Today, on behalf of the Minister of National Defence, the Honourable David J. McGuinty, the Honourable Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, visited Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Halifax to highlight ongoing efforts to support the future fleet of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN).
In January 2026, the Department of National Defence accepted a third Naval Large Tug, Canadian Forces Auxiliary Vessel (CFAV) Canso, after it successfully sailed in 2025 from the shipyard at Ocean Industries Inc, Îsle-aux-Coudres, Quebec, to Halifax, Nova Scotia, a journey of more than 1,000 nautical miles. Ownership of CFAV Canso will transfer to the Royal Canadian Navy once the crew has completed training, anticipated for March 2026.
CFAV Canso is the first Naval Large Tug to be delivered to the East Coast, with a second Naval Large Tug, Stella Maris, scheduled to arrive in November 2026. In August 2024, CFAVs Haro and Barkerville were delivered to the RCN in Esquimalt, British Columbia, on the West Coast.
Naval Large Tugs provide essential harbour and coastal support to the RCN, including harbour-berthing, coastal towing, and harbour firefighting. As the RCN continues to modernize, build and expand its fleet-with the Harry DeWolf-class Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels, Protecteur-class Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment vessels and River-class destroyers-the demand for harbour support services will increase.
In preparation for the RCN's growing operational requirements, the Government of Canada amended the contract with Oceans Industries Inc., in December 2025, increasing the value by $81 million (including tax)-for a total contract value of $213.45 million-to deliver two additional Naval Large Tugs. Building the additional tugs through the same shipyard will leverage existing capacity and capabilities to create efficiencies that streamline production and accelerate delivery of the auxiliary vessels to the RCN.
Keeping with the naming tradition for Naval Large Tugs in the RCN, the two additional tugs are also named after straits:
- CFAV Sansum is named after Sansum Narrows in British Columbia, out of respect of the coastal area where the tug will serve.
- CFAV Belle Isle is named after the Strait of Belle Isle, which lies between Newfoundland and Labrador, an area of historical significance for navigation in the Atlantic.
Naming Naval Large Tugs after straits commemorates the symbolic similarities in function between waterways and tugs, with both providing safe maritime passage and manoeuvrability.
Once all six tugs are in operation, the RCN will be equipped with three tugs on the East Coast and three tugs on the West Coast, providing a redundancy of vessels to compensate for capability gaps during maintenance or repairs and, ultimately, strengthening overall fleet readiness. Expanding the scope of the project will also help sustain between 40 and 60 Canadian jobs at the shipyard while supporting the Naval Large Tug project.
