HMCS Glace Bay (MM 701)

For other ships with the same name, see HMCS Glace Bay.
History
Canada
Name: Glace Bay
Namesake: Glace Bay, Nova Scotia
Builder: Halifax Shipyards Ltd., Halifax
Laid down: 28 April 1995
Launched: 22 January 1996
Commissioned: 26 October 1996
Homeport: CFB Halifax
Identification: MM 701
Motto: Ex Fundo Maris (From the depths of the sea)[1]
Honours and
awards:
Atlantic, 1944-45[1]
Status: in active service
Notes: Colours: Black and white[1]
Badge: Sable on a pile Argent a thistle proper.[1]
General characteristics
Class and type: Kingston-class coastal defence vessel
Displacement: 970 long tons (990 t)
Length: 55.3 m (181 ft 5 in)
Beam: 11.3 m (37 ft 1 in)
Draught: 3.4 m (11 ft 2 in)
Propulsion:
  • 4 × Jeumont ANR-53-50 alternators, 4 × 600VAC Wärtsilä UD 23V12 diesel engines, 7.2 MW (9,700 hp)
  • 2 × Jeumont CI 560L motors, 3,000 hp (2,200 kW)
  • 2 × LIPS Z drive azimuth thrusters
Speed: 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Range: 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph)
Complement: 37
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • Kelvin Hughes navigation radar (I-band)
  • Kelvin Hughes 6000 surface search radar (E-F band)
  • Global Positioning System
  • AN/SQS-511 towed side scan sonar
  • Remote-control Mine Hunting System (RMHS)
Armament:

HMCS Glace Bay is a Kingston-class coastal defence vessel that has served in the Canadian Forces and Royal Canadian Navy since 1996. Glace Bay is the second ship of her class which is the name for the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel Project. She is the second vessel to use the designation HMCS Glace Bay. She is assigned to Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) and is homeported at CFB Halifax.

Design and description

The Kingston class was designed to fill the minesweeper, coastal patrol and reserve training needs of the Canadian Forces, replacing the Bay-class minesweepers, Porte-class gate vessels and Royal Canadian Mounted Police coastal launches in those roles.[2] In order to perform these varied duties the Kingston-class vessels are designed to carry up to three 6.1-metre (20 ft) ISO containers with power hookups on the open deck aft in order to embark mission-specific payloads.[3] The seven module types available for embarkation include four route survey, two mechanical minesweeping and one bottom inspection modules.[2]

The Kingston class displace 970 long tons (990 t) and are 55.3 metres (181 ft 5 in) long overall with a beam 11.3 metres (37 ft 1 in) and a draught of 3.4 metres (11 ft 2 in).[2] The coastal defence vessels are powered by four Jeumont ANR-53-50 alternators coupled to four Wärtsilä UD 23V12 diesel engines creating 7.2 megawatts (9,700 hp). Two LIPS Z-drive azimuth thrusters are driven by two Jeumont CI 560L motors creating 3,000 horsepower (2,200 kW) and the Z drives can be rotated 360°. This gives the ships a maximum speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) and a range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph).[4]

The Kingston class is equipped with a Kelvin Hughes navigational radar using the I band and a Kelvin Hughes 6000 surface search radar scanning the E and F bands. The vessels carry an AN/SQS-511 towed side scan sonar for minesweeping and a Remote-control Mine Hunting System (RMHS). The vessels are equipped with one Bofors 40 mm/60 calibre Mk 5C gun and two M2 machine guns.[4][lower-alpha 1] The Kingston-class coastal defence vessels have a complement of 37.[2]

Service history

The ship's keel was laid down on 28 April 1995 by Halifax Shipyards Ltd. at Halifax, Nova Scotia and was launched on 22 January 1996. Glace Bay was commissioned into the Canadian Forces at Sydney on 26 October 1996 and carries the hull number MM 701.[5]

In 1997, the coastal defence vessel deployed to the Great Lakes. Following the crash of Swissair Flight 111, Glace Bay was among the vessels sent to search for the downed aircraft in September 1998. The following year, she was sent to the Baltic Sea to participate in minesweeping exercises with NATO.[5]

In November 2009, the Canadian trials for the Boeing Insitu ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system were performed aboard Glace Bay.[6]

In June 2013, Glace Bay and sister ship Kingston were sent on a seven-week tour of the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes, making several port calls along the way. In 2014, she was deployed to serve in Operation Caribbe.[7] During the ship's deployment, in collaboration with the United States Coast Guard, the vessel seized a large shipment of cocaine valued at $84 million.[8]

References

Notes

  1. The 60 calibre denotes the length of the gun. This means that the length of the gun barrel is 60 times the bore diameter.

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Official Lineages, Volume 2: Extant Commissioned Ships - HMCS Glace Bay". National Defence and the Canadian Forces. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Macpherson and Barrie, p. 299
  3. Saunders (2008), p. 95
  4. 1 2 Saunders (2004), p. 92
  5. 1 2 Macpherson and Barrie, p. 301
  6. "ScanEagle Takes Flight off Canadian Vessel". naval-technology.com. 26 November 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  7. "Her Majesty's Canadian Ships Kingston and Glace Bay Have Joined HMC Ships Nanaimo and Whitehorse On Op CARIBBE". Ottawa Citizen. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  8. Pugliese, David (24 March 2014). "HMCS Glace Bay Recovers 97 Bales of Cocaine During Caribbean Sea Patrol". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 1 October 2014.

Sources

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