Seaspan Shipyards has cut steel on the Canadian Coast Guard’s (CCG) new heavy polar icebreaker, marking the first time a heavy polar icebreaker has been built in Canada in more than 60
Seaspan Shipyards has cut steel on the Canadian Coast Guard’s (CCG) new heavy polar icebreaker, marking the first time a heavy polar icebreaker has been built in Canada in more than 60 years.
It will play a critical role in enabling the Canadian Coast Guard to transit and operate on more than 162,000 kilometers of Arctic coastline.
The Polar Class 2 icebreaker will help sustain a 12-month presence in Canada’s North in support of Canada’s Arctic sovereignty, high-Arctic science (including climate change research), indigenous peoples and other northern communities, and the ability to respond to major maritime emergencies including search and rescue.
It will be able to accommodate up to 100 personnel, and, as one of the only Polar Class 2 vessels in the world, will be able to operate farther north, in more difficult ice conditions and for longer periods than any icebreaker in Canada to date. It is designed to operate self-sufficiently in the high-Arctic year-round.
The ship will be the seventh vessel designed and built by Seaspan under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (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
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