Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/304887
j jOINT SUPPORT SHIP www.vanguardcanada.com APRIL/MAY 2014 21 change to the propulsion system. The ship's combat offi cer briefed that the fi rst two ships were envisioned as external sup- port components to a naval task group whereas Bonn is designed as an integral part of the group. This is consistent with the Canadian task group concept. In total, the changes make Bonn so dif- ferent that she represents a new class of ship. Thomas Ruckert, vice president for sales with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (GmbH), has confi rmed that, "Bonn is the MOTS baseline for the Canadian JSS de- veloped by TKMS Canada." This is a key point because the design for Berlin is a sig- nifi cantly less capable ship than Bonn. The primary change to enable the new concept of employment resulted in the main engines of Bonn being upgraded to two MTU 20V 8000 M41R diesels from the two MAN 12V 32/40s used previous- ly. The original arrangement limited sus- tained high power usage and placed very signifi cant restrictions on sudden changes or application of astern power, and on ship manoeuvring while at high speed. The new engines provide 35 percent more power and are more robustly connected to the gearing and shaft lines. This provides complete freedom to use the engines in demanding tactical settings and makes Bonn very capable of keep- ing station with a group of warships. The manoeuvrability of the ship has also been enhanced by a revised placement of twin rudders directly aft of the screws, which are equipped with controllable-pitch blades. An added benefi t of the new engines is improved fuel economy. According to the briefi ng, the MTU diesels are "signifi cantly more effi cient." In addition, the new pow- er train allows for the trailing of one screw and this confi guration results in 43 per- cent higher fuel-effi ciency than in normal twin-shaft operation. This provision will go a long way to conserving cargo fuel, as Bonn carries signifi cantly less fuel than the Protecteur-class; as much as 35 percent, depending on the source and conversion factors used. The reduction in fuel capacity is offset by the gains made in multi-role confi guration and additional containerized cargo-carry- ing capacity. Bonn can carry 78 containers as deck cargo and is capable of self-unload- ing, which makes her enormously versatile when dockside services are not available. In remote locations or where either confl ict or natural disasters have damaged shore fa- cilities, this will be an invaluable function. Additionally, Bonn can embark a set of 23 pre-outfi tted containers that stack three- high before the after deckhouse, forming a medical facility. This augments the ship's medical capability to what is known in NATO terms as Level 2 'plus'. It includes two operating theatres and independent power for complete autonomy and reliabil- ity. The ship also has facilities to embark a group commander and staff for the opera- tional control of tactical units. All of these capabilities would have been enormously valuable during Operation Hestia, the Ca- nadian disaster relief effort in Haiti. In short, there are a lot of different functions packed into this ship. During an interview, Captain Laue said of Bonn, "It was a originally a kind of mer- chant design but [was] changed for the military." In particular, her twin-engine propulsion will provide greater reliability than the single-engine arrangement used in earlier Canadian sustainment ships. The recent fi re in HMCS Protecteur has demonstrated the vulnerability of that approach. However, some of the limita- tions of using a converted merchant vessel for military service are also evident. The bridge, main machinery control room and operations room are all closely co-located on the same deck, which presents a major risk in the event of a fi re or other calam- ity. Also, the magazine spaces are situated quite high in the hull, likely overtop of the fuel tanks. The normal arrangement in Canadian practice would be to place them