It’s not hard for Frank Smith to imagine what the Joint Support Ship (JSS) project, the navy’s largest build in decades, would mean for Peter Kiewit Sons Co. (PKS) and its Newfoundland construction facilities in Marystown and Cow Head on the Burin Peninsula.
“A successful contract award would be used as the catalyst to invest over $120 million in site improvements,” said the director of business development. “A new graving dock, panel line, large assembly hall and other improvements would make the Cow Head facility the most technologically advanced shipyard in Canada or on the Eastern Seaboard.”
”And it would lead to long term employment opportunities in the region,” he added.
PKS is part of CANAMP, a seven-member team led by the Canadian arm of well-known German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems as prime contractor, bidding on the $2.9 billion JSS project.
Three joint support ships will replace the Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment (AOR) vessels, commissioned in 1969-70 as supply ships. Over 35 years, the HMCS Protecteur, HMCS Preserver and the decommissioned HMCS Provider have served the Canadian Forces as a valued lifeline, supporting naval blockades, aid missions and combat operations.
The AORs, however, have become increasingly expensive to maintain. They also lack the versatility demanded by the CF.
Key to the JSS is its “joint” capacity – to deliver not only the Protecteur–class’s current core capabilities of at-sea support to naval task groups, but also to provide sealift capability and to function as a Joint Task Force Headquarters with command and control capability of land, sea and air operations.
That versatility is expected to carry over to the ship’s design. In addition to supporting three to four maritime helicopters, medical facilities, and repair facilities, it could also be rapidly transformed with a containerized hospital.
Personnel required to operate the JSS will decrease by 30% due primarily to automation of certain functions.
Few navies have sought a combination of replenishment and sealift in one vessel but the approach does address urgent requirements of the CF. The JSS, however, does not address the need for a vessel capable of landing troops in combat conditions and has sparked debate in navy circles over the merits of a JSS rather than an amphibious vessel.
One of the central requirements of the contract is construction in a Canadian shipyard. For PKS, that would mean not only investment in a state-of-the-art facility but also significant investment in its people. Thomas Ruckert, member of the board with prime contractor TKMS Canada, points out that provisions have been made to transfer German shipbuilding technology and expertise – including extensive training of PKS yard engineers and crafts people in Germany – to improve Canadian capabilities.
“This investment is for the long term,” he acknowledged. CANAMP sees several commercial and government projects such as a complete renewal of the Coast Guard fleet, a $3.1 billion investment in up to eight new artic patrol vessels, and, farther out, at least four new destroyers and replacement of the Halifax-class frigates, as good prospects to continue with the well established team relations. “We are talking about a huge workload within the next 20 years.”
HEALTHY COMPETITION
When the JSS project was first announced in 2004, some questioned whether there would be much of a competition after decades of so little investment in naval shipbuilding. Last November, a spirited bidding process was finally reduced from four to two contenders; each was awarded $12.5 million to complete a Project Definition Phase including a preliminary ship specification and proposals for construction and in-service support (ISS).
The other finalist is a group led by prime contractor SNC-Lavalin Pro Fac that has Washington Marine Group as the Canadian shipbuilder.
The final proposals are due in February 2008. The government expects to award a $1.5 billion contract for the design and build and a 20-year, $800 million ISS contract in early 2008. Delivery of the first ship is expected by 2012.
CANAMP, which also includes xwave, MDA, L3 Electronic Systems, Maersk Canada and German designer and shipbuilder Flensburger Schiffbaugesellschaft, is selling itself not only on the success of its individual companies but also on the success of pre-existing partnerships between its members with various international and Canadian defence projects.
The nature of CANAMP’s coast-to-coast partnership also addresses the government’s interest in industrial and regional benefits. A successful bid would mean project work and investments in the Halifax region from MDA, xwave and Maersk, as well as in Quebec and BC through MDA’s headquarters and branch offices.