Sending HMCS Regina to sea seaworthy

Fleet Maintenance Facility Cape Breton employees put in a combined 27,000 hours of work to ensure HMCS Regina would be ready for Operation Artemis.

It will be a point of pride for Fleet Maintenance Facility (FMF) Cape Breton when HMCS Regina leaves its homeport for international waters this week.

Throughout the warship are the results of more than 27,000 hours of hard work preparing the ship for Operation Artemis, a major deployment to the Arabian Sea to participate in maritime security and counter-terrorism operations.

“It is no small task preparing a ship for deployment,” says Lt(N) Mohamed Gudal, Deputy Program Manager for FMF. “It takes the combined efforts of many of our shops to get a ship technically ready, and it’s usually done under a very tight schedule. It’s the kind of work we pride ourselves on.”

The FMF team prepared Regina for its operation during the ship’s Short Work Period from Oct. 21 to Nov. 29, 2013; 135 jobs were completed.

These jobs ran the gamut of mission fits, new system installations, communications fits, system upgrades, diesel generator repairs and upgrades, and inspections and certifications.

“Our ability to work together and provide all facets of a job together is our greatest strength,” says Lt(N) Gudal.

One of the largest jobs was the upgrades to Regina’s diesel generators. These generators provide power to the ship’s system and are integral for its operation.

“We conducted work on Regina’s diesel generators that implemented product improvements to ensure enhanced reliability for the generators,” says John Yardley, Work Centre Supervisor of the Diesel Shop at FMF. “Necessary materials were obtained, and in partnership with industry, the required work was carried out.”

The Diesel Shop partnered with Wartsila Canada, a Finnish corporation that manufactures and maintains combustion engines. They split up work on the generators between the two teams.

“It was a great partnership and we’re very happy with the work we both did,” he says.

This work was just one piece of the overall ship preparations. Lt(N) Gudal says FMF thrives on the challenge and its employees pride themselves on meeting their schedule.

“To be able to get this mammoth amount of work done in this amount of time is definitely a point of pride,” he says. “When we stick to the schedule and get our work done we know we’re rising to the challenge and providing the crew with the best ship possible. It feels good.”

Regina, its crew and an embarked Sea King helicopter and air crew left Esquimalt Jan. 6 for an eight month deployment. They are replacing HMCS Toronto.

-Shawn O’Hara, Staff Writer