Asterix at Davie Shipyard

Shipbuilders and Near-Death Experiences

A few days ago Davie Shipyard in Quebec invited the public and various governmental, defence/navy and industry representatives to its drydock. The event was the unveiling of MV Asterix which Davie is converting into an interim supply ship for the navy. Davie says that the ship will be delivered to the navy this fall. Asterix will be a Resolve-class auxiliary oiler replenishment ship and will fill a current gap in the navy’s capability. Once it’s delivered, the navy won’t have to rely on allies for fuel at sea. That’s great news. But what’s interesting news for the Canadian shipbuilding industry is that Davie seems to be flourishing after its near-death experience on the brink of bankruptcy a few years ago. This will make the competition among the few shipbuilders in Canada even more intense.

See an interesting article by Glenn Wanamaker, “Is Quebec City’s Troubled Davie Shipyard Making a Comeback?” CBC News, 22 July 2017, http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/davie-shipyard-supply-ship-unveiled-1.4214671.

But it’s also interesting how this article compares to an article about Davie published in May. See Barrie McKenna, “Quebec’s Davie Shipyard: The Boondoggle that Keeps on Taking.” http://newsmaritimes.ca/2017/05/26/quebecs-davie-shipyard-the-boondoggle-that-keeps-taking/

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