Classroom on the ocean
By Mark Browne
Esquimalt News
mbrowne@vicnews.com
Nov 29 2006
New training vessels expected to enhance Canada’s reputation for producing well traiined naval officers
Naval officers will have a much easier time learning how to sail a frigate with the introduction of the new Patrol Craft Training vessel.
The first of eight new vessels, the Orca, arrived at Dockyard at CFB Esquimalt from Victoria Shipyards earlier this month. The remainder of the vessels will arrive over the next few years.
While the primary purpose of the vessels is to train regular force and reserve naval officers, regular and reserve sailors as well as sea cadets will also receive training on the Orca-class ships.
“These vessels represent a significant leap forward in technology and will certainly position the navy to continue training the future generations of naval officers, reservists and sea cadets,” said Capt. Bill Truelove, commanding officer of Maritime Operations Group Four at CFB Esquimalt.
The training vessels are replacing the 50-year-old wooden hulled Yard Auxiliary Training vessels.
“Those ships served us well but are approaching the end of their life,” Truelove said. “It’s a pretty emotional event in the sense that we’re saying goodbye to 50 years of history but also exciting in that we’re seeing state of the art, modern replacement training vessels coming on line.”
The technology of the new training vessels mirrors the technology of the larger Halifax-class patrol frigates.
“So that clearly creates a training environment where the student can go on and train with equipment that they will go and use once they’re done training,” Truelove said.
Having the same technology means officers who undergo training on the new vessels will be better positioned to handle equipment on frigates, he said. That combined with training officers receive on the bridge simulator at the Naval Officer Training Centre at Work Point results in highly trained officers, Truelove said.
“Collectively that package gives us leading edge, state of the art training capabilities to produce well-trained officers so that cadets and reservists are also getting leading edge training,” he said.
The radar system that officers and crew training on the Orca-class vessels is exactly the same as what is used on the Halifax-class patrol frigates.
And then there’s the learning environment.
“These vessels have a built in classroom, which is very unique,” Truelove said.
The classroom seats 16 students and supporting technology allows them to review the training they undergo, he said.
“That’s a big step forward,” Truelove said.
There’s more room in the vessels than there is in the YAGs, he said.
The plan is for the Orca-class vessels to stay on the West Coast.
The cost of the project for the eight vessels is about $65 million.
The contract was awarded to Victoria Shipyards in November 2004 and construction began in September 2005. The Orca was launched in August before being handed over to the navy on Nov. 9.
“The boats are from my perspective, excellent boats,” said Malcolm Barker, manager of Victoria Shipyards at Esquimalt Graving Dock.
The plan is for the remainder of the vessels to be delivered to the navy approximately every three months, Barker said. The last of the Orca-class vessels should be handed over to the navy in the summer of 2008.
The project will keep about 100 workers busy for the duration of the construction of the vessels, he said.
“Certainly, we don’t see that dropping off,” Barker said.
The navy, he noted, is impressed with the “high level of quality” of the Orca.
The initial contract called for Victoria Shipyards to deliver six of the Patrol Craft Training vessels to the navy with the option to build two more vessels. The company recently received the green light from the navy to build the last two vessels, Barker said.
“At the end of the day, I think the boat is high-end. And the attention to detail is very clear in every facet of the vessel,” he said. “It’s an exciting project and it’s rewarding for the shipyard workforce and management team to deliver the first vessel on time and on budget.”
The fact that the ships are Canadian-built at Victoria Shipyards is a plus, Truelove said.
“It’s wonderful that this is Canadian-built here in Victoria. So we’re keen with that,” he said.
The naming of the vessels has a strong connection with B.C. and its history.
“It goes back to names that were originally associated with armed yachts in World War II and the names also reflect the heritage of the First Nations,” Truelove said.
Aside from the Orca, the future vessels will be named the Raven, Caribou, Fox, Wolf, Grizzly, Cougar and Moose.
So far, members of the navy who have had a chance to check out the Orca are impressed, he said.
And the new vessels will only add to the Canadian navy’s internationally renowned reputation for training naval officers.
“I think internationally our training system for naval officers is seen as first class and I think these new vessels will just continue to allow us to achieve that,” Truelove said.