The Royal Canadian Navy's tugs are considered to be auxiliairies, and are not commsssioned as naval vessels. They operate with civilian crews under the direction of the King's (formerly Queen's) Harbour Master. They work in and around HMC Dockyards in Halifax and Esquimalt, BC, but can also make longer trips to assist other naval vessels, tow vessels to refits at distant shipyards.
The Navy is in the process of replacing the current fleet of Glen class tugs - regrettably losing the "Glen" prefix for its larger tugs. The Glen naming scheme began during World War II when a small fleet of 500 bhp (+ OR -) wood and steel tugs were built for naval use. See my post from May 8, 2013
The last of those Glens in naval service were replaced in the late 1970s with the current Glens - three of which are based in Halifax. The first replacement for the Halifax Glens, named Canso, has been undergoing trials in Quebec City and will be delivered soon. The second, to be named Stella Maris, will arrive from the Industrie Océan Shipyard in 2026. Two of the new tugs were delivered to the west coast in August 2024. There will only be two new tugs for Halifax. They will replace the three Glens and a previously retired fire float.
All of the above is background to the focus of this post which are the Ville class of small "pup" tugs. There are three of these based in Halifax as well and they can be seen doing all sorts of activities such as security patrols, fender moves, small barge moves, ship berthing - usually with Glens, but sometimes solo. They date from 1974 and are modestly powered at 365 bhp with a 7.5 ton bollard pull (when new).
The Merrickville underway March 15, 2025.
As with their larger fleet mates, the Villes take their names from a previous generation of World War II tugs - see my post of February 18, 2012 - and numerous other posts over the years.
Sadly the three Villes working in Halifax the Granville , Listerville and Merrickville are, I hear, in deplorable condition. However no announcement has been made about replacements. For the past few days the Listerville has been tied up at Dominion Diving's yard in Dartmouth Cove. Although it does look slightly forlorn, it may be possible to give it a refit to squeeze a bit more work out of it.
The Listerville alongside Dominion Diving's Dominion Victory, December 4, 2025.
Several Canadian civilian owners have recently acquired new tugs of this size (but with more power) most of them built in Canada too. So it would seem reasonable that several Canadian yards with recent small tug deliveries, could provide tugs of "off the shelf" design quickly without going through the usual agonizingly slow and over spec'd process.
If and when replacements arrive, lets hope that the "Ville" naming tradition will be followed.
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