The Orca class vessels are primarily used to facilitate the two-to-six-week long at sea phases of naval officer training. They are also used to train non-commissioned members and provide an at sea experience for members of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets. They are also frequently tasked for search and rescue operations, assistance to boaters in distress, conducting coastal surveillance and port security operations.
PCT 59 Wolf and PCT 60 Grizzly at HMCS Quadra
The Orca class have an Integrated Control Platform System for ship control and monitoring and a sophisticated integrated navigation and electronic chart display and information system that is consistent with the systems in the Kingston and Halifax Class ships.
ORCA class vessels are not commissioned warships, and use the prefix PCT (Patrol Craft Training) instead of HMCS.
- Builder: Victoria Shipyards, Esquimalt, BC
- Delivered: 2006 – 2008
- Material: Steel
- Type: Patrol Craft Training
- Displacement: 210 tons
- Length: 33 m
- Beam: 8.6 m
- Draught: 2.5 m
- Electrical Generation: 3 x 72kW Caterpillar 3054 diesel gensets
- Propulsion: 2 x Caterpillar 3516B diesel engines, 2,500 hp each at 1,600 rpm
- Speed: 23 knots
- Range: 660 nmi
- Fuel storage : 25,000 l
- Fresh water storage: 11,000
- Complement: 4 (minimum); 24 (maximum)
- Armament: None. Foredeck is strengthened to accept a 12.7 mm M2 machinegun.
- Pathfinder NCS 18 X-band navigation radar
- MX420 DGPS (Differential GPS)
- Anschütz gyro
- Anschütz pelorus
- Raytheon GDS101 depth sounder and an .
- Sailor RT4822 VHF-DSC
- SP3300 VHF portable
- Taiyo TD-L1630A VHF DF
- Sailor HC4500B MF/HF/SSB
- Wulfsberg RT-5000 multiband transceiver
- Kannad Search and Rescue Transponder (SART)
- S1210 EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon)