The Canadian government has awarded a $3.25bn contract to the Québec-based shipbuilder Davie to build a new polar icebreaker.
Through this deal Davie will deliver its production-ready heavy icebreaker design called the Polar Max to Canada by 2030.
To support the rapid delivery of the ship, Davie said it “will capitalize on the expertise of Helsinki Shipyard, which was acquired by Davie in 2023 with the support of the Québec government.”
To remind, Davie acquired in November 2023 Finland’s Helsinki Shipyard, an expert in icebreaker design and construction. The shipyard has built over 50% of all the world’s icebreakers.
Davie president and CEO, James Davies, said the project will accelerate economic benefits for Quebecers and strengthen the skills of his Lévis shipbuilders.
“In a volatile world, we can and must forge shipbuilding collaborations with trusted allies like Finland to secure shared interests,” he said.
The company emphasized that this contract is a “huge win for the ICE Pact” and that the Polar Max will be the first flagship project of the trilateral partnership.
“It will be proof that transatlantic collaboration is possible with the Polar Max delivered by Canadian shipbuilders supported by their Finnish colleagues,” it noted.
From his side, Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Quebec Lieutenant, pointed out: “This state-of-the-art vessel will not only strengthen our icebreaking fleet, but will also support critical scientific research and environmental protection efforts, and ensure national security in the Arctic.”
Earlier this week, Shipping Telegraph reported that the North Vancouver-based Seaspan Shipyards (Seaspan) has also secured a contract to build one of the Canadian Coast Guard’s (CCG) new heavy polar icebreakers.
The government of Canada reported the value of the contract at $3.15-bn contract (before tax) to Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards for the construction of one of CCG’s future polar icebreakers under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS).
The polar icebreaker will be built entirely in Canada at Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards, located in North Vancouver, British Columbia, supporting more than 1,000 local shipbuilders and a broad Canadian supply chain of over 800 Canadian companies.
As disclosed, it will be one of only a handful of Polar Class 2 ships in operation and will allow for the CCG to operate self-sufficiently year-round in the high-Arctic, down to temperatures at -50°C.
