Irving Shipyard delivers HMCS Max Bernays Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship to the Royal Canadian Navy
Regarding the subject, the Canadian Ministry of Defense said:
“Built by Irving Shipbuilding Inc. of Nova Scotia, this ship is the third of six new Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships to be delivered to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) through the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS), an initiative that supports Canadian industry and work. With a durable hull, the Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) will significantly increase the capabilities of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and its presence in the Arctic.”
As reported by Naval News, HMCS Max Bernays will remain at Canadian Shipyard Halifax until post-acceptance tests and final ship preparation work are completed. The ship will be transferred to Esquimalt, the Royal Canadian Navy’s Pacific Ocean base, in 2023. The construction of the 6th ship of the class started with the first steel cutting ceremony held on 15 August 2022.
Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship and HMCS Max Bernays
HMCS Max Bernays, 3. Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS), is named after Petty Officer Max Bernays, a Canadian naval hero who served in the Royal Canadian Navy as Coxswain of the River Class destroyer HMCS Assiniboine during the Atlantic War of World War II.
The ships’ design was originally intended to include a specialized ice breaking bow for navigation, and would be extended backwards to break through heavy ice. Also, the sterns of the ships were designed to break ice and would use azimuth thrusters for propulsion and crushing resistant ice. However, due to cost constraints, a conventional bow design was chosen for both light and heavy ice breaking. The propulsion system will be provided by a diesel-electric dual shaft with propellers similar to current Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers.
The ships are designed to have a hangar and flight deck capable of handling and protecting the CH-148 Cyclone and CH-149 Cormorant, the same navy helicopters as other Royal Canadian Navy (RCN)-owned ships.
General features
- Displacement : 6.615 tons
- Length : 103.6 meters
- Width : 19 meters
- Ice Class: Polar Class 5
- Propulsion: IEP (4 x 3.6 MW diesel generators)
- Speed: Offshore 17 knots (31 km/h), ice breaking 3 knots (5.6 km/h)
- Menizl: 6,800 nautical miles (12,600 km)
