Seaspan contracts Ideal Welders to fabricate polar icebreaker blocks

Image: Seaspan Shipyards

Canada’s Seaspan Shipyards has contracted Delta, B.C.-based Ideal Welders for the fabrication of 30 blocks of the new heavy PolarIcebreaker that Seaspan is building for the Canadian Coast.

This new contract for block construction on the Polar Icebreaker is the latest in what has been an evolving relationship between the two organizations. Seaspan and Ideal Welders have had a long-standing, successful partnership — Ideal Welders has constructed many components of the ships Seaspan has built, including the bulbous bows of both Joint Support Ships, HMCS Protecteur and HMCS Preserver.

Ideal Welders began with the construction of pipe spools and has now progressed to building and outfitting full blocks.

“This announcement is more than just a contract. It is a continuation of the commitment that Seaspan has made to grow shipbuilding in British Columbia,” said Kate Morton, vice president – supply chain, Seaspan Shipyards. “As we continue to build icebreakers in Canada, for Canada, we are advancing our efforts expand the capabilities of those around us, and build blocks for these ships domestically. When we can leverage the expertise and skills which exist within our own borders, building icebreakers fully within Canada becomes the best path forward.”

Seaspan says that a core tenet of Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) is to not only build ships, but to build a sustainable, domestic shipbuilding ecosystem. It says that its partnership with = Ideal Welders is proving that the NSS is working on the West Coast, and that a sovereign, domestic shipbuilding capability has been attained and must be sustained.

“Ideal Welders is excited to be continuing our ongoing partnership with Seaspan Shipyards and to be contributing to the construction of the Canadian Coast Guard’s most powerful icebreaker,” said Robert Buchmann, president of Ideal Welders. “We are pleased to have shown, through our work on other Coast Guard and Navy vessels, that we can be trusted partner under the National Shipbuilding Strategy. This contract will support a number of highly-skilled trades positions here in Delta, and reinforce the newfound stability of the shipbuilding industry in B.C.”

Seaspan cut steel on the new Polar Icebreaker in April 2025. It will be the seventh vessel designed and built by Seaspan under the NSS, the fifth Polar Class vessel to be built for the CCG, and one of up to 21 icebreaking vessels overall that Seaspan is constructing. Measuring approximately 158 meters in length and 28 meters in beam, the vessel will feature more than 40 MW of installed power, specialized laboratories, a moon pool, a helicopter deck and hangar, and capacity for remotely piloted aircraft systems. Once complete, it will be one of the world’s most capable Polar Class 2 icebreakers, enabling year-round operations in the Arctic.