TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th November, 2020) Canada's Department of National Defense (DND) is backing a ship purchase after the parliamentary budget watchdog uncovered cheaper alternatives, the DND said in a statement.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released a report, which said that the DND could have saved more than $2 billion by buying out currently rented oiler replenishment vessels as opposed to proceeding with a $3.1 billion custom-made Joint Support Ship project.
"The Department of National Defence (DND) has reviewed the PBO report entitled, The Joint Support Ship program and the MV Asterix: a Fiscal Analysis, and notes that there are a number of key factors that were not taken into account as they are outside the scope of the report," the department said on Tuesday evening.
The DND said the report did not account for the difference in military capabilities of the two vessels. The DND stressed that its priority is to give service members the safest equipment possible, noting that the modified civilian tanker MV Asterix, does not have a mine-avoidance degaussing system nor systems to detect and protect against nuclear threats.
The DND added that the PBO's analysis did not factor in the costs to modify and contract the vessel to date.
However, military experts have noted that resupply vessels are usually among the first to be removed from direct conflict zones over concerns that a strike against such a vessel could ignite a devastating explosion.
ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems Canada is expected to deliver the oft-delayed ships in 2023 and 2025. The Canadian government's contract with Chantier Davie Canada Inc. for the two modified resupply ships runs out in fiscal year 2022-23.
