New Icebreakers

Dr. Ann Griffiths, 6 May 2021

Once upon a time (i.e., 2011), the Harper government included the construction of one heavy icebreaker into the work schedule of what was then called the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy. This icebreaker was to be built at Seaspan in British Columbia. In June 2019, for several reasons, the Trudeau government moved construction of the heavy icebreaker out of Seaspan’s schedule, and in February 2020, the government asked shipyards to compete to build the ship. Today we learned that the federal government will add two icebreakers instead of one to the Coast Guard fleet, and that instead of selecting one shipyard to build the one icebreaker, shipyards in both Quebec and Vancouver will each build one. It’s not necessarily bad news but it’s a bit puzzling.

Link: Vancouver, Quebec shipyards to each get new heavy icebreaker, cost remains a mystery | CTV News

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