The federal government announced details Thursday of plans to purchase two new heavy ice breakers for the coast guard’s Arctic operations, expanding the capabilities of its aging fleet.
The flagship polar icebreaker, already designated as the CCGS John G. Diefenbaker, will be built by Vancouver-based Seaspan, the government announced. When completed, it will be the largest ship in the coast guard’s fleet, expected to cost well over $1 billion.
Hamilton-based Heddle Shipyards will partner with Seaspan on the project, bringing work to facilities including a shipyard it operates in Thunder Bay.
“For us, it’s huge,” said Ted Kirkpatrick, Heddle’s director of business development and government relations. “It’s certainly one of the biggest developments for Heddle.”
He called the news “big win” for Ontario’s economy as well, involving the province in Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy, a multi-billion dollar plan to renew the country’s combat and non-combat fleets.
It’s not yet clear exactly how much work the project will bring to the Thunder Bay shipyard, which Heddle purchased in 2016, Kirkpatrick said.
“We absolutely foresee there’ll be benefits to Thunder Bay,” he said. “In terms of what and when and how much, it’s too early to say.”
However, he said it was certain to create some new jobs here.
“This will have an impact on job creation across all of our facilities,” he said, including others in Hamilton, Port Weller, and Newfoundland.
Kirkpatrick said the Thunder Bay shipyard’s proximity to Vancouver, compared to those other facilities, could offer a strategic advantage.
In a release issued Thursday, Seaspan said the polar icebreaker contract would sustain around 1,400 jobs at its Vancouver shipyard, and a similar amount in the industry across the country.
Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP Marcus Powlowski said he had worked with MPs in the other Ontario communities that would be impacted, urging the government to consider "the importance that the polar icebreaker contract would have for our province's shipyards" in evaluating bids for the contract.
"I was very excited to see that the icebreaker contract was awarded to Heddle Shipyards, which is a key player at the Thunder Bay port," he said in a release Friday. "According to my communications with the company throughout the fall and winter, this contract will be a great boost to our local economy and create more well-paying jobs for our city."
Thunder Bay’s role will involve constructing modules and ship components to be transported to Vancouver for assembly, similar to work the shipyard has done under previous agreements with Seaspan, Kirkpatrick anticipated.
Heddle president Shaun Padulo was optimistic about what the polar icebreaker contract could mean for Thunder Bay when the companies announced in 2020 they would team up to bid on the sought-after contract.
“I think there will be a significant amount of work for Thunder Bay," he said, "for at least five to 10 years."
Thunder Bay-Superior North MP Patty Hajdu said Friday in a statement she was "eager to see the benefits" the contract would bring for the community.
"Heddle Shipyards is an important employer in our community, and this investment in the marine industry is great news for local shipbuilders."
Heddle’s local site has served as a shipbuilding hub before, with hundreds employed by the former Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company and a peak workforce of over 2,000 during World War II.
Canada’s two new icebreakers will be larger and more powerful than the ships they will replace, the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent and CCGS Terry Fox.
That will allow them to operate in more challenging ice conditions and at higher latitudes, the federal government said. The ships will also have a longer operational range and enhanced research capabilities, including laboratories and moon pools.
The ships will be 150 meters in length, with a beam of 28 meters, and a top speed of approximately 18-plus knots, the government said. They will accommodate up to 100 crew and personnel, with a range of around 30,000 nautical miles.
At least one of the ships is expected to be ready by 2030, when Canada’s current largest icebreaker, the Louis S. St-Laurent, is set to retire after around six decades of service.
The replacement that Seaspan is now set to build was originally budgeted by the Harper government at $721 million and scheduled for delivery more than five years ago. That contract faced numerous delays and was later rescinded by the government in 2019, before Thursday's announcement that Seaspan was once again selected.
The federal government also announced Quebec's Davie shipyard would build a second heavy icebreaker. The shipyard is set to join Seaspan and Irving Shipbuilding on the east coast as a third company eligible for National Shipbuilding Strategy contracts.
The leader of the Bloc Quebecois, Yves-Francois Blanchet, called the government’s promise of a second ship built in Quebec a political move ahead of a potential election.
Davie had also lobbied for the original single-ship polar icebreaker job.
Heddle had earlier partnered unsuccessfully with a Dutch-based company in an effort to qualify as the third partner in the National Shipbuilding Strategy, through which the federal government has so far committed over $17 billion to renew its fleets. While Heddle was unsuccessful, that bid ultimately led to a productive partnership with Seaspan.
“We are going to potentially be able to play an even more meaningful role than if we had become the third yard,” Padulo said last year.
Seaspan has so far delivered more than 20 vessels to the coast guard under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, with other orders underway. That has included three large offshore fisheries science vessels, and 18 smaller vessels, including search and rescue lifeboats, channel survey and sounding vessels, hydrographic survey vessels, and one coastal research vessel.
Helping to build the new polar icebreaker will also build Heddle’s capacity to win future jobs, Kirkpatrick said. The company aspires to become Canada's shipyard of choice for constructing vessels less than 1,000 tons, he noted.
A timeline for the polar icebreaker remains uncertain, with the contract still to be finalized, and design work remaining to be done, said Kirkpatrick.
Work on the program is set to begin immediately upon the award of a contract, Seaspan said Thursday.
