Royal Canadian Navy Auxiliaries and Other Ships
Back to Royal Canadian Navy Mine Warfare Vessels
Replenishment / Resupply vessels
Protecteur class Joint Support Ships (2 units under construction 2023 variant of German Berlin Class Type 702) LOA 545-568′ 166.1-173.7 m TDISP 20,250 tons
MV Asterix (2018) built as Cynthia 2010. LOA 598′ / 182.3 m TDISP 26,000 tons. Converted from commercial vessel, at Davie Shipbuilding QC 2017. This will bridge the gap in AOR replenishment resupply vessels created by the early retirement of the Protecteur class.
Protecteur Class Auxiliary Replenishment Oiler LOA 564′ / 171.9 m TDISP 24,500 tons (2 retired, both scrapped)
HMCS Protecteur AOR-509 (1969 – 2015)
HMCS Preserver AOR-510 (1970 – 2017)
HMCS Provider AOR 508 (1963-1998) LOA 551′ / 168m TDISP 22,000 tons. Scrapped 2002 in Turkey. Heavily modified from the design of the Paul Revere class USN assault transports.
Icebreakers
HMCS Labrador AW-50 (1954-1957) Wind-class variant. LOA 269′ / 82m TDISP 6,500 tons . Transferred to the Canadian Coast Guard served as CCGS Labrador (1958-1989) scrapped.
Maintenance / Repair Ships
Cape Class LOA 442′ /135m TDISP 14,400 tons Beechey Head depot, maintenance, repair ships, a variation of Second World War Park class merchant ships.
HMCS Cape Breton ARE-100 (1952-1963) built Vancouver as HMS Flamborough Head (1944-1952) used as a alongside maintenance facility until late 1990s. Sunk as artificial reef 2001. See our post on Cape Breton for more info.
HMCS Cape Scott Are-101 (1952-1975) built as HMS Beachy Head (1944-1952) also with Dutch service. Scrapped 1978.
Hydrofoils
HMCS Bras d’Or FHE-400 unique hydrofoil design (1968 – 1971) LOA 164′ / 50 m TDISP 240 tons. preserved as a Museum Ship L’Islet-sur-Mer, QC
R-103 Baddeck (Original name Bras d’Or until 1962) (1957 – 1973) LOA 59′ / 18 m TDISP 17 tons, preserved in a disassembled state at the Canada Museum of Science and Technology Ottawa. This experimental hydrofoil helped test technologies used on the later HMCS Bras d’Or.
Hydrographic Survey
CFAV Quest AGOR-172 (1969-2016) LOA 235′ / 71.6 m TDISP 2,100 tons scrapped 2018
CFAV Endeavour AGOR-171 (1965-2000) LOA 236′ / 72m TDISP 1,550 tons
CSS/HMCS Acadia (1913) LOA 182′ / 55.5 m TDISP 1,050 tons Canadian Hydrographic Service (commissioned patrol ship HMCS Acadia during both World Wars) museum ship since 1982
CNAV/CFAV Bluethroat AGOR-114 (1955-1990) LOA 156′ / 47.5m TDISP 780 tons. Originally built as a minelayer.
Diving Support Vessel
HMCS Cormorant ASL-20 (1975 – 1997) originally built as commercial vessel Aspa Quarto 1965 LOA 245′ / 74.7 m TDISP 2,350 tons despite being sold to US buyers, the ship has been laid up in a deteriorated state at Bridgewater NS (LaHave River) ever since. Shortly after the below capture the vessel partially capsized.
Sechelt Class LOA 108′ / 32.9 m TDISP 290 tons (4, all in service 1990) all were originally Torpedo and Sound Ranging Vessels (TSRVs) operating at the Canadian Forces Maritime
Experimental Test Range (Nanoose, BC). In the late 1990s, two were converted to diving tenders, with Sechelt operating out of Halifax and Sooke at Esquimalt.
CFAV Sikanni and Stikine (both 1990)
CFAV Sooke (1990)
Gate Vessels
Porte Class Gate / Boom Defence / naval reserve training Vessels 1951-1996 (5 built, all retired) LOA 125′ / 38.1 m TDISP 500 tons
Porte Class gate vessel, Esquimalt 1965/04/12. National Air Photo Library VRR2634 photo 1047 NRCAN
HMCS Porte de la Reine and HMCS Porte Quebec (both commissioned 1952) Extensively converted and then seized in Washington State. Reportedly scrapped 2015.
Small Tankers
Dun Class Coastal Tanker LOA 179′ /54.6 m TDISP 950 tons (2, both now scrapped)
HMCS / CFAV Dundurn Z41/502 (1942-1993) after service as a naval auxiliary, served as a breakwater in North Vancouver until mid-2014, when Dundurn was removed to the Fraser River and then scrapped.
Sail Training Vessels
HMCS Oriole sail training ship, (commissioned in RCN 1956) rigged as a ketch LOA 102′ / 31.1 m TDISP 92 tons. Originally built as yacht Oriole IV (1921) and was the flagship of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club (Toronto). During the Second World War she was used by the Navy League of Canada to train sea cadets and then by the RCN from 1943.
Tugboats
Saint class LOA 152′ / 46.2m TDISP 860 tons (3 built, service 1957-ca.1990)
Survey vessel / yard auxiliary / training boat
Pogo ex-YFL-104 (1954), LOA 36′ / 11 m TDISP 9 tons. Hydrographic sounding boat originally constructed 1954 to accompany Icebreaker HMCS Labrador on northern voyages for surveying work. Pogo had echo sounding equipment and could produce surveys herself, and was an important element of the RCN surveying work performed by Labrador. Pogo has had a varied career [which can be read about at this link to the Outaouais Branch history of her] , and after 2005 has been under the care of the Outaouais Branch of the Navy League of Canada, at the Hull QC Marina.
The Searchers 