Canada Invests $4.4 Billion in New Icebreakers

Canada has ordered the construction of two new heavy polar icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard at a total cost of $4.4 billion.

The Canadian government announced this in a press release.

The order was placed as part of the implementation of the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS)—a long-term multi-billion dollar program aimed at updating the fleet of the Canadian Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Navy.

The construction of the vessels was entrusted to the Canadian companies Seaspan and Chantier Davie. It is expected that Chantier Davie will use the Helsinki Shipyard in Finland to accelerate the construction.

The Seaspan polar icebreaker will be able to operate for several months in the open sea without entering a port. It will be equipped with a flight deck for landing helicopters suitable for operation in the Arctic. The vessel will be 158 meters long.

The contract for the construction of the Seaspan polar icebreaker is estimated at $2.177 billion. It is expected that the vessel will be delivered to the customer by 2032.

The Chantier Davie polar icebreaker will be slightly smaller—139 meters long. The contract for the construction of this vessel is estimated at $2.246 billion, and it is expected that the vessel will be delivered to the customer by 2030.

It is reported that, thanks to the work-sharing program, Canadians will work together with their Finnish colleagues on the construction of part of the ship in Finland. This will allow Canadian workers to learn from the Finnish shipyard, which has extensive experience in building icebreakers.

It will also allow Chantier Davie to continue infrastructure upgrades at its shipyard in Lévis, Quebec, while simultaneously building part of the polar icebreaker in Finland.

Both icebreakers will have a PC 2 ice class. This means they will be able to navigate through ice up to 3 meters thick, which is sufficient for navigation in the Arctic regardless of the season.

In March 2024, Canada awarded a contract to design new icebreakers to shipbuilding company Chantier Davie. In total, the Canadian government aims to purchase six new-generation icebreakers for the coast guard as part of the Icebreakers program.

These vessels are intended to replace the Canadian Coast Guard’s existing fleet of medium icebreakers, which operates in Atlantic Canadian waters and the St. Lawrence River in the winter and travels to the Arctic in the summer.