Canada’s Team Vigilance launches OPV program bid

Written by Nick Blenkey
Vigilance Class OPV

Team Vigilance released this rendering of the Vigilance class OPV

Fincantieri’s Canadian=headquartered Vard Marine Inc. naval architecture and marine engineering subsidiary unveiled its design for the Vigilance-class Offshore Patrol Vessel at this week’s CANSEC event in Ottawa. Vard Marine is part of Team Vigilance which is launching the Vigilance-class as a candidate to replace the Royal Canadian Navy’s Kingston Class Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels. The other Team Vigilance members are Heddle Shipyards, Thales Canada, SH Defense, and Fincantieri—

The U.S. Coast Guard’s 110 meter Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter is based on Vard Marine’s VARD 7 110 Offshore Patrol Vessel design. Vard has since then developed a 115-meter next generation offshore patrol vessel (NGOPV) design, the VARD 7 115 NGOPV.

The Team Vigilance shipbuilding partner, Heddle Shipyards, says it will leverage the team’s broad experience to realize the underutilized capacity at its Ontario shipyards to meet the future needs of the Royal Canadian Navy.

Established in 1987, Heddle Shipyards is a Canadian-owned company and the fastest-growing Canadian shipyard on the Great Lakes.

Shaun Padulo, President and CEO of Heddle Shipyards, said: “Ontario was once the epicenter of shipbuilding in Canada. We have the capacity needed to deliver the Vigilance Class Offshore Patrol Vessel. With the support of our Team Vigilance partners, we will harness this capacity to support the second pillar of the National Shipbuilding Strategy and activate Ontario’s manufacturing and industrial sector to support the NSS.”

Thales role will be to provide Combat Systems Integration (CSI) and Electronic Systems Integration (ESI) for the Vigilance class OPV, while SH Defense, part of the Svendborg, Denmark, headquartered SH Group, is the developer of the Cube interchangeable mission modules for air, surface and subsea capabilities.

Fincantieri’s Canadian=headquartered Vard Marine Inc. naval architecture and marine engineering subsidiary unveiled its design for the Vigilance-class Offshore Patrol vessel at this week’s CANSEC event in Ottawa. Vard Marine is part of Team Vigilance which is launching the Vigilance-class as a candidate to replace the Royal Canadian Navy’s Kingston Class Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels. The other Team Vigilance members are Heddle Shipyards, Thales Canada, SH Defense, and Fincantieri—

The U.S. Coast Guard’s 110 meter Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter is based on Vard Marine’s VARD 7 110 Offshore Patrol Vessel design. Vard has since then developed a 115-meter next generation offshore patrol vessel (NGOPV) design, the VARD 7 115 NGOPV.

The Team Vigilance shipbuilding partner, Heddle Shipyards, says it will leverage the team’s broad experience to realize the underutilized capacity at its Ontario Shipyards to meet the future needs of the Royal Canadian Navy.

Established in 1987, Heddle Shipyards is a Canadian-owned company and the fastest-growing Canadian shipyard on the Great Lakes.

Shaun Padulo, President and CEO of Heddle Shipyards, said: “Ontario was once the epicenter of shipbuilding in Canada. We have the capacity needed to deliver the Vigilance Class Offshore Patrol Vessel. With the support of our Team Vigilance partners, we will harness this capacity to support the second pillar of the National Shipbuilding Strategy and activate Ontario’s manufacturing and industrial sector to support the NSS.”

Thales role will be to provide Combat Systems Integration (CSI) and Electronic Systems Integration (ESI) for the,Vigilance-class OPV, while SH Defense, part of the Svendborg, Denmark, headquartered SH Group, is the developer of the Cube interchangeable mission modules for air, surface and subsea capabilities.

The Vigilance class will be will be designed, built, and equipped in Canada. In a statement released June 1, Fincantieri said its contribution will be “strategic, providing its leadership in the construction of high-tech ships, system integration, supply chain and program management.”

At this stage of the game, the only image released of the Vigilance class is pretty conceptual. Meantime, Vard last year released a video of the the VARD 7 115 NGOPV which may, or may not, give some clues as to what is to come in the Vigilance but does show the capabilities of the SH Defense Cube.

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