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I asked today of the tug and barge company. The first decommissioned sub should arrive in Hamilton Harbour Thursday. Then they turn around and go pick up the other. There is an article in the Esquimalt Lookout today.
HMCS Ojibwa sub enroute to London-area museum
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Submarine towed through Hamilton en route to wreckers
Submarine in Hamilton. The HMCS Olympus, a 2,500-ton de-commissioned Canadian submarine is docked in Hamilton Harbour at Heddle Marine Service Inc. Scott Gardner/The Hamilton SpectatorSource: The Hamilton Spectator
Steve Arnold
July 29, 2011
After training generations of Canadian submariners, a proud warrior is on her way to a new life as car parts or razor blades.
HMCS Olympus, one of Canada’s four retired submarines, was floated by special barge into Hamilton Harbour Thursday morning on her way to a “ship breaking” yard on Lake Erie to be turned into scrap metal.
The sub’s journey from Halifax to Hamilton and on to Port Maitland was accomplished by two Hamilton companies, McKeil Marine and Heddle Marine Services Inc. Heddle provided a floating dry dock on which the sub was loaded while McKeil provided the tugboats that pushed and pulled the warship up the St. Lawrence River and across Lake Ontario.
Moving the sub called for some careful engineering work to ensure the 2,500-ton cargo remained stable during the 10-day voyage, explained Heddle Marine president Rick Heddle.
“We used enough cables and ridges and supports that it could never topple over,” he said. “It was a case of loading it, securing it and then watching our weather.”
Olympus is the first of three subs the companies are to move. Her sister ships, Okanagan and Ojibwa, will make the same voyage — Okanagan heading for the scrap yard and Ojibwa possibly to a new life as a museum in Port Burwell on Lake Erie. Onondaga became a museum in Quebec in 2008.
Every stage of the 1,200-nautical mile voyage was carefully planned to ensure the vessel and cargo were never too far from a safe port — a refuge they’d need whenever waves on the lake got higher than two metres or the wind blew faster than 25 knots.
The sub was moved in a process called dry towing — a Heddle-designed dry dock was submerged under the Olympus, then it lifted the boat out of the water. The alternative, a wet tow in which a tug simply hooks onto the retired vessels and pulls it along was rejected by the St. Lawrence Seaway.
“After sitting idle for almost 10 years these boats are in pretty rough shape,” Heddle said. “If one was to sink in a lock that could plug up the whole seaway system.”
Paulo Pessoa, McKeil’s vice-president for business development, said moving the submarines is only the latest in a number of challenges undertaken by the Hamilton company. In past efforts, it has been hired to recover a Second World War-era B-17 bomber that crashed in Greenland and to salvage the remains of a British aircraft that crashed into Lake Ontario during the CNE air show.
Pessoa said while foreign companies could have been hired to move and cut up the boats at lower costs, hiring Canadian firms ensured the work is done with the smallest environmental footprint.
“The (defence department) has a lot at stake here,” he said. “If they hired a company to recycle the submarine and then have it sink in the river, that would be a PR disaster.
“Paying the extra cost associated with doing it in the safest way possible is a no-brainer,” he added. “For us, redundancy was the name of the game.”
The actual destruction of the subs will handled by Marine Recovery Corp. of Port Colborne.
Olympus, Ojibwa, Okanagan and Onondaga were diesel-electric Oberon class submarines built in Britain in the 1960s. They served Canada’s navy for 30 years — Ojibwa, Okanagan and Onondaga doing Cold War-era surveillance patrols off the east coast while Olympus remained tethered as a training vessel. At the time they were built, the boats were the latest technology, according to the Canadian Naval Centennial Internet site. Between 1979 and 1981, they were upgraded, but by the late 1990s “Though respectable enough craft in their prime, the ‘O’ boats had long since reached the end of their useful lives and by July 1999, the three had been paid off and replaced by the Victoria class.”
The subs were “paid off” between 1998 and 2000.
When Okanagan is towed into Hamilton, it will actually be her second visit to the city. She was here in November 1990 as part of a good will tour of the Great Lakes — the first such voyage by a Canadian submarine.
sarnold@thespec.com
Submarine in Hamilton. The HMCS Olympus, a 2,500-ton de-commissioned Canadian submarine is docked in Hamilton Harbour at Heddle Marine Service Inc. Scott Gardner/The Hamilton SpectatorSource: The Hamilton Spectator
Steve Arnold
July 29, 2011
After training generations of Canadian submariners, a proud warrior is on her way to a new life as car parts or razor blades.
HMCS Olympus, one of Canada’s four retired submarines, was floated by special barge into Hamilton Harbour Thursday morning on her way to a “ship breaking” yard on Lake Erie to be turned into scrap metal.
