The Royal Canadian Navy is tasked to provide maritime security along the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic coasts of Canada, exercise Canada's sovereignty over the Arctic archipelago, and support Canada's multi-national and bilateral interests overseas. The RCN fleet comprises the Pacific Fleet at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, and the Atlantic Fleet at CFB Halifax. CFB Esquimalt is located on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, and is home to 15 vessels and 6,000 staff, the headquarters for Maritime Forces Pacific, Her Majesty's Canadian Dockyard Esquimalt, Fleet Maintenance Facility – Cape Breton, Fire Fighting and Damage Control School, the Naval Officer Training Centre, and extensive housing. CFB Halifax is home port for the 18 vessels of the Canadian Atlantic Fleet and situated in Halifax, Nova Scotia. CFB Halifax employs 7,000 civilians and military staff, and hosts the Canadian Atlantic Fleet headquarters, HMC Dockyard Halifax, FMF Cape Scott, extensive maritime research facilities, an ammunition depot, and the four maritime squadrons of the Royal Canadian Air Force that serve aboard the fleet. The Canadian Armed Forces are currently constructing a new naval facility at Nanisivik, Baffin Island, to provide a summer port for RCN patrols in the Canadian arctic. With the loss of area air defence capabilities in 2015, the RCN was, at that time, classified as a Rank 5 navy on the Todd-Lindberg classification system, dropping from Rank 3. In 2011, the government restored the traditional name of the Royal Canadian Navy, removed at the unification of the Canadian Armed Forces in 1968. Commissioned vessels are designated as 'Her Majesty's Canadian Ship', minor ships as 'Patrol Craft Training' and auxiliaries as 'Canadian Forces Auxiliary Vessel'.
Submarines
The Victoria class are British built diesel-electric fleet submarines designed in the late 1970s to supplement the Royal Navy's nuclear submarine force. They were decommissioned at the end of the Cold War. In 1998, Canada purchased the submarines to replace the aging s. Refit for Canadian service included the removal of Sub-Harpoon missile firing and mine-laying capabilities, installation of torpedo launch systems and upgrades to weapons and fire control systems. Each vessel holds 53 crew.
Frigates
The s are multi-role vessels with anti-submarine, anti-aircraft and anti-ship capability. In response to recent global security interests, the role of the class has shifted from open ocean to littoral engagement. Innovations in operational tactics have allowed the vessels of this class to adapt to new asymmetric surface threats. To ensure effective long-term capacity in this new threat environment the ships are undergoing a refit, including passive and active weapons, radars, and new combat architecture to meet the modern requirements. As of 2018, all twelve ships had been refitted. Each holds a complement of 225 officers and crew. All ships of the class are named after major Canadian cities.
The s are multi-role vessels built and launched from the mid- to late-1990s and are crewed by a combination of Naval Reserve and Regular-Force personnel. Each vessel displaces 970 t and runs with a complement of between 31 and 47 officers and crew. Their main missions are counter narcotics, coastal surveillance, sovereignty patrol, route survey, and training. The ships' capabilities include a mechanical minesweeping system, a route survey system, and a bottom object inspection vehicle.
Patrol craft training vessels
s are primarily used for one-to-six-week long 'at sea' naval officer training. Regular force boatswains, engineers and naval communicators serve in these ships to train junior officers and non-commissioned sailors. They also patrol coastal waters for pollution infractions and fishing violations, and are frequently tasked for search and rescue operations. They operate year-round in the coastal waters of British Columbia.
Name
Pennant number
Commissioned
Builder
Fleet
Orca
PCT 55
9 November 2006
Victoria Shipyards
Pacific
Raven
PCT 56
15 March 2007
Victoria Shipyards
Pacific
Caribou
PCT 57
31 July 2007
Victoria Shipyards
Pacific
Renard
PCT 58
13 September 2007
Victoria Shipyards
Pacific
Wolf
PCT 59
29 November 2007
Victoria Shipyards
Pacific
Grizzly
PCT 60
19 March 2008
Victoria Shipyards
Pacific
Cougar
PCT 61
2 October 2008
Victoria Shipyards
Pacific
Moose
PCT 62
27 November 2008
Victoria Shipyards
Pacific
Support and auxiliary vessels
Interim Auxiliary Replenishment Vessel
Sail training ships
HMSTV Goldcrest
HMSTV Tuna
Torpedo and sound ranging vessels
CFAV Sikanni
CFAV Stikine
Yard diving tenders
Unnamed
CFAV Granby
CFAV Tonnerre
CFAV Sechelt
CFAV Sooke
Fireboats
– retired in 2014 and awaiting disposal
Tugboats
Yard auxiliary general
CFAV Pelican
CFAV Gemini
CFAV Pegasus
CFAV Albatross
CFAV Black Duck
Development and procurement
The RCN is undergoing a complex program of capacity expansion, ship life extension, modernization and fleet procurement. The Nanisivik Naval Facility on Baffin Island in the arctic will provide shore services for fleet operations in the arctic during the four month summer season. The National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy will invest more than $60 billion into the development of Arctic capable patrol vessels, frigate-class surface warships, and long-range auxiliary supply vessels. Construction has begun on the six vessels under the Arctic Patrol Ship Project.. The commercial containership is currently in service as a fleet supply vessel, to meet operational requirements until the two new s are completed. While up to 15 warships of the Canadian Surface Combatant/Type 26 frigate program remain in the planning stages, the RCN has upgraded all current frigates with advanced systems and life extension maintenance to maximize operational capability into the 2030s. In addition to the fleet component, the Canadian Armed Forces has replaced the former CH-124 Sea King helicopters with the CH-148 Cyclone. The first six Cyclones were delivered June 2015 followed by a further two Block 1.1 Cyclones in November/December 2015. As of February 2019, 17 interim Cyclones had been delivered and the aircraft had reached initial operating capability. In May 2019, it was announced that the Skeldar V-200 UAV would be acquired for both the RCN and Canadian Special Forces. As a light helicopter UAV, it will be capable of operating from a range of RCN vessels. On 29 April 2019 Ocean Industries was awarded a contract to build four tugboats to replace both the Fire-class fireboat and Glen-class tugs to be delivered beginning in 2021.
