Severn-class lifeboat (Canada)

High-Endurance Search and Rescue Lifeboats

Class overview
Name| Bay class
Builders| Hike Metal Products Ltd., Wheatley Chantier Naval Forillon, Gaspé
Operators|  Canadian Coast Guard
Preceded by| Arun-class
Cost| $151 million CAD
Built| 2015-
In service| 2017–
Planned| 20
Building| 4
Completed| 10
Active| 10
General characteristics
Displacement| 62.5 t (69 short tons)
Length| 19 metres (62 ft)
Beam| 6.3 metres (21 ft)
Draught| 1.67 metres (5.5 ft)
Propulsion| 2 x Wajax MTU 10V2000 M94 engines; 1,600 hp (1,193 kW)
Speed| 23.5 knots (27.0 mph; 43.5 km/h)
Range| 100 nmi (190 km)
Capacity| Two (2) survivors on stretchers and up to twelve (12) seated survivors.
Complement| 4+2

The Bay Class Lifeboat is a Robert Allan Ltd. modification of the shorter Royal National Lifeboat Institution's Severn-class lifeboat to meet the needs of the Canadian Coast Guard for off-shore search and rescue operations in severe conditions. They are referred to as the Bay class as each one is named after a Canadian bay.[1]

## Programme[edit]

In 2015, the Canadian Coast Guard announced a request for proposals (RFP) to build up to ten new search and rescue lifeboats as part of Canada's National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy. The total has now been increased to 20, with Hike Metal Products of Wheatley, Ontario and Chantier Naval Forillon of Gaspé, Quebec equally building 10 each.[2]

The vessels are intended to replace the Coast Guard's ten Arun-class lifeboats, which averaged 18 years of service at the time of the RFP.[3]

The new design is the work of Canadian nautical architectural firm Robert Allan Ltd. and is a modification of the Severn-class lifeboat, making the vessels more suited to the extreme weather conditions that can be found off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.[4] Capable of 23.5 knots (43.5 km/h; 27.0 mph), the new vessels will be faster than the earlier 18.5kt Arun-class vessels.[5] They are capable of operating in 12-metre (39 ft) waves, and in wind conditions at 12 on the Beaufort scale.[6] The vessels' hulls will be aluminum, not FRC (fibre reinforced composite), as with the original Severn design.

## Fleet[edit]

CCGS ON [7] | Name  | Built  | In Service  | Station  | Comments

|
|
|
|
|

840996  | Baie de Plaisance | CNF 2017  | 2018–  | Cap-aux-Meules, Iles de la Madeleine, Quebec |
841103  | Pennant Bay | HMP 2017  | 2018–  | Saint Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador |
842018  | McIntyre Bay | HMP 2017  | 2018–  | Prince Rupert, British Columbia |
842071  | Pachena Bay | CNF 2018  | 2018–  | Port Hardy, British Columbia |
842740  | Sacred Bay | HMP 2019  | 2019–  | Old Perlican, Newfoundland and Labrador |
842854  | Conception Bay | CNF 2019  | 2019–  | Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador |
843681  | Cadboro Bay | CNF 2021  | 2021–  | Tahsis, British Columbia |
843977  | Florencia Bay | HMP 2020  |  | Hartley Bay, British Columbia |
844581  | Hare Bay | CNF 2021  | 2021–  | Sambro, Nova Scotia |
844861  | La Poile Bay | HMP 2020  | 2021–  | Louisbourg, Nova Scotia |
845658  | Chignecto Bay | CNF 2021  | 2022–  | Port Bickerton, Nova Scotia |
845659  | Shediac Bay | HMP 2020  | 2022–  | Saint John, New Brunswick |

## References[edit]

1. ^ "High-Endurance Search and Rescue Lifeboats ('Bay Class')". 25 July 2019.
2. ^ "Government of Canada to invest in eight search and rescue lifeboats for Canadian Coast Guard". 6 December 2018.
3. ^ "Canada issues RFP for SAR lifeboats". Marine Log. 26 November 2014. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
4. ^ "New Robert Allan lifeboats". Maritime Journal. 15 July 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
5. ^ "Robert Allan Design New Canadian Coast Guard SAR Lifeboats". Marine Link. 15 July 2013. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. "The new Canadian design is larger with a greater range than the RNLI vessel and has been specifically designed to handle the worst weather encountered year around in the waters off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. The new design is also for construction in aluminium rather than FRP as are the Severn Class."
6. ^ "Robert Allan LTD. Design a new generation of high-endurance self-righting lifeboats for Canadian Coast Guard". 12 July 2013.
7. ^ "Bay Class Fleet". Government of Canada. Retrieved 21 November 2023.

*[CNF]: Chantier Naval Forillon of Gaspé, Quebec
*[HMP]: Hike Metal Products of Wheatley, Ontario