Vanguard Magazine

interView 18 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 www.vanguardcanada.com Q In your current position as Deputy Commissioner, Strategy and Shipbuilding of the Canadian Coast Guard, what are your top three short-term goals? My first five months have been profession- ally invigorating and personally satisfying. I see a multitude of opportunities for my previous experience to benefit the Coast Guard. With respect to near-term goals I would target: • finalizing the Fleet Renewal Plan; • assisting with the workforce generation initiative to grow the Coast Guard into a diverse workforce that is more represen- tational of Canadian society; • implementing the various Oceans Protec- tion Plan projects to enhance the Govern- ment's ocean stewardship agenda. Q Where do you see the future of ship- building for the Coast Guard given the average age of the fleet – can it be done within the service lives of the current fleet, or do you see a reduction in fleet capability/capacity? There has been a lot of public attention paid to the aging state of the Coast Guard fleet which does not necessarily reflect reality. Accordingly, I think it is impor- tant to review the facts. First, while it is clear that Coast Guard ships are aging, we need to remember that Coast Guard ships were not built as commercial vessels and can't be compared to such – in fact, the designed life expectancy for a Coast Guard ship can be twice as long as a commercial vessel. Secondly, Coast Guard is meeting its service standards – most missions are being delivered as planned. While there have been instances where we have en- countered delays in icebreaking or changes in science programs, I consider those cases to be exceptions. The women and men of the Coast Guard are fully committed to meeting and ex- ceeding the needs of their clients, and I am similarly committed to ensuring they have the right ships to continue to do so. I am well aware that our ships cannot last forever and will need to be replaced over time. The Coast Guard has established a core team that is working diligently on the renewal of our fleet. Under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS), Canada's entire shipbuild- ing value chain is quickly gaining strength. Vancouver Shipyards, selected to build large non-combat ships for the Coast Guard, is gaining momentum with the first new large vessel – 100 per cent designed and built in Canada and launched in December 2017 – the Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel. The construction of the second and third ships in this class is well advanced. The launch of the CCGS Sir John Franklin was a key milestone for the Coast Guard as it marked the beginning of the renewal of our large vessels. The Coast Guard is committed to continuing the renewal of its ships under the NSS. If and when an existing ship has to be taken out of service before a replacement vessel comes into service, interim solutions will be examined to ensure we continue to maintain the services our clients have come to expect from us. Q Do you see a long-term fleet capital investment program similar to the Navy for the Coast Guard? Our fleet renewal team is working hard to ensure that we have a replacement plan in place for each and every one of our assets – large and small. Our challenge is to create a sustainable fleet that can be continually recapitalized. This fleet renewal plan envis- ages multi-mission capable ships in a more meaningful way than is present today. We are planning ahead to building the assets that we will need in the next 10, 20, 30 years, with the right technology to deliver on today's mandate and that which may evolve. I anticipate the Coast Guard to be in a continued fleet recapitalization mode for decades to come. Q Regionalism versus centralized control – how is that impacting new ship requirements/build/maintenance program? Specifically, issues related to configuration management. As someone who grew up professionally in the maritime engineering domain, I am a strong advocate of configuration control. As we develop ship requirements, we use a national approach that includes regional input to ensure the operator perspective is factored into the design. Of note, we are moving towards fewer classes with a larger number of similar ships to capitalize on the logistical and maintenance efficiencies that equipment commonality allows. The ship- building industry is different than other industries, and due to the time involved in building a ship, follow-on vessels may have some small differences. The most im- portant thing is to look at managing these changes through time and to be able to determine the current steady state of the ship at a given time while minimizing pos- sible impacts to DFO/CCG operational programs. CCG is a nationally cohesive or- ganization with strong regional ties and at the end of the day, this helps CCG provide better value to Canadians. Q Maintenance/life extension – given the age of the current fleet, where do you see this going, and what opportunities do you see for Canada's marine industry writ large? We are living in an exciting time - there are decades of possibilities ahead of us, both for the Coast Guard and for Canada's ma- rine industries. It is no secret that, in addi- tion to building ships as fast as we can, we will have to rely on our aging ships a little longer to maintain our services. Keeping these assets in safe and reliable working condition means opportunities for compa- nies across Canada. While we are building new ships, we will also be refitting existing ships – involving parts, electronic systems, engineering, and general ship repair work. Investments such as those envisioned un- der the National Shipbuilding Strategy and other procurement initiatives will provide long-term stability for the Coast Guard to deliver marine programs which are vital for all Canadians from Coast to Coast to Coast. Of note, there is more to the Coast Guard than large ships. We are also build- ing a myriad of smaller vessels which, un-

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