Protecteur-class auxiliary vessel
The Protecteur class of naval auxiliaries for the Royal Canadian Navy began as the Joint Support Ship Project, a Government of Canada procurement project for the RCN that is part of the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy. It will see the RCN acquire two multi-role vessels to replace the earlier auxiliary oiler replenishment vessels that were operated by the RCN.
The project has suffered from considerable delays. Originally announced in 2004, a contract for the construction of these ships was to have been signed in 2009, which would have seen the first vessel available for operational service in 2012. In 2010 the federal government grouped the Joint Support Ship Project under the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy, which was finalized in October 2011. While initial construction work on modules for the lead vessel began in 2018, a formal contract for the construction of both ships was only signed in June 2020.
On 2 June 2013, it was announced that ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems Canada's replenishment ship was selected as the basis for the design of the Joint Support Ship Project. The Canadian vessels will be a variant of the Berlin class, as the design had to be optimized for Seaspan's yard in Victoria, British Columbia.
In order to speed construction of the Protecteur-class naval auxiliaries, the delivery of the new polar icebreaker,, will be delayed until at least the 2020s.
Class name
On 25 October 2013, the Minister of National Defence announced the JSS has been named Queenston class with two ships named, and. Their namesakes were to be the Battle of Queenston Heights and the Battle of Châteauguay, two battles during the War of 1812. A possible third ship in the class could be built, to be named, also named after a battle from the War of 1812. The option for the third vessel was dropped due to budget constraints. On 12 September 2017, the Canadian government announced the renaming of the class and vessels, taking the names of the ships of the class that they are to replace. Queenston became Protecteur and Châteauguay became Preserver. According to Vice-Admiral Ron Lloyd, commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, this was due to the ties both serving and former Navy personnel had with the names.Purpose
The Joint Support Ship Project consists of two multi-role vessels that will replace the former underway replenishment capability of the earlier Protecteur-class auxiliary vessel, as well as provide basic sealift for the Canadian Army, support to forces ashore, and command facilities for a Canadian Forces "joint force" or "naval task group".The Joint Support Ship Project should not be confused with the Amphibious Assault Ship Project, which is a proposed separate procurement project but one which has never advanced beyond a conception stage.
Proposed ship capabilities
, the Joint Support Ship Project envisioned several multi-role vessels capable of supporting the Royal Canadian Navy's warships at sea, as well as providing strategic sealift and some airlift for naval task groups or army operations. The vessels were envisaged as having a multi-purpose covered deck with the ability to carry up to 10,000 tonnes of ship fuel, 1,300 tonnes of aviation fuel, 1,100 tonnes of ammunition as well as 1,000–1,500 lane metres of deck space for carrying vehicles and containerized cargo. The vessels were also to have hospital facilities as well as a large helicopter deck with two landing spots, hangar space for four helicopters, and a roll-on/roll-off deck for vehicles onto a dock.Particulars of the ''Berlin''-class design
The Berlin-class design ultimately selected by the RCN in 2013 incorporated somewhat modified components:- Ability to transport of fuel, of water, of ammunition, of food, of dry stores and 32 containers.
- Ship fitted with replenishment-at-sea systems and accommodates up to two helicopters. The loading and offloading of cargo is carried out by two 24-ton cranes.
- The modular hospital of the Berlin class has 45 beds for general patients and four for intensive care.
Survivability
- Self-defence active and passive
- Damaged stability enhanced two-compartment
- Degaussing, Nixie torpedo decoy, protection against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, close-in weapons systems and naval remote weapon system.
Airlift
- 2 × CH-148 Cyclone helicopters
- Enclosed hangar with maintenance and repair facilities
Joint headquarters support
- Naval communications
- Land communications
- Air communications
Project timeline
On 22 August 2008 the Minister of Public Works and Government Services, Christian Paradis announced the termination of two procurement processes involving the shipbuilding industry. In December 2008 MARCOM officers and defence analysts had been hoping that January's federal budget would have contained up to $500 million in extra funding for the Joint Support Ship Project so that it could be completed. In the same month Defence Minister Peter MacKay suggested that the budget stimulus package would deal with MARCOM's shipbuilding needs. However, there was no extra money for the Joint Support Ship Project and the stimulus package did not address MARCOM's vessel procurement programs. Vice-Admiral Denis Rouleau, spoke to the Standing Committee on National Defence in the House of Commons and indicated that the Department of National Defence would know by summer 2009 how it would move ahead with the Joint Support Ship Project.
In June 2009 officials with the Joint Support Ship Project began re-evaluating the type of ship they wished to purchase since the original concept could not be met with the money the government was willing to provide. One option would be to start from scratch and purchase a different type of ship altogether. In September 2009, the Joint Support Ship Project received a new design. Vice-Admiral Dean McFadden, Chief of the Maritime Staff, said that he was ready to submit design and cost estimates to the government and to the Minister of National Defence.
In June 2010 the Government of Canada announced that the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy would see $35 billion spent over the next 30 years to purchase 28 new large ships and 116 small vessels for Maritime Command and the Canadian Coast Guard. The NSPS was headed by the government's procurement arm, the Department of Public Works and Government Services, with support from Department of Industry, as well as the 2 departments responsible for MARCOM and CCG, the Department of National Defence and Department of Fisheries and Oceans respectively. In July 2010, Defence Minister Peter MacKay announced that under the NSPS the federal government would initially purchase two joint support ships with options for a third. On 11 October 2010 the Government of Canada announced that five shipbuilding companies were "being invited to participate in a request for proposals" for the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy.
On 19 October 2011, the Government of Canada announced the results of the competitive evaluation of bids in the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy which saw the $8 billion non-combat ship package, including the Joint Support Ship Project, awarded to Seaspan Marine Corporation in Vancouver, British Columbia.
On 2 June 2013, the Government of Canada announced that ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems Canada's Berlin-class AOR was selected as the design for the Joint Support Ship. On 11 October 2013, The NSPS Secretariat announced that Vancouver Shipyards will commence construction on the Joint Support Ships, followed by the Polar Icebreaker, under the NSPS non-combat package. It was expected that construction will begin in 2016–17. On 25 October 2013, the Government of Canada announced that the two ships will be named Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Queenston and HMCS Châteauguay in recognition of the significant battles of Queenston Heights and Châteauguay during the War of 1812. The class would likely be named Queenston class. However, these names were subsequently changed to Protecteur and Preserver respectively, announced on 12 September 2017.
In August 2015 Davie Shipyard signed a contract to convert the container ship for the role until the specialized ships were delivered. The contract is known as Project Resolve. The vessel was built in 2010 in Germany and will be converted for use by the RCN until the JSS are ready. Construction of the first JSS had been scheduled to begin at the Seaspan Yard in late 2017, following the construction of two other classes of ships for the Canadian Coast Guard.
In 2020, it was reported that project costs had escalated significantly with an estimated $4.1 billion now being required to complete the project.