THEIR SHIP CAME IN
Seaspan to build icebreaker
North Vancouver's Seaspan Shipyards will build one of two new flagship icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard with the second to be built by rival Davie Shipbuilding in Levis, Que., Fisheries and Oceans Minister Bernadette Jordan announced Thursday.
Thursday's decision doubles up on the long-promised project as a cornerstone in plans to revitalize Canada's icebreaker fleet and restores an element of what was initially promised to Seaspan in 2011 when it was awarded the non-combatant portion of the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) of former prime minister Stephen Harper.
“This is a great day for Seaspan and ... the 1,400 folks who are going to build this in North Vancouver,” said Amy MacLeod, vice-president of corporate affairs for Seaspan, which rebuilt its yard specifically to accommodate the anticipated 150-metre-long ship.
“This vessel should be built on the West Coast,” MacLeod said, just like four of the coast guard's eight existing icebreakers were in decades past.
A single polar icebreaker, under the name CCGS John G. Diefenbaker, was arguably the crown jewel in a seven-ship package that comprised that part of the NSS, which was quietly removed in 2019 after delays and cost escalations in other parts of the program.
Davie Shipbuilding, which lost out in the initial NSS bidding, argued it was best-placed to pick up the Diefenbaker project, because it won a subsequent bid to build six intermediate icebreakers, but both yards lobbied fiercely to secure the contract.
Both firms were rewarded in the end owing to revised specifications for changing conditions in Canada's Arctic.
“There is a lot of pedigree, there is a lot of heritage and history of shipbuilding icebreaking vessels in B.C. and it's just a thrill that we're going to be able to bring this one back,” said MacLeod, who added that Seaspan was as surprised as everyone Thursday to learn it had been expanded to two ships.
However, she said Seaspan understands the rationale that Canada requires redundancy in its capability for a year-round presence in the Arctic, where other countries are trying to tap into its resources.
Thursday's decision was also pleasing for Premier John Horgan, who claimed some credit for B.C.'s lobbying efforts to bring the ship back to North Van.
“We've been `all-hands-on-deck' to make sure this vessel is built in B.C., benefiting B.C. workers,” he said in a news release, about a decision that will also deliver benefits to the Squamish, Tsleil Waututh, Haisla, Songhees, Esquimalt, Snuneymuxw and Old Masset First Nations, which have partnership agreements with Seaspan.
Jordan said the addition of a second vessel reflected the changing conditions in Canada's increasingly accessible Arctic. Splitting the work between two yards, she added, was a prudent move to ensure both vessels arrive on time.
The decision boosts shipbuilding in two key provinces for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, but will come at considerable additional cost to the taxpayer. As of 2013, the budget for a single ship had increased to $1.3 billion, up from $721 million when it was first announced, with an expected delivery date of 2017.
Jordan didn't offer a revised budget for the icebreaker program Thursday. MacLeod said their first task will be to hammer out details for a contract to build the icebreaker, but Seaspan will be ready to start cutting steel for construction, which will fit seamlessly back into its schedule.
One of the two new icebreakers is expected to be complete by 2030 to replace the now-55-year-old CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent, which is the fleet's existing flagship.