Landing Craft for Canada's AOPS Complete Sea Trials

The landing craft being built for the Royal Canadian Navy's Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) have completed sea trials.

The 12-meter (39-foot) vessels have been built by ABCO Industries, based in Nova Scotia, to Lloyd's Register requirements. Each AOPS will have one landing craft onboard to deploy vehicles, such as all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles or trucks, from the ship’s vehicle bay. They will also be used to transfer personnel and equipment to shore where there are little or no port services available. The vessels can carry four tonnes of cargo, vehicles or personnel and transfer them to a beach or pier via a bow door or an installed crane.

ABCO has also manufactured many items for the AOPS including gangways, ladders, hatches and fuel tanks.

The AOPS are currently under construction at Irving Shipbuilding's Halifax Shipyard. According to the Conference Board of Canada, Halifax Shipyard’s facility modernization and the building of six Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) is expected to be boost economic activity across Canada by $3.42 billion between 2013 and 2022.

The Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel, designated the Harry DeWolf-class, will enhance the Royal Canadian Navy’s ability to assert Canadian sovereignty in Arctic and coastal Canadian waters and support international operations as required. The six new vessels are expected to be operational by 2025. The announced names of the ships to date are:

Harry DeWolf (AOPV 430)
Margaret Brooke (AOPV 431)
Max Bernays (AOPV 432)
William Hall (AOPV 433)
Frédérick Rolette (AOPV 434)