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  26 octobre 2018 | Local, Naval

  Coast guard ship breakdown ends 48-year science survey streak

  Paul Withers · CBC News North Atlantic Fisheries Organization meeting highlighted unreliability of Canada's research vessels For the first time in 48 years, Canadian fisheries scientists failed to complete an annual summer survey off Nova Scotia because of a mechanical breakdown on their coast guard research ship, adding to concerns over the reliability of Canada's research vessel fleet. "There have been instances in the past where we have been unable to do sections of a survey, but we've been usually able to cover most of the area in question," said Kent Smedbol, regional manager of population ecology at DFO Science Maritimes. "This is the first time that a substantial portion of the survey we were not able to complete." The 36-year-old coast guard ship Alfred Needler was scheduled to carry out the summer survey, which involves bottom trawling for multiple species and environment data collection, on the Scotian Shelf from Cape Breton to Georges Bank. The information would have been used to predict commercial fish stocks that support fisheries worth tens of millions of dollars. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has been conducting the survey since 1970 from its base at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Halifax. Salt water knocks out motor, generator But even before the survey started in July, salt water in rough seas got into — and burned out — the Needler's trawl motor and generator, rendering the vessel unusable, said deputy coast guard commissioner Mario Pelletier. "That's critical equipment in order to conduct the survey, so they needed to come back to repair it," Pelletier told CBC News. "And given what just happened we wanted to make sure to prevent it so it doesn't happen in the future. So we put some extra work to make sure it would be protected from future salt water exposure should the ship be in rough seas again." 'We do what we can with the resources' DFO tried, but was unable, to charter a commercial fishing trawler. Another coast guard research vessel, the Teleost, was pressed into service for an abbreviated mission. The southern Scotian Shelf from Yarmouth to Halifax was sampled but two-thirds was missed entirely. "It is difficult. This is what we are asked to do by the department. So we do what we can with the resources we have at hand," said Smedbol. Stock assessment for species north of Halifax will not be updated this year. The Teleost broke off the survey at the end of July to carry out a scheduled ecosystem survey in Quebec. "Given our survey was already delayed, we didn't want to impact the survey in another region by trying maintain the use of the Teleost. It was best to have a full survey uninterrupted in the other region," said Smedbol. Same ship missed another survey in 2018 This was the second time in 2018 the Needler was sidelined and unavailable for a scheduled science survey. It also missed the annual winter survey on Georges Bank because it was stuck in an extended refit. Wasted steel decking had been discovered. The Teleost was expected to fill in on the Georges Bank mission. However, it was also unavailable because its scheduled refit had to be extended. In that case, DFO was able to charter the Mersey Venture at cost of $300,000 for an abbreviated 11-day mission. International criticism of Canadian 'deficiencies' The unreliability of Canadian government research vessels, including the Needler, was highlighted at a science council meeting of the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization this past June. Canada provides scientific survey data in areas off its coast to the international fisheries management agency. The NAFO science council report said "substantive mechanical issues with the Canadian research vessels resulted in very poor coverage of [Division 3L]" off southern Newfoundland in 2017. "This marks the second time in three years that the spring survey coverage of Division 3L has been very poor." The council report said that in 2017, for the third time in four years, a deepwater survey off Labrador was not covered, and for the fifth time in six years, a deepwater survey was not covered in southern Newfoundland. The scientists said the data holes make it harder to evaluate trends in biomass and abundance for a number of species. "Deficiencies in survey coverage also add uncertainty to the results of research on environmental trends and ecosystem status, functioning and productivity," the science council said. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/coast-guard-ship-breakdown-ends-48-year-survey-streak-1.4877209

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  16 octobre 2018 | Local, Naval

  Irving Shipbuilding pushing for two more Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ships, all Halifax-class work

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Efforts are underway by Irving Shipbuilding to convince the federal government to build two more Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships at its Halifax yard. Irving also wants all Halifax-class frigate maintenance work to remain with the yard in Nova Scotia. The federal government is looking at splitting up maintenance work on the Canadian navy's frigates between Irving and Davie in Quebec. It is facing objections from Irving and its workers. The Irving employees warn the change will mean lost jobs in Nova Scotia. There are seven frigates that will need maintenance on the east coast over a five-year period. But military and Department of National Defence officials are concerned the Irving yard in Halifax won't be able to handle all the work as it will also be in the midst of building the new fleet of Canadian Surface Combatant warships. There are concerns that the navy's capabilities could suffer if the work isn't split up between Davie and Irving yards. Each of the aging Halifax-class frigates will require about a year of maintenance work, and in 2020 the navy expects maintenance will be needed on two frigates at the same time. Irving argues it needs all the Halifax-class work and the construction of two more AOPS so it doesn't face any downturn in activity at the yard. “ We are hopeful that the Government of Canada will continue the work at Halifax Shipyard,” Irving spokesman Sean Lewis said of the frigate maintenance. Asked about the need for two more AOPS, Lewis stated the following: “We continue to work closely with the Government of Canada to explore the overall transition between the Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) and Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) programs. The construction of additional AOPS for Canada or international export opportunities is being considered and various options pursued. At this time it is premature to comment further.” In response to Irving's push, Davie official Frédérik Boisvert has noted that while Irving has $ 65 billion in contracts from the federal government and 1900 workers, Davie has received less than $ 1billion in contracts and has less than 200 people working and 1400 laid off workers, waiting to be recalled. “If they (Irving) are concerned about Nova Scotian jobs, they should explain to their union workers why they are building their own tugs in Eastern Europe,” Boisvert added. https://lfpress.com/news/national/defence-watch/irving-shipbuilding-pushing-for-two-more-arctic-offshore-patrol-ships-all-halifax-class-work/

