Canada exercises remaining CSS Asterix option years

CSS Asterix departs Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to begin the Force Integration phase of Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024, July 9. [U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Emily Casavant]

CSS Asterix, a combat support ship created by converting and transforming a containership, is to continue to support the Royal Canadian Navy for some years yet. Ottawa-headquartered Inocea Group member Federal Fleet Services (FSS) reports that the Government of Canada has exercised the remaining three option years under its provision of services agreement (PSA) with the company.

In addition to providing the Asterix, FFS provides personnel to operate and maintain the vessel, while the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) assigns mission specialists to fulfill critical naval defense roles, with the FFS merchant and RCN military crews operating in an integrated, seamless and highly capable manner.

FSS calls the contracting model “a true Canadian success story.” The agreement is currently in its seventh year and will be in effect until at least January 28, 2028. The original contract for CSS Asterix, following its delivery from FSS sister company Davie Shipbuilding, was for an initial five-year period followed by five optional years, and an option to purchase the vessel, which remains in effect.

John Schmidt, president of Federal Fleet Services said, “Since 2018, Combat Support Ship Asterix has circumnavigated the globe several times working with NATO and other allied navies in military and humanitarian operations in the world’s most hostile regions – from the Persian Gulf to East Africa, the South China Sea and the Korean Peninsula. In that time, the ship has performed flawlessly, without a single day of unplanned downtime. Asterix has truly earned her place as an essential capability for serving the needs of our military, as well as those of our allies.”

“Combat Support Ship Asterix has become an indispensable strategic enabler for Canada’s blue water naval operations. Its capabilities, experience and reliability have rightly earned the ship and its crew global acclaim,“ said Inocea Group CEO Alex Vicefield. “In an increasingly volatile world, we continue to make major strategic investments in Asterix to meet emerging threats and challenges. Congratulations to the Federal Fleet Services team for their flawless track-record and contribution to keeping Canadians and our allies safe and secure.”

ASTERIX AT A GLANCE…

Since delivery in 2018, says FSS, CSS Asterix has performed the following without a single day of unplanned downtime or major incident:

• 245,931 nautical miles sailed (10 times around the globe), stopping in over 20 countries.
• 480 operations delivering over 95 million liters of fuel.
• 292 dry cargo and ammunition transfers to 21 allied navies.
• 87 helicopter landings.
• 11 military operations in the South China Sea, Red Sea, East China Sea, Arabian Sea, East Africa, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Korean Peninsula and Arctic, involving counter-terrorism, wartime evacuation, sanction enforcement, NATO task groupings, freedom of navigation and international patrols.
• 13 international military exercises off Canada, Japan, Australia, the U.K. and the U.S.

CSS Asterix is a fully-NATO compliant multipurpose replenishment and support ship owned and operated by Federal Fleet Services Inc. for the Royal Canadian Navy.

The ship was designed for and fitted with the same equipment and systems as the Royal Canadian Navy’s future fleet, including its Integrated Tactical and Navigation System, Integrated Platform Management System, Communications Systems, Replenishment At Sea Systems, among others. In 2023, Federal Fleet Services acquired and installed a pioneering multi-domain command-and-control system to detect, monitor and intercept aerial and surface threats. CSS Asterix was fitted for certain optional systems such as CIWS, torpedo decoys and CBRN protection. With preparations already made, these systems can be installed, if required, in short order.