THUNDER BAY – A new agreement to complete work on three Royal Canadian Navy ships will bring jobs to Thunder Bay – though the exact local impact remains unclear.
Hamilton-based Heddle Shipyards, which also operates shipyards in Thunder Bay and St. Catharines, has entered into a long-term agreement with Vancouver-based shipyard Seaspan.
Under the agreement, Heddle will be the primary supplier for ladders, gratings, and handrails for two joint support ships and an oceanographic science vessel being built for the navy.
The work is expected to employ 50 workers in Ontario across Heddle’s three shipyards over the next decade, with one of the support ships already under construction.
That will bring work to Thunder Bay, said Premier Doug Ford Thursday, participating in an announcement of the new agreement in Hamilton. It is unclear how much of the work will be performed here, however.
The two companies also announced they are partnering to bid on construction of a polar icebreaker for the Canadian Coast Guard.
