Engine fire off of Hawaii takes down HMCS Protecteur; Both existing ships forcibly retired; Canada reportedly looking at leasing 2 American T-AOE fast support ships – what are the considerations on each side?
Sept 23/14: Rent a T-AOE? CBC reports that Canada is considering a lease of the 49,600t Supply Class fast combat support ship USNS Bridge [T-AOE-10], which was recently inactivated by the US Navy because it costs $75 million per year to keep it in operation.
Older oilers cost about $40 million, and the new T-AKE dry supply ships cost aout $50 million, but they limit the speed of any naval group using them to under 20 knots. Carrier Strike Group transits are often 20-24 knots, and 25-26 knots is not uncommon; the Supply Class are the ships that can keep up. USNS Rainier [T-AOE-7] is scheduled to be held in reserve for another year, but current plans would also remove her from the fleet, over strenuous objections from fleet commanders.
A Canadian lease could help solve the US Navy’s problem by transferring the operating costs, while helping Canada at the same time. For the USA, the question is whether to give up control over the ships’ future usage, such as it is. If they believe the Canadians will send their T-AOEs and frigates to accompany US Navy strike groups often enough, it could still be a net plus. For the Canadians, the size difference is a big deal, because it affects required infrastructure. The USD $75 million per year operating cost could also be an issue to a military that may not have enough funds for operations under planned budgets. The good news is that crewing won’t be a big problem, since the 1960s-era Protecteur Class required almost twice as many crew as the late-1990s era Supply Class do. Sources: CASR external link, “The JSS Project: Delays, delivery dates, urgency, and alternatives” | CBC, “Canada’s navy looks to fill fleet gap with purchase from U.S.” | Defense News, “Canada To Seek NATO, US Support For Naval Air Defense, Resupply” | Defense News “Big Supply Ships May Get Reprieve – For Now” (July 2014).
Sept 19/14: Retired. Both HMCS Preserver and HMCS Protecteur are forced into retirement. HMCS Protecteur has never recovered from its engine fire (q.v. Feb 27/14) and collision with the destroyer HMCS Algonquin (q.v. Aug 31/13), which will also be scrapped. HMCS Preserver was found to have serious corrosion problems, and the destroyer HMCS Iroquois was scheduled for retirement in 2015 anyway, after 43 years of service.
Sources: CTV News, “Navy sending four Cold War era ships into retirement” | Nanaimo Daily News, “Navy to drop four ships, including Protecteur and Algonquin”.
Feb 28/14: Fire. As if its recent crash wasn’t bad enough (q.v. Aug 31/13), HMCS Protecteur suffers an engine room fire en route to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. She is taken under tow by the American destroyer USS Chosin, but the tow line breaks in rough seas. HMCS Protecteur is eventually towed into Pearl Harbor on March 6/14 by the fleet ocean tug USNS Sioux [T-ATF 171].
About 20 crew suffered minor injuries, but the damage to the ship is more serious. the engine room and propulsion control machinery is badly damaged, and there’s fire and smoke damage to adjoining compartments. Some doubt the ship will ever sail again, and she has to be towed back to Canada after the damage assessment is complete. Sources: CBC, “Line towing fire-damaged HMCS Protecteur to Hawaii breaks” | CBC, “HMCS Protecteur towed into Pearl Harbor” | US Navy, “HMCS Protecteur, Crew Arrive Safely to Pearl Harbor” | CBC, “HMCS Protecteur too badly damaged to sail home on her own”.
