Seaspan Marks Rapid Progress on Canadian Polar Icebreaker Amid Arctic Shipbuilding Push

Canada’s Seaspan Shipyards said it has completed the first major construction block for the Canadian Coast Guard’s new heavy polar icebreaker, highlighting rapid progress on one of the world’s most advanced conventional icebreakers as Western nations race to expand Arctic capabilities.

The Vancouver-based shipbuilder said more than 49 blocks are now under construction for the 158-meter (518-foot) vessel, one year after steel was first cut on the ship under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy.

The first “grand block,” weighing 330 tonnes and containing propulsion motor room sections, fuel tanks and void spaces, has now been structurally consolidated, Seaspan said in a statement