Severn-class lifeboat (Canada)

Port Side of CGCS Mcintyre Bay in Port Edward, British Columbia
Class overview
Name	Bay class
Builders	Hike Metal Products Ltd., Wheatley Chantier Naval Forillon, Gaspé
Operators	Canadian Coast Guard
Preceded by	Arun-class
Cost	$151 million CAD
Built	2015-
In service	2017–
Planned	20
Building	2
Completed	19
Active	18
General characteristics
Displacement	62.5 t (69 short tons)
Length	19 metres (62 ft)
Beam	6.3 metres (21 ft)
Draught	1.67 metres (5.5 ft)
Propulsion	2 x Wajax MTU 10V2000 M94 engines; 1,600 hp (1,193 kW)
Speed	23.5 knots (27.0 mph; 43.5 km/h)
Range	100  nmi (190 km)
Capacity	Two (2) survivors on stretchers and up to twelve (12) seated survivors.
Complement	4+2

The Bay Class Lifeboat is a Robert Allan Ltd. modification of the shorter Royal National Lifeboat Institution's Severn-class lifeboat to meet the needs of the Canadian Coast Guard for off-shore search and rescue operations in severe conditions. They are referred to as the Bay class as each one is named after a Canadian bay. ^[1]

Programme

In 2015, the Canadian Coast Guard announced a request for proposals (RFP) to build up to ten new search and rescue lifeboats as part of Canada's National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy. The total has now been increased to 20, with Hike Metal Products of Wheatley, Ontario and Chantier Naval Forillon of Gaspé, Quebec equally building 10 each. ^[2]

The vessels are intended to replace the Coast Guard's ten Arun-class lifeboats, which averaged 18 years of service at the time of the RFP. ^[3]

The new design is the work of Canadian nautical architectural firm Robert Allan Ltd. and is a modification of the Severn-class lifeboat, making the vessels more suited to the extreme weather conditions that can be found off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. ^[4] Capable of 23.5 knots (43.5 km/h; 27.0 mph), the new vessels will be faster than the earlier 18.5kt Arun-class vessels. ^[5] They are capable of operating in 12-metre (39 ft) waves, and in wind conditions at 12 on the Beaufort scale. ^[6] The vessels' hulls will be aluminum, not FRC (fibre reinforced composite), as with the original Severn design.

Fleet

CCGS ON [7]	Name	Built	Call Sign	In Service	Station	MMSI [8]	Comments
840996	Baie de Plaisance	2017 CNF		2018–	Cap-aux-Meules, Magdalen Islands, Que	316035925	[9]
841103	Pennant Bay	2017 HMP	CGA2542	2018–	Saint Anthony, NL	316035929	[10]
842018	McIntyre Bay	2017 HMP		2018–	Prince Rupert, BC	316038296	[11]
842071	Pachena Bay	2018 CNF		2018–	Port Hardy, BC	316038603	[12]
842740	Sacred Bay	2019 HMP	CGB3254	2019–	Old Perlican, NL	316039713
842854	Conception Bay	2019 CNF	CGS6493	2019–	Twillingate, NL	316039989	[13]
843681	Cadboro Bay	2021 CNF		2021–	Tahsis, BC	316041898	[14]
843977	Florencia Bay	2020 HMP		2021–	Hartley Bay, BC	316041901
844581	Hare Bay	2021 CNF	CGB2514	2021–	Sambro, NS	316044024	[15]
844861	La Poile Bay	2020 HMP	CGNX	2021–	Louisbourg, NS	316041477	[16]
845658	Chignecto Bay	2021 CNF	CGR3416	2022–	Port Bickerton, NS	316045112	[17]
845659	Shediac Bay	2020 HMP	CGA4138	2022–	Saint John, NB	316045113	[18]
846080	Chedabucto Bay	2022 CNF		2023–	Clark's Harbour, NS	316047969	[19]
846284	Gabarus Bay	2022 HMP		2023–	Burgeo, NL	316047972	[20]
847139	Barrington Bay	2023 HMP		2023–	Burin, NL	316049299	[21]
847349	Baie des Chaleurs	2023 CNF		2024–	Louisbourg, NS	316049307	[22]
848026	Groswater Bay	2024 HMP		2025–	Lark Harbour, NL	316051765	[23]
848311	Cascumpec Bay	2024 CNF		2025–	Shippagan, NB	316051802	[24]
	Mira Bay	2025 HMP					[25]
	Baie de Gaspé	CNF

References

1. "High-Endurance Search and Rescue Lifeboats ('Bay Class')". 25 July 2019.
2. "Government of Canada to invest in eight search and rescue lifeboats for Canadian Coast Guard". 6 December 2018.
3. "Canada issues RFP for SAR lifeboats". Marine Log. 26 November 2014. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
4. "New Robert Allan lifeboats". Maritime Journal. 15 July 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
5. "Robert Allan Design New Canadian Coast Guard SAR Lifeboats". Marine Link. 15 July 2013. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. The new Canadian design is larger with a greater range than the RNLI vessel and has been specifically designed to handle the worst weather encountered year around in the waters off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. The new design is also for construction in aluminium rather than FRP as are the Severn Class.
6. "Robert Allan LTD. Design a new generation of high-endurance self-righting lifeboats for Canadian Coast Guard". 12 July 2013.
7. "Bay Class Fleet". Government of Canada. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
8. "Marine Traffic".
9. "The Canadian Coast Guard officially commissions the CCGS Baie de Plaisance in the Magdalen Islands" (Press release). Canadian Coast Guard. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
10. "Canadian Coast Guard names new SAR lifeboat". navaltoday.com. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
11. "CCGS McIntyre Bay Officially Dedicated into Service". VanguardCanada.com. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
12. "NGCC Pachena Bay". Chantier Naval Forillon. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
13. "Canadian Coast Guard Ship Conception Bay". Government of Canada. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
14. "Canadian Coast Guard Officially Opens New Hartley Bay Station and Dedicates CCGS Cadboro Bay into Service". Government of Canada. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
15. "New Canadian Coast Guard lifeboat dedicated into service in Nova Scotia". Saltwire. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
16. "CCGS La Poile Bay Dedicated into Service, Strengthening the Canadian Coast Guard Fleet". VanguardCanada.com. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
17. "Canadian Coast Guard welcomes the CCGS Chignecto Bay into service". Government of Canada. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
18. "Durable coast guard rescue boat for Canada's Atlantic waters". Baird Maritime. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
19. "New Lifeboat Enters Service for the Canadian Coast Guard". MarineLink. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
20. "New SAR Vessel Enters Service for the Canadian Coast Guard". MarineLink. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
21. "Canadian Coast Guard's newest rescue boat formally enters service". Baird Maritime. 12 August 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
22. "Canadian Coast Guard rescue boat built for Atlantic sailing conditions". Baird Maritime. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
23. "New rescue boat delivered to Canadian Coast Guard". Baird Maritime. 6 September 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
24. "Future Canadian Coast Guard rescue boat hits the water". Baird Maritime. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
25. "Canadian Coast Guard celebrates the completion of the 10th and final Bay Class search and rescue vessel, the CCGS Mira Bay". Government of Canada. 11 September 2025. Retrieved 26 September 2025.