DeWolf class potable water system, Irving built the system that the Government of Canada specified, approved, inspected, tested, and ultimately accepted. If the system met the contractual and regulatory requirements in force at the time of delivery, then it is difficult to argue that the shipyard should be held responsible because standards, guidance, or acceptable limits changed afterward. Contractors are expected to build to the requirements they are given, not to predict future regulatory changes.
More broadly, it is fair to criticize Canada's procurement system for how risk is allocated between government and industry. However, that is not unique to Irving. Across major defence programs, governments often choose contract amendments, modifications, and negotiated solutions over lengthy legal disputes because maintaining production schedules and delivering capabilities is usually more important than spending years arguing in court.
A stronger criticism would be that governments are sometimes reluctant to aggressively pursue contract remedies when doing so could delay critical military projects. That is a legitimate debate. But before claiming taxpayers paid Irving to fix Irving's mistake, you first have to establish that it was actually Irving's mistake. If the system met the specifications, met the standards of the day, and was accepted by the Crown, then the issue becomes far more complicated than simply blaming the shipyard.
This is the key to success or it being ‘an Irving’ (thought I would coin a phrase). When a weld cools down it shrinks and therefore pulls or bends the plates if they haven’t accommodated for this or welded on both sides of plate.
They should have sent this module to the paint shop before welding in the coin; so the public wouldn’t see this mess.
In the photos where there are shiny patches near the welds is due the removal of temporary blocks that were welded on to attach clamps or threaded rods used to force the plates into place. Some welds are irregular and /or suffer undercutting.
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