PREDICTING THE FUTURE OF REPLENISHMENT AT SEA, A CANADIAN PERSPECTIVE

摘要

From World War II through the Korean War and into the Cold War, the early history of Replenishment At Sea (RAS) for Canada is one of cooperation with the British and with American navies. The first Canadian AOR, HMCS PROVIDER, entered service in 1963. A fast, one-stop replenishment ship, she was built around both British and American technologies and lessons learned from captured German supply ships. HMCS PROTECTEUR and HMCS PRESERVER followed in the early 1970s. The equipment and technology were now Canadian and the designs benefited both from PROVIDER's operational experience and from many sea trials of equipment and component ideas. These ships are still in service; their RAS systems, courtesy of continuing upgrades, remain amongst the most capable at sea. The art and technology of RAS continues to evolve. There are a range of current initiatives, national and NATO, to improve efficiency (Heavy RAS) and to reduce manpower (messenger winch). Canada is a very active contributor, and sometime leader, for these initiatives. The Joint Support Ship is to build on the navy's experience and maintain its program of continuous improvement to its RAS systems. The focus is on manpower reduction - one-man station control - and fully digital control. The system will, however, remain hydro-pneumatic. The JSS RAS system requirements are heavily prescriptive - rather than performance-based - in order to benefit from available technology and equipment advances and limit operational and project risk. However, this has been restricted to the RAS station itself and to the operator console. In such as alternative fuelling and solid cargo handling, the solution is left to the designer.