Maritime Awards Society of Canada

Ottawa Citizen, 26 November 2009 – Last Thursday, the Department of National Defence announced that a CAD $900,000 design contract for a Canadian Forces naval base at Nanisivik in Nunavut was awarded to Vancouver firm WorleyParsons Westmar, but the complex is predicted to be operational by 2014, not 2012 as previously estimated.  Initial site studies for the Nanisivik Naval Facility (NNF) have been completed, and construction could begin in 2011, but the project is likely to slip further behind schedule with logistical and environmental challenges.  NNF, which is projected to cost $100m, is designed to act as a staging base for vessels operating in the high Arctic, and the Associate Deputy Minister of Defence has said that the US and other Canadian allies could be granted access to the facility.

(Courtesy “Daily Intelligence Brief”. World Naval Edition, December 2 2009. Office of the Asia-Pacific Advisor, Maritime Forces Pacific, Canadian Navy)

Last Sunday, HMCS Fredericton with her 245 servicemen and women departed from Halifax for a six-month deployment to the Middle East.  Fredericton will be integrated into Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1), which conducts counterterrorism and counterpiracy operations in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.  Canadian officials claim that these naval missions are a continuous imperative to maintaining good order on the sea and preserving regional stability in and around the Middle East.

(Courtesy “Daily Intelligence Brief”. World Naval Edition, October 27 2009. Office of the Asia-Pacific Advisor, Maritime Forces Pacific, Canadian Navy)

‘Hard-sell’ navy targets lagging military profile
Ottawa Citizen, 14 October 2009

Chief of Maritime Staff Vice-Admiral McFadden has said that the Navy has reached bottom in terms of its recruiting and retention problems, and that he is cautiously optimistic that new initiatives will replenish thinning ranks.  The Navy currently has 7,900 full-time and 3,345 reservist personnel, though it faces a shortfall of around 1,000 full-time sailors by 2011.  Reasons cited for this looming gap include recruiting centres’ focus on the Army because of the mission in Afghanistan, attrition rates higher than the other two military branches, and a lack of awareness of the Navy, particularly in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario.  New recruiting incentives to address the problem include subsidized education, which may have accounted for a recruiting increase in September, though it is too early to tell if such momentum can be sustained.  Other Western navies face similar problems to the Canadian Navy’s; the Royal Australian Navy has insufficient numbers to man its six Collins-class submarines, while many existing submariners are counting the days until their term of service expires.

(Courtesy “Daily Intelligence Brief”. World Naval Edition, October 21 2009. Office of the Asia-Pacific Advisor, Maritime Forces Pacific, Canadian Navy)

Western Pacific Naval Symposium –

Maritime Security Challenges Seminar 2010

Sunday 25 April – Saturday 2 May 2010 – Victoria, Canada

Programme and registration information will follow shortly. For more info, contact: marpac.wpns@forces.gc.ca

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