Canadian Offshore Patrol Ship contract awarded

The Public Works and Government Services department of Canada has awarded a contract for six Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) to Irving Shipbuilding, the department announced on 23 January.

Under the contract worth C$2.3 billion ($1.85 billion), the company will construct six AOPS as part of the national shipbuilding procurement strategy.

Construction of an initial block for the first AOPS is scheduled for the summer, while full production will commence in September 2015. Delivery of the first HMCS Harry DeWolf class ship is expected in 2018.

The new DeWolf-class Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships will be equipped with state of the art sensors and will also be able to operate and support the new CH-148 Cyclone naval helicopters. Operating in conjunction with other capabilities of the Canadian armed forces and the Canadian Coast Guard, the DeWolf-class ships will play a critical role in the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Arctic.

The AOPS will have a number of capabilities, including: the ability to operate in first-year ice up to one metre in thickness; the ability to sustain operations for up to four months; command, control and communication capability to exchange real-time information with the armed forces maritime security operations centres; modern surface search radars; and a gun armament.