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  30 septembre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre

  ISRAELI DEFENCE ATTACHÉ CULTIVATES TIES WITH CANADIAN MILITARY

  By Paul Lungen, Staff Reporter Col. Amos Nachmani has been in Canada for a couple of years now and, along with his family, he's embraced the cold. It's not something he's used to, coming as he does from warm weather Israel. Winter snow and skiing are something they've learned to enjoy, so while they're here, they'll take full advantage of it. As Israel's defence attaché in Ottawa, his sojourn in Canada is slated to last three years. But it's a busy three years, during which he represents the Israeli military and serves as a liaison to the Canadian Armed Forces. It turns out that there is a great deal of co-operation between the two militaries – everything from the exchange of ideas, to trade in hardware. Nachmani, a former tank combatant, infantry battalion officer and intelligence officer, is one of only 22 international military attachés stationed in Canada. The Canadian Armed Forces liaises with other militaries from around the world, but most of them are based in Washington, D.C. Yet ever since then-prime minister Stephen Harper and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to a greater level of military co-operation in 2011, Israel has stationed a military attaché to Canada. At the same time, Canada has its own attaché in Tel Aviv. Military co-operation between the two countries has continued under both Conservative and Liberal governments. “Our relationship is robust and totally agnostic to the notion of who is in power,” Nachmani said. Nachmani said he engages “regularly with the different services in the Canadian Armed Forces, to understand your capabilities, your needs, your plans, in order to see where we can help each other out.” During his time in Canada, he has been invited to military briefings, witnessed exercises and visited bases. In 2017, Nachmani joined former Canadian chief of the defence staff, Gen. Thomas J. Lawson, to discuss “The Future of the Israel-NATO Strategic Partnership.” On Nov. 11 for the past two years, Nachmani laid a wreath during the Remembrance Day ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. He's discussed with his Canadian colleagues “force buildup,” in which they share tactical methodologies, best practices and partake in military diplomacy. The idea, he said, is to find areas of common interest, “bridge gaps and find common solutions,” and make sure his Canadian counterparts understand “our side of the picture.” How does that translate in a practical sense? Nachmani points to Canadian involvement in Afghanistan, where our military was part of an international effort to fight al-Qaida. Canadian forces had unfortunate experiences with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which caused casualties. “This is a serious problem. We also encountered this in the past in southern Lebanon and Gaza,” Nachmani said. The two militaries addressed the problem jointly by engaging in research and development of a system that would warn of concealed IEDs. “That brought a good, robust solution and both militaries have implemented it,” Nachmani said. Trade is also part of the military relationship between the two countries. Altogether, Israel defence industries sell to Canada an annual average of a little under US$100 million ($133 million) in military hardware, mostly radar and electronic warfare equipment, he said. Prior to moving to Ottawa, Nachmani commanded the IDF's International Cooperation Unit, where he met Canadian officers. For other militaries, the IDF “is a very valuable partner and ally for a country like Canada, due to our deep understanding of the situation in the Middle East, our intelligence capabilities and assessment, and our operational experience,” he said. Canada has sent troops to Afghanistan, on peacekeeping missions and to Iraq to fight ISIS. Canada turns to Israel, and others, for added value in learning ways to understand the Middle East, he said. From his experience interacting with Canadian soldiers, Nachmani believes the IDF and the Canadian Forces share many values: “These are two Western allies that value the Western way of living, liberal values, law-abiding militaries and countries.” Both have a respect for human life and always try to minimize collateral damage in their operations, he added. While Canada is much larger in size than Israel, its Armed Forces are much smaller. They include only 65,000 career soldiers and another 35,000 reservists. Israel has about 40,000 career soldiers, along with 100,000 conscripts serving at any one time. In times of emergency, it can call up as many as 650,000 soldiers, he said. As for the differences between Israeli and Canadian soldiers, Nachmani pointed out that when Canadians are deployed, they're often sent to the other side of the world. “They don't think how this will affect the people at home,” he said, whereas the average Israeli soldier is usually deployed an hour drive from home, so the attacks on Israel feel personal. https://www.cjnews.com/news/canada/israeli-defence-attache-cultivates-ties-with-canadian-military