Is the end in sight for Canada’s painful Joint Support Ship procurement journey?
While there remain some years to go before the RCN gets its new JSS, the keel-laying and construction of the second ship has finally got underway, representing the beginning of the end stage of the programme. (Photo: DND)
The launch of the second of two new Joint Support Ships for the Royal Canadian Navy has represented steps forward on a project that has suffered huge delays due to supply chain issues and the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Canada’s DND.
Construction of HMCS Preserver, the second of two new Joint Support Ships (JSS) for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), began last year representing overdue progress on the long-delayed JSS project.
According to the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND), the ship ‘commenced assembly in 2022 and presently has 43 of 115 blocks now under construction’. A ceremony at Seaspan Shipyards in Vancouver on 27 October 2023 marked the keel of the ship being laid.
HMCS Preserver has been scheduled for delivery in 2027 while the first ship of the project, HMCS Protecteur, has not been in-service. The DND stated that HMCS Protecteur, which was launched earlier this
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