Originally posted by Brock:
[qb] Ex-Dragoon. The current Protecteur AOR class operate with a crew of about 275--excluding air detachment; 365 with--whereas modern AOR ships operate with only 125 give or take a few sailors. Four AOR ships with a crew of 125 add up to 500, plus two transport ships at 125 add up to 750 sailors and officers versus 550 and don‘t forget we only very recently retired the HMCS Preserver which if you add it up equals 825 crew members for only 3 ships. A pretty good deal all things considered more ships and therefore longer sustained op tempo, with lower personnel requirements. What a deal. The Dutch Navy has two ship designs that could suit the Canadian Navy‘s needs very well without breaking the budget.
check out this link at http://www.scheldeshipbuilding.com/schelde%20enforcer.htm :look at the "Enforcer" amphibious transport ship designs that are low cost and two of the medium sized designs would perfectly suit army support and sealift needs. The British, Dutch and Spanish navies operate 8 ships based on this design built in the last 10 years.
This link shows http://www.scheldeshipbuilding.com/products.html# the Dutch Navy‘s "Amsterdam" fleet logistic support ship design, also very well suited to the Canadian Navy‘s needs. [/qb]