The sub’s journey from Halifax to Hamilton and on to Port Maitland was accomplished by two Hamilton companies, McKeil Marine and Heddle Marine Services Inc. Heddle provided a floating dry dock on which the sub was loaded while McKeil provided the tugboats that pushed and pulled the warship up the St. Lawrence River and across Lake Ontario.
Moving the sub called for some careful engineering work to ensure the 2,500-ton cargo remained stable during the 10-day voyage, explained Heddle Marine president Rick Heddle.
“We used enough cables and ridges and supports that it could never topple over,” he said. “It was a case of loading it, securing it and then watching our weather.”
Olympus is the first of three subs the companies are to move. Her sister ships, Okanagan and Ojibwa, will make the same voyage — Okanagan heading for the scrap yard and Ojibwa possibly to a new life as a museum in Port Burwell on Lake Erie. Onondaga became a museum in Quebec in 2008.
Every stage of the 1,200-nautical mile voyage was carefully planned to ensure the vessel and cargo were never too far from a safe port — a refuge they’d need whenever waves on the lake got higher than two metres or the wind blew faster than 25 knots.
The sub was moved in a process called dry towing — a Heddle-designed dry dock was submerged under the Olympus, then it lifted the boat out of the water. The alternative, a wet tow in which a tug simply hooks onto the retired vessels and pulls it along was rejected by the St. Lawrence Seaway.
“After sitting idle for almost 10 years these boats are in pretty rough shape,” Heddle said. “If one was to sink in a lock that could plug up the whole seaway system.”
Paulo Pessoa, McKeil’s vice-president for business development, said moving the submarines is only the latest in a number of challenges undertaken by the Hamilton company. In past efforts, it has been hired to recover a Second World War-era B-17 bomber that crashed in Greenland and to salvage the remains of a British aircraft that crashed into Lake Ontario during the CNE air show.
Pessoa said while foreign companies could have been hired to move and cut up the boats at lower costs, hiring Canadian firms ensured the work is done with the smallest environmental footprint.
“The (defence department) has a lot at stake here,” he said. “If they hired a company to recycle the submarine and then have it sink in the river, that would be a PR disaster.
“Paying the extra cost associated with doing it in the safest way possible is a no-brainer,” he added. “For us, redundancy was the name of the game.”
The actual destruction of the subs will handled by Marine Recovery Corp. of Port Colborne.
Olympus, Ojibwa, Okanagan and Onondaga were diesel-electric Oberon class submarines built in Britain in the 1960s. They served Canada’s navy for 30 years — Ojibwa, Okanagan and Onondaga doing Cold War-era surveillance patrols off the east coast while Olympus remained tethered as a training vessel. At the time they were built, the boats were the latest technology, according to the Canadian Naval Centennial Internet site. Between 1979 and 1981, they were upgraded, but by the late 1990s “Though respectable enough craft in their prime, the ‘O’ boats had long since reached the end of their useful lives and by July 1999, the three had been paid off and replaced by the Victoria class.”
The subs were “paid off” between 1998 and 2000.
When Okanagan is towed into Hamilton, it will actually be her second visit to the city. She was here in November 1990 as part of a good will tour of the Great Lakes — the first such voyage by a Canadian submarine.
sarnold@thespec.com
Oldgateboatdriver
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Just a small point here, for historical accuracy's sake.
OLYMPUS was never commissioned in our Navy, nor sailed as a Canadian boat at any time.
HMS OLYMPUS was acquired towards the end of the "O" boats era, after she was decommissioned by the RN, so that she may be used as a harbour training submarine.
It does not detract from the fact that she was a "proud warrior", she just did not do the warring with us.
OLYMPUS was never commissioned in our Navy, nor sailed as a Canadian boat at any time.
HMS OLYMPUS was acquired towards the end of the "O" boats era, after she was decommissioned by the RN, so that she may be used as a harbour training submarine.
It does not detract from the fact that she was a "proud warrior", she just did not do the warring with us.
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Oldgateboatdriver said:
Somewhere I got the idea that OLYMPUS was acquired for spares -- or was there another O-boat that was?
Oldgateboatdriver
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They certainly felt no shame in scrounging parts of her here and there that were not required for training.
Blackadder1916
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N. McKay said:
The CF bought OSIRIS for parts in the late 80s/early 90s, but only the parts were shipped to Canada. The boat was stripped in the UK and the hull was scrapped over there.
Oldgateboatdriver
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Okanagan, high and dry on her barge, just went through the locks at St-Lambert this PM as she entered the St-Lawrence Seaway.
The local CTV station did a nice piece on it in their news, with emphasis on all her years of service to the Navy, and mentioned (something I did not know) that the breakers plans include keeping her conning tower intact and setting it up in a local park in Port Maitland, ON. Nice touch I thought - considering the value of scrap metal they will forgo.
The local CTV station did a nice piece on it in their news, with emphasis on all her years of service to the Navy, and mentioned (something I did not know) that the breakers plans include keeping her conning tower intact and setting it up in a local park in Port Maitland, ON. Nice touch I thought - considering the value of scrap metal they will forgo.
