Naval Large Tugboat


The Naval Large Tugboat is a class of naval tugboat operated by the Royal Canadian Navy. Four Naval Large Tugboats are being built by Ocean Industries Inc. of L'Isle-aux-Coudres under the National Shipbuilding Strategy. The first two tugboats will be based at CFB Esquimalt, and last two will be based at CFB Halifax. The steel cutting for the first NLT commenced in September 2020 and the lead ship, CFAV Haro, was launched on 15 July 2022.

Design and description

The Naval Large Tugs, prefixed List of current ships of the [Royal Canadian Navy|Canadian Forces Auxiliary Vessel], will replace the five s and the fire and rescue boat which were brought into service in the mid-1970s. The Glen-class tugs which the NLTs are replacing have a bollard pull of and on each side. The NLTs have much increased power at of bollard pull and Azimuth stern drive propulsion with per side. The NLTs will measure long overall with a moulded beam of and a draught of. They will be powered by a two MAN 12V175D-MM diesel engines. They will have a maximum speed of and have a crew of six.

Ships in class

  • CFAV Haro
  • CFAV Barkerville
  • CFAV Canso
  • CFAV ''Stella Maris''

Construction and career

On 29 April 2019, Groupe Ocean was awarded a $102 million contract for four tugboats to be built at their shipyard at L'Isle-aux-Coudres as part of the National Shipbuilding Strategy. The build cost of the four NLTs later rose to $121 million. In December 2021, the Government of Canada announced the names for the four ships, Haro, Barkerville, Canso, and Stella Maris. Two of the ships, Haro and Canso commemorate important straits in Canadian waters while Barkerville and Stella Maris commemorate tugboats that were lost or damaged in service in Canadian waters. The steel cutting for the first NLT commenced in September 2020, with main construction beginning in November. They were initially expected to completed in 2022, however, supply chain issues delayed their completion. The lead ship, CFAV Haro, was launched on 15 July 2022. Upon completion, two of the ships, Haro and Barkerville, will serve on the west coast and Canso and Stella Maris will operate on the east coast.