Canada awards construction contracts for two polar ice icebreakers

Davie will start construction of its Polar Max polar icebreaker st its Helsinki Shipyard in Finland/

Canada’s Ministry of Public Services and Procurement last week awarded the construction contracts for the two polar icebreakers that are being built for the Canadian Coast Guard.

On March 7, came announcement of a CAD $3.15 billion contract to Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards for one of the two icebreakers.

The next day came the official announcement of a CAD $3.25 billion award to Chantier Davie Canada Inc. for the other.

Chantier Davie will deliver this ship from its Lévis, Quebec, shipyard. To accelerate its production, Davie will also leverage its Canadian-owned shipyard in Finland, Helsinki Shipyard, where construction will start.

“With Finland’s unique expertise and track record building polar icebreakers, this will deliver Canadian ships faster and cheaper, and get them on the ice quicker,” said the Public Services and Procurement Canada announcement.

The Seaspan polar icebreaker will be built entirely in Canada at Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards, located in North Vancouver, British Columbia. With the contract now in place, Seaspan is ready to cut steel on this ship and begin full-rate construction on Canada’s newest vessel under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS). Construction of this ship will support the work of a team of more than 1,000 local shipbuilders and a broad Canadian supply chain of over 800 Canadian companies..

Building this complex and densely-outfitted multi-mission ship will mark the first time a polar icebreaker has been built in Canada in more than 60 years and deliver a ship with more advanced capabilities than the CCG’s current heavy icebreakers, says Seaspan. Once delivered, it will be one of the most advanced and capable icebreakers in the entire world. It will be one of only a handful of Polar Class 2 ships in operation and will allow for the CCG to operate self-sufficiently year-round in the high- Arctic, down to temperatures at -50°C.

The new polar icebreaker will be the seventh vessel designed and built by Seaspan under the NSS. It will also be the fifth Polar Class vessel to be built for the CCG, and one of up to 21 icebreaking vessels overall that Seaspan is constructing.

Functional design of the polar icebreaker was completed in 2024 by Seaspan, prior to the start of construction. For this ship, Seaspan worked extensively to build out the largest marine design and engineering team in Canada, which includes Seaspan employees and Canadian partners, while simultaneously working alongside established Finnish companies who have extensive experience in designing Arctic-going vessels.

Davie says that it will deliver its Polar Max design icebreaker to Canada by 2030. Created by the Helsinki Shipyard, the Polar Max design is based on Aker Arctic’s original Aker ARC 148 hull form.

While the early phase of the polar icebreaker construction is underway, the modernization of Davie’s Lévis Shipyard will continue, giving Davie time to accelerate the hiring of skilled workers across all trades. This will enable Davie to leverage its Canadian supply chain sooner than anticipated, while ensuring the completed polar icebreaker is delivered from Lévis.

Davie plans to implement a workforce exchange, enabling Québec employees to learn world-class icebreaker construction expertise first-hand from their Finnish colleagues.

Davie says that the contract is a huge win for the ICE Pact and is the first flagship project of the trilateral partnership between Canada, Finland and the U.S.