Feds review schedules, budgets for new ships built on coast

Canada’s multibillion-dollar plan to buy new warships for the navy isn’t the only federal shipbuilding project sailing in uncharted waters. Federal officials are reviewing the budgets and construction schedules of the Canadian Coast Guard’s new polar icebreaker and the navy’s two new resupply vessels, all of which are to be built in Vancouver.

The review follows a delay in the construction of three new offshore fisheries science ships for the coast guard at the same shipyard, which must be finished before the other vessels can move ahead.

The first of the three science vessels was to be delivered by the end of this year, but that has now been pushed to next year. The last of the three won’t be ready until 2019.

The delay doesn’t mean the other ships will be affected as well, said Brian Carter, president of Seaspan Shipyards, which owns the Vancouver shipyard where the vessels are being built.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean that the entire program is delayed because the first ship went into the water later than we originally planned,” Carter said.

Carter admitted the first offshore fisheries science vessel has taken longer than expected, but said Seaspan has learned lessons that he hopes will save time on the ships that follow.

“It’s a hell of an accomplishment,” he said. “We learned a lot in the early days, for sure. And the good news is we’ve been able to incorporate what we’ve learned and now here we go, OSFV 1 is heading into the water, and OSFV 2 isn’t far behind it.”

Still, federal officials admit they do not know when the supply ships or the icebreaker will be finished, or how much they will ultimately cost.

Any delay would represent more bad news for the navy, which has been without any resupply ships for the past three years, as well as the coast guard, whose only heavy icebreaker is nearly 50 years old.

Stop-gap measures are in the works, including delivery this winter of a converted civilian ship that the navy will lease as an interim resupply vessel, but those won’t provide the same capabilities.

Taxpayers could also be on the hook if officials determine more money is needed to build the ships, most of which have already seen their budgets increased at least once over the past six years.

The resupply vessels were originally expected to cost $2.3 billion while the budget for the icebreaker was increased in 2013 to $1.3 billion, up from $720 million.

Ottawa in 2011 awarded Seaspan what at the time was expected to be $8 billion worth of work to build the two navy resupply ships and up to 15 new Canadian Coast Guard vessels.

Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax was tapped for what was projected to be $25 billion worth of work to build a fleet of armed Arctic patrol ships and 15 new warships for the navy. The Halifax projects have also experienced delays and cost overruns.