HMCS Preserver during New York fleet week 2009
History
Canada
NamePreserver
Orderedearly 1960s
BuilderSaint John Shipbuilding
Laid down17 October 1967
Launched29 May 1969
Commissioned7 August 1970
Decommissioned21 October 2016
Identification
Motto
  • Le Coeur de la Flotte
  • ("The Heart of the Fleet")
Honours and
awards		Arabian Sea[1]
FateScrapped
BadgeAzure a life preserver Argent cabled Or charged on the centre chief point with a maple leaf slipped Gules and within the ring a starburst also Argent.[2]
General characteristics
Class and typeProtecteur-class replenishment oiler
Displacement24,550 t (24,162 long tons) full load
Length172 m (564 ft 4 in)
Beam23 m (75 ft 6 in)
Draught10 m (32 ft 10 in)
Propulsion
Speed20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement290 officers and crew including air detachment when embarked
Armament
Aircraft carried3 × CH-124 Sea King helicopters
Aviation facilitiesaft deck hangar and flight deck

HMCS Preserver was a Protecteur-class auxiliary oiler replenishment of the Royal Canadian Navy commissioned in 1970. Built at Saint John, New Brunswick and launched in 1969, the vessel took part in several overseas deployments, including Operation Deliverance, which became better known as the Somalia Affair. The ship underwent a major refit in 2005, after she was plagued by electrical problems. With these difficulties unresolved, Preserver was withdrawn from sea-going service in 2014 and was paid off on 21 October 2016. The vessel was broken up for scrap at Sydney, Nova Scotia in 2017.

Service history

Preserver, the second Protecteur-class auxiliary replenishment oiler, was built by Saint John Shipbuilding at Saint John, New Brunswick. Commissioned at Saint John on 7 August 1970,[3][2] she was assigned to the east coast fleet. She was the second ship to bear the name Preserver. Commissioned 11 July 1942, the first HMCS Preserver served in the Second World War as a Fairmile motor launch base supply ship under the East Coast's Newfoundland Force and was paid off 6 November 1945.[2]

In 1971 she carried the Governor-General of Canada, Roland Michener to Europe, hosting the heads of state of Belgium and Netherlands. In June of that year, the ship took part in the first-ever refueling of a hydrofoil at sea, replenishing HMCS Bras d'Or. As part of Canada's contribution to the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus, Preserver supported Canadian troops through 1974–75.[4] The ship served Canada's fleet in domestic and international exercises in the 1980s and 1990s.

On 12 September 1988, HMS Penelope, a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy, suffered a machinery breakdown, changed course rapidly to port and collided with the starboard side of the ship during a replenishment. Penelope caught Preserver's starboard anchor, cutting her port side open. The ship suffered $260,000 damage, while Penelope suffered damage estimated in the millions.[5][6]

In December 1992, she took part in Operation Deliverance, the ill-fated Canadian Forces operation that turned into the Somalia Affair. In 1994, Preserver was part of the multinational force enforcing sanctions on the former Yugoslavia. The vessel returned to that force in May–June 1995. In September 1998, she was part of the Canadian naval response to the crash of Swissair Flight 111 off the coast of Nova Scotia. The ship sailed for Afghanistan in October 2001, as part of Operation Apollo, Canada's initial response to the Global War on Terrorism. She returned from that duty in April 2002.[4]

Preserver underwent a $40 million refit in 2005, focusing on structure and propulsion.[7] However, electrical problems remained unresolved for both ships in the class.[8] In 2010 while refueling she spilled several cubic metres of fuel in Halifax harbour.[9] The spill, which comprised 14,000 litres (3,100 imp gal; 3,700 US gal) of diesel oil, was caused by a faulty drainage pipe that had not been properly inspected following a 2010 refit. The spill was contained by the navy before causing damage to the harbour itself.[10] On 4 November 2011, after returning from sea trials, the ship smashed into a dock in Halifax harbour, suffering damage above the waterline on the starboard bow.[11] The commanding officer of the ship was later removed from his post as a result of the crash.[12] The cost of the repairs to the damage sustained during the incident was $497,442.[13]

Retirement

On 19 September 2014, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman announced the retirement of Preserver, along with sister ship Protecteur and the Iroquois-class destroyers Iroquois and Algonquin. In addition to the problems with the electrical system, corrosion problems extending beyond general wear and tear were found on Preserver. The Royal Canadian Navy is looking at other options to fill the supply gap until the arrival of the two Queenston-class auxiliary vessel in 2019 at the earliest.[14] MV Asterix, a container ship, was converted by Davie Shipbuilding to an auxiliary replenishment vessel and entered service with the Royal Canadian Navy in January 2018.

No longer able to sail at sea, Preserver provided fuelling service for the Atlantic Fleet at Halifax.[15] The ship was paid off on 21 October 2016 at Halifax.[16][17] Contractors to dismantle Preserver, along with CFAV Quest, were sought in March 2017.[18] In June Marine Recycling Corporation of Port Colborne, Ontario secured a CAD$12.6 million contract to dismantle the two ships and Preserver arrived at their Sydport facility at Sydney, Nova Scotia on 2 August. Preserver was subsequently dismantled and recycled for scrap.[19][20]

References

  1. ↑ "South-West Asia Theatre Honours". Prime Minister of Canada. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "Volume 2, Part 1: Extant Commissioned Ships – HMCS Preserver". National Defence and the Canadian Forces. 7 July 2006. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  3. ↑ "About the Ship". Department of National Defence of Canada. Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  4. 1 2 Macpherson, Ken & Barrie, Ron (2002). The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces, 1910–2002 (3 ed.). St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing Limited. p. 280. ISBN 1551250721.
  5. ↑ Sturton, Ian (1989). "The Naval Year in Review: F (ii). Major Casualties at Sea From 1 April 1988 to 30 April 1989". In Gardiner, Robert (ed.). Warship 1989. London: Conway Maritime Press. p. 247. ISBN 0-85177-530-6.
  6. ↑ Ziobrowski, Peter (1 December 2014). "HMS Penelope vs HMCS Preserver – Circa 1988". Halifax Shipping News. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  7. ↑ "Another Canadian warship limps back to port after refit". CBC News. 15 July 2005. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  8. ↑ Brewster, Murray (31 July 2014). "HMCS Protecteur's electrical system flagged as 'dangerous and unsafe'". CBC News. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  9. ↑ "Ship leaked fuel into N.S. for hours due to "procedural errors"". CBC News. The Canadian Press. 22 September 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  10. ↑ Tutton, Michael (13 January 2012). "Report: Ship repair not inspected". The Chronicle Herald. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  11. ↑ "HMCS Preserver smashes into dock". The Chronicle Herald. 5 November 2011. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  12. ↑ "Preserver commander relieved of duties after crash". The Chronicle Herald. 22 March 2012. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  13. ↑ "HMCS Preserver Crash leaves $500K Repair Bill". CBC News. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  14. ↑ "Navy sending four Cold War era ships into retirement". CTV News. The Canadian Press. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  15. ↑ Pugliese, David (24 April 2015). "Paying off ceremonies to be held for two destroyers, one replenishment ship – fourth ship to be paid off at a later date". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  16. ↑ Pugliese, David (6 September 2016). "HMCS Preserver to be paid off in ceremony Oct. 21". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  17. ↑ MacDonald, Michael (21 October 2016). "Last of Royal Canadian Navy's supply ships to be retired". CTV News. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  18. ↑ Pugliese, David (20 March 2017). "Contractor wanted to dismantle former HMCS Preserver, CFAV Quest". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  19. ↑ Pugliese, David (16 June 2017). "Ontario company wins contract to dispose of former HMCS Preserver and CFAV Quest". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  20. ↑ Pugliese, David (3 August 2017). "Former HMCS Preserver now at industrial park in Nova Scotia where it will be dismantled". National Post. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
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