(Ottawa) One of the Royal Canadian Navy’s newest ships, which was carrying 20,000 litres of water, is stuck in a US port due to a leak.
THE NCSM Max Bernays is one of Canada’s new Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships being built in Halifax by Irving Shipyards.
The ship was taking part in the multinational Rim of the Pacific exercise, also known as RIMPAC, when it began taking on water on July 12. News of the leak was first reported by the daily Ottawa Citizen.
A defence ministry spokesman said a valve and pump in one of the ship’s seawater cooling systems leaked for about half an hour, allowing tens of thousands of litres of water to leak in.
“This problem was identified quickly and the naval technical service on board the NCSM Max Bernays assessed that the vessel should return to port,” Kened Sadiku said in an email.
It is unclear how long the repairs will take. The Navy is still trying to determine whether the other seawater cooling system is affected. Sadiku said it is also unclear what impact this will have on the ship’s participation in RIMPAC and the rest of its schedule.
THE NCSM Max Bernays was delivered to the Navy in late 2022 and is the third Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship to be built. Three more are currently in production.
The project to build the six ships is valued at 4.98 billion. The government has signed a 35-year contract worth 5.2 billion with Thales for the patrol fleet and two support ships that have not yet been built.
THE Max Bernays is one of three Royal Canadian Navy ships sent this spring to support Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
THE HMCS VancouverTHE MV Asterix and approximately 300 members of the Canadian Armed Forces were also part of the contingent heading to RIMPAC.