HMCS Protecteur (AOR 509) is an auxiliary oiler commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy in 1969 (due to be replaced… eventually… under the Joint Support Ship Project). HMCS Algonquin (DDG 283) is an Iroquois-class destroyer commissioned in 1973 (due to be replaced… eventually… under the Single Class Surface Combatant Project).
Following collision, RCN oiler under way but destroyer repairs continue
HMCS Algonquin (DDG 283), HMCS Protecteur (AOR 509), and HMCS St Johns (FFGHM 340) sail in formation during a replenishment at sea. Source: Royal Canadian Navy
Key Points
- Repairs to destroyer HMCS Algonquin’s (DDG 283) hangar have commenced
- Oiler HMCS Protecteur (AOR 509) is currently under way conducting a task group exercise
A Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) destroyer that collided with an RCN auxiliary ship in the Pacific in late August 2013 is still receiving repairs, while the oiler has returned to the fleet, an official told IHS Jane’s on 2 October.
Iroquois-class destroyer HMCS Algonquin (DDG 283) remains at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt and is undergoing a “thorough and rigorous damage assessment with the goal of getting her back to sea as soon as possible”, Lieutenant Greg Menzies, a spokesman for the RCN’s Marine Forces Pacific, told IHS Jane’s . “Early stages of repair work have commenced to her port side hangar,” he added.
HMCS Protecteur (AOR 509) returned to fleet operations on 10 September 2013 and is currently at sea conducting a Task Group Exercise, Lt Menzies said.
Algonquin and Protecteur collided on 30 August 2013 while conducting manoeuvres en route to Hawaii. The two ships had departed Canada’s western coast on a four-month deployment to the Asia-Pacific region when the incident occurred at approximately 1100 hours local time during a towing exercise that required close-quarters manoeuvring.
No one was injured on board either ship, each carrying a crew of more than 300 personnel.
Both ships returned home to Esquimalt near Victoria, British Columbia, on 31 August 2013. Assessment teams surveyed the ships and determined that Algonquin had sustained significant damage to its hangar on the port side while Protecteur suffered only cosmetic damage to its bow.
The two ships had been expected to complete a routine deployment in Southeast Asia, to include participation in the Royal Australian Navy’s International Fleet Review in Sydney in October. Algonquin ‘s deployment was scrapped and an official inquiry was opened to investigate the collision’s cause.
“A board of inquiry [BOI] is currently ongoing to further investigate the incident and circumstances surrounding it. The BOI will make recommendations as to how to prevent a similar event from occurring in the future,” said Lt Menzies.
Naval Matters 