HMC Valiant, a Damon Stan 4207 customs cutter of the UK Border Agency. |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Hero-class patrol vessel |
| Builders: | Halifax Shipyards |
| Operators: | Canadian Coast Guard |
| Built: | 2011–2013 |
| In service: | 2011– |
| In commission: | 2011–2013 |
| Planned: | 9 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Hero-class |
| Type: | Patrol vessel |
| Length: | 42.8 m (140 ft) |
| Beam: | 7.11 m (23.3 ft) |
| Speed: | 25 kn (46 km/h) |
| Range: | 3,700 km (2,000 nmi) |
| Endurance: | 2 weeks |
| Capacity: | 14 |
| Crew: | 8 + 6 fisheries/RCMP officers |
The Hero-class patrol vessels, previously the Mid-Shore Patrol Vessel Project, are a series of nine patrol boats currently on order from the Halifax Shipyards for the Canadian Coast Guard. Delivery is scheduled for 2011 through 2013.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
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Each of the nine Hero-class patrol vessels will be named after personnel from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP officers), Canadian Coast Guard (sailors, aircrew), Department of Fisheries and Oceans (fisheries officers) and Canadian Forces (soldiers, sailors, aircrew) who are credited with performing exceptional or heroic acts during their service.[7][8][9]
The initial Mid Shore Patrol Vessel Project centred on medium-sized patrol boats of 37 to 42 metres (121 to 138 ft) in length, operating up to 120 nautical miles (220 km) offshore at a maximum speed of 25 knots (46 km/h). Each vessel would carry one or two rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs) and have accommodation for eight CCG personnel as well as two DFO fisheries officers or RCMP officers. The vessels were originally designed to be equipped with a stern launching ramp, allowing RHIBs to be launched and retrieved while the vessel was in motion.[10] Canadian Coast Guard versions will have a single point davit launching arrangement instead.
The final designs for Hero-class vessels are based on those of the Damen Stan 4207 patrol vessel, which will support a crew of eight and up to six RCMP or fishery officers. Each vessel will be approximately 43 metres in length, have a top speed of 25 knots and a range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km), and be able to stay at sea for two weeks without replenishing supplies.
The main task for these vessels will be for maritime security and fisheries enforcement off Canada's Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Secondary tasks will be marine search and rescue and marine pollution control. Four of the vessels are planned to provide security on the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence Seaway.[6] Because the vessels will replace eight older vessels, the CCG fleet will increase by only one vessel.
A paper addressing the stability of high-speed patrol vessels, in high seas, co-written by naval engineers from Damen Group, was delivered at the High Performance Marine Vehicles Symposium in November 2009.[11] The paper compared two hull designs, which the paper called the enlarged ship concept and the axe bow concept. The paper called the Damen Stan 4207 design, the underlying design chosen for the Hero class, the first example of the enlarged ship concept. According to the paper, the new axe bow design's bow rudder and vertical stem would give it improved safety in stern quartering seas. The "Hero Class" vessels do not have the "axe bow" with bow rudder or a "vertical stem".
The Mid Shore Patrol Vessel Project has had a complicated procurement history since the class was initially announced on 2 March 2005 by the Government of Canada under Prime Minister Paul Martin. At that time, $276 million was promised, but not budgeted, for a class of two off-shore fisheries research vessels and a class of four mid shore patrol vessels. This was followed on 27 April 2005 by an announcement that an additional four mid shore patrol vessels would be purchased for the Canadian Coast Guard to support the Integrated Border Enforcement Teams (IBETs), which are jointly staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency, RCMP and CCG on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. This would have created a class with a total of eight mid shore patrol vessels.
In 2006, the Government of Canada under Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised to continue the Mid Shore Patrol Vessel Project that envisioned eight vessels; however, no funding was provided. The 19 March 2007 Federal Budget committed $324 million to build the eight mid shore patrol vessels (previously announced), as well as the two offshore fisheries science vessels (previously announced) and an additional four mid shore patrol vessels. This would have created a class with a total of 12 mid shore patrol vessels.
On 25 March 2008, buried in an announcement that cancelled the bidding process for the Joint Support Ship Project for Canadian Forces Maritime Command, the Government of Canada placed the coast guard's Mid Shore Patrol Vessel Project on hold due to bids that were significantly higher than budgeted allocations.
The CCG submitted a modified vessel design based on reduced capabilities (and cheaper cost). On 26 February 2009, the Government of Canada reissued a call for bids for 12 mid shore patrol vessels.
On 2 September 2009, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Minister of National Defence announced that nine mid shore patrol vessels were being ordered from Halifax Shipyard for a cost of $194 million.[1][10][12]