The Glen-class tug is a class of naval

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

operated by the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

. Constructed in Canada, the class entered service between 1975 and 1977. The five vessels that comprise the class are split between the two major naval bases of the Royal Canadian Navy. The Royal Canadian Navy operated a fleet of tugboats during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

which were also named the . The vessels of the current Glen class are each named after one of the vessels of the earlier class.

Description

The Glen class is a series of five yard tractor tugboats designed for coastal/harbour use in Canada's major naval bases. The vessels have a

standard displacement The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

of . As built they are long with a beam of and a draught of . They are propelled by two Voith Schneider cycloidal propellers turned by two Ruston-Paxman

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s rated at . This gives them a maximum speed of . They initially had a complement of six officers and ratings.

Ships

The five vessels are divided between the two fleets of the

, with three assigned to

Maritime Forces Atlantic In the Canadian Forces, Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) is responsible for the fleet training and operational readiness of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. It was once referred to as Canadian Atlantic Station. ...

, based at

CFB Halifax Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Halifax is Canada's east coast naval base and home port to the Royal Canadian Navy Atlantic fleet, known as Canadian Fleet Atlantic (CANFLTLANT), that forms part of the formation (military), formation Maritime Forces At ...

and two assigned to Maritime Forces Pacific, homeported at

CFB Esquimalt Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt (CFB Esquimalt) is the Royal Canadian Navy's Pacific Coast naval base and home port to Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force Pacific Headquarters. , 4,411 military personnel and 2,762 civilians ...

. While the Glen-class tugs are equipped for firefighting, the Canadian Forces maintained a pair of dedicated s, the 140-ton and , one each in each port. The crews of the fireboats are cross-trained and able to crew a Glen-class vessel in emergencies. However, ''Firebird'' on the east coast was taken out of service and prepared for disposal.

Replacements

On 4 December 2012 the Department of National Defence published an enquiry for Canadian shipbuilders interested in building replacements for the Glen-class tugs¸and Fire-class fireboats. A single class would replace both the tugs and the fireboats, and would be operated by civilian crews. The replacement vessels would have water cannons that could be controlled remotely, by a single individual. The replacement vessels would have bollard pull of 40 tons. The replacement vessels would be limited to or less, and limited to a draught of or less. Since their intended role would be harbour duties, they would have limited range and crew berthing capacity. On 29 April 2019 the Government of Canada announced Ocean Industries of Isle-aux-Coudres,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

was awarded the contract to build four tow-tug / rescue vessels to replace both the Fire-class fireboat/tractor tugs and Glen-class yard tugs with delivery expected from 2021 to 2023. Two, ''Barkerville'' and ''Haro'', arrived at Victoria on 25 July 2024. ''Canso'' and ''Stella Maris'', intended for service in Halifax, have yet to be constructed.

References

* * {{cite book , editor-last=Moore , editor-first=John , year=1980 , title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1980–81 , publisher=Jane's Publishing Incorporated , location=New York , isbn=0-531-03937-4 , url-access=registration , url=https://archive.org/details/janesfightingshi00john Auxiliary tugboat classes Tugboats of the Royal Canadian Navy

Description

Ships

Replacements

See also

References

References