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Ville-class tugs
CFAV Merrickville in Halifax -b
Ville-class Tug CFAV Merrickville
Class overview
Builders: Georgetown Shipyard, Georgetown, Prince Edward Island
Vito Steel, Delta, British Columbia[1]
Operators: Naval Jack of Canada Royal Canadian Navy
Built: 1974–1975
In commission: 1975–present
Completed: 5
Active: 5
General characteristics
Type: Ville-class Tugboat
Displacement: 45 long tons (46 t)
Length: 19.5 m (64 ft 0 in)
Beam: 4.72 m (15 ft 6 in)
Draught: 2.74 m (9 ft 0 in)
Installed power:
  • East coast Villes - 1 x Caterpillar 3406 diesel at 365 hp (272 kW)
  • West coast Villes - 1 x Caterpillar D343 rated at 365 hp (272 kW)
Propulsion: 1 x steerable kort nozzle
Notes: Bollard pull: 7.5 tons

The Ville-class harbour tugboats are a class of tugboats employed by the Royal Canadian Navy.[2][3]

Canada operated a fleet of 17 ton tugs, built during the Second World War which were also called the Ville-class.[3] The current vessels are named after the those vessels.[4] 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.[3]

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 and loses speed in turns.[3]

Ships[]

The five vessels are:

  • CFAV Lawrenceville (YTL 590)
  • CFAV Parksville (YTL 591)
  • CFAV Listerville (YTL 592)
  • CFAV Merrickville (YTL 593)
  • CFAV Marysville (YTL 594)

Listerville, Merrickville and Maryville are based at CFB Halifax, on Canada's East Coast. Lawrenceville and Parksville are based at CFB Esquimalt.

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.[3][5][6] The larger tugs are also split between both coasts.

References[]

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