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I believe they're keeping the whole Casing and Fin (which are mostly made of fibreglass) and not just the Conning Tower. Scrap metal is pretty low value these days - the Crown is paying $4.5 million to have the two boats scrapped.
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jollyjacktar
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I'm glad to see she will have a useful purpose once again. It's a shame we could not have saved a steamer as well.milnews.ca said:
Oldgateboatdriver
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Its wonderful that two out of three (sorry - I don't count OLYMPUS as a Canadian boat) could be saved for future generations.
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:highjack:
Continuing the highjack ... I, too, am somewhat sad that at least one of those marvellous Cold War veterans could not find a "home" à la Haida and Sackville. I hope someone is making some provision for HMCS Iroquois or HMCS Athabaskan which saw considerable operational service in the 20th and 21st centuries. It is not too soon to be raising money and searching for sponsors ... are such projects already underway?
Chief Stoker said:
Continuing the highjack ... I, too, am somewhat sad that at least one of those marvellous Cold War veterans could not find a "home" à la Haida and Sackville. I hope someone is making some provision for HMCS Iroquois or HMCS Athabaskan which saw considerable operational service in the 20th and 21st centuries. It is not too soon to be raising money and searching for sponsors ... are such projects already underway?
J
jollyjacktar
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Not that I have heard, frankly have heard not a peep of interest.E.R. Campbell said:
Pusser
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Unfortunately, even if the ship is provided for free, the maintenance and operation costs of a museum ship can be horrendous. Doing it strictly on admissions revenue is not practical and so without some form of public support, a project such as this is doomed to failure. Furthermore, a lot of volunteer effort is also required. Who is dedicated enough and has the time?
I too was sad to see the FRASER and CORMORANT fiasco unfold. I actually gave money to the FRASER project. Maybe when I retire, I will have time for such things
I too was sad to see the FRASER and CORMORANT fiasco unfold. I actually gave money to the FRASER project. Maybe when I retire, I will have time for such things
J
jollyjacktar
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Cormorant - meh. Fraser, I'll shed real tears over as that was so unnecessary. I'd say it was a shame we got rid of Anticosti and Morseby.
Pusser
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CORMORANT was a fantastic ship. Very useful and at the time it was announced that she was to be paid off, the hardest working ship in the Navy. While the rest of the Fleet was out on exercise, CORMORANT was actually doing real work (albeit for other government departments - RCMP, Coast Guard).
J
jollyjacktar
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Those whom I knew who sailed her, loved her and it's crew I agree. I was thinking more of her usefulness as a sub platform had been degraded as technology had evolved beyond that. Mind it's not my part ship and perhaps the "official" word was just excuses when set against those in the know. I do hate to see mostly any ship go away as it makes the fleet smaller with less opportunity to sail if there is no replacement for her.Pusser said:
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PROJECT OJIBWA
Good Evening..... On behalf of the Board of Directors of The Elgin Military Museum I am pleased to announce that this evening The Township Council of Bayham voted to act as financial Guarantor for the Museum with respect to a 6 Million dollar line of credit for the movement and set up of H.M.C.S. OJIBWA as a permanent, shore mounted, Naval Museum in Port Burwell Ont..
This was in response to a final phase requirement by The Minister of National Defence that the Museum provide substantive proof of secured funding for the Project.
OJIBWA is another step closer towards arriving at her new home, (projected arrival date...8 Sept 2012), in Port Burwell on the North Shore of Lake ERIE.
We at The MUSEUM are profoundly grateful to the people of Bayham Township for their overwhelming support
in this endeavour.
For further info or to see how you can assist the project please visit the Museum website....www.elginmilitarymuseum.ca or www.projectojibwa.ca
Jim Ziegler, Board of Directors, The ELGIN MILITARY MUSEUM ST. Thomas Ont.
Good Evening..... On behalf of the Board of Directors of The Elgin Military Museum I am pleased to announce that this evening The Township Council of Bayham voted to act as financial Guarantor for the Museum with respect to a 6 Million dollar line of credit for the movement and set up of H.M.C.S. OJIBWA as a permanent, shore mounted, Naval Museum in Port Burwell Ont..
This was in response to a final phase requirement by The Minister of National Defence that the Museum provide substantive proof of secured funding for the Project.
OJIBWA is another step closer towards arriving at her new home, (projected arrival date...8 Sept 2012), in Port Burwell on the North Shore of Lake ERIE.
We at The MUSEUM are profoundly grateful to the people of Bayham Township for their overwhelming support
in this endeavour.
For further info or to see how you can assist the project please visit the Museum website....www.elginmilitarymuseum.ca or www.projectojibwa.ca
Jim Ziegler, Board of Directors, The ELGIN MILITARY MUSEUM ST. Thomas Ont.
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I will be out to see this!
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