Name Ville class Built 1974–1975 Completed 5 | Operators Royal Canadian Navy In commission 1975–present | |
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Builders Georgetown Shipyard, Georgetown, Prince Edward Island
Vito Steel, Delta, British Columbia | ||
The Ville-class harbour tugboats are a class of tugboats employed by the Royal Canadian Navy.
Contents
Canada operated a fleet of 17-ton tugs, built during the Second World War which were also called the Ville class. The current vessels are named after those vessels. There is confusion that the current Ville-class design was based on the British Pup-class tugs. The original 17-ton version was based on that design, however the new Villes are an independent design.
Design
The Ville class was designed as harbour tugs. They have a low-slung shape that is ideal for tight maneuvering and nudging exercises on larger ships. Their kort-nozzle allows for a greater bollard pull however it loses its pull at anything over 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) and loses speed in turns. The Ville class are 19.5 m (64 ft 0 in) long with a beam of 4.72 m (15 ft 6 in) and a draught of 2.74 m (9 ft 0 in).
Propulsion
Members of the class built on the east coast were given one Caterpillar 3406 diesel that provides 365 horsepower (272 kW) and Ville-class tugs built on the west coast were supplied with one Caterpillar D343 rated at 365 hp (272 kW). This power is directed towards a steerable kort nozzle which gives the class a speed of 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph).
Towing
The Ville class has a max Bollard pull of 7.5 tons, denoting them as small tugboats. The bollard pull measures the amount of pulling or pushing power a ship has.
Other auxiliary ships
The Royal Canadian Navy operates six other, larger tugboats, the 140-ton CFAV Tillicum, and five 250-ton Glen-class tugs, and two 140-ton Fire-class fireboats. The larger tugs are also split between both coasts.