July 11, 2024 – North Vancouver, BC – Seaspan Shipyards welcomes the formation of the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE Pact), the trilateral partnership between Canada, Finland and the United States, designed to enhance collaboration on building best-in-class Arctic and polar icebreakers as well as expand other Arctic and polar capabilities.
As part of Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy, Seaspan is tasked with designing, building and delivering 21 icebreaker vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG). As of today, we have already delivered three icebreaker vessels, and a fourth will be delivered early next year. We are currently well into the design of a heavy Polar icebreaker that will provide year-round operations across the entire Canadian Arctic. Construction of that vessel will start later this year. We are also well into the design of 16 additional medium icebreaker vessels that will be built and delivered over the next 10-20 years. Together with our CCG partner, we stand ready to leverage this Canadian design and build capability to support the ambitious ICE goals announced today.
“Through the strategic foresight of Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard, a world-class icebreaker design and build capability already exists in Canada and can be leveraged for ICE,” said Seaspan Shipyards CEO John McCarthy. “In fact, we have had strategic relationships with Finnish partners – particularly Aker Arctic and Elomatic – for several years on the design of our icebreaker vessels. We are happy to continue this collaboration on expertise and construction capacity with our ICE Pact allies as they seek to boost their Arctic naval capabilities, and project sovereign authority over their respective Arctic territories,” McCarthy added.
Seaspan is in a position to offer a range of icebreaker vessels for ICE including the heavy Polar Icebreaker that will be delivered to the Canadian Coast Guard. This vessel will be one of the most capable heavy icebreakers in the world allowing for year-round Arctic operations. It will hold two heavy lift helicopters, include a modern propulsion system, and will feature new ice, polar, and winterization standards. This best-in-class vessel is designed to meet the needs for the Canadian Coast Guard for decades to come.
“Agreements like the ‘ICE Pact’ that coalesce expertise and construction capacity will help additional allied nations secure better icebreaking vessels faster. Seaspan Shipyards is ready to be an active member of this agreement to work with shipyards across Canada and around the world to help confront growing challenges in the Arctic,” McCarthy concluded.
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