Shipbuilding – Seaspan Shipyards – Celebrating 15 Years of NSS
Forged in Steel, Shaped by Strategy: Seaspan’s 15-Year Voyage with the NSS
BY JAMES CARELESS
On August 12, 2025, Seaspan Shipyards celebrated 15 momentous years of Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS). Workers at Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards took a break to celebrate the date along with top company executives, plus dignitaries such as the Hon. Joël Lightbound (Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement) and the Hon. Ernie Klassen, (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and MP, South Surrey–White Rock).
“Through the National Shipbuilding Strategy, Canada is delivering a modern fleet for the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard, while revitalizing the marine industry and creating thousands of skilled jobs,” said Lightbound. “The ships built at Seaspan and other Canadian shipyards reflect a long-term investment in innovation, sovereignty and industrial growth under Canada’s commitment to safeguard our oceans. By strengthening domestic supply chains and prioritizing Canadian-made steel and materials, the strategy is taking another meaningful step forward and will play an even more central role in creating a resilient and prosperous economy.”
“As we celebrate 15 years of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, it is important to not only look back on our successes, but to look ahead to where we are going,” noted John McCarthy, CEO of Seaspan Shipyards. “The state of shipbuilding in Canada right now is very encouraging. In the last year, Seaspan has launched two ships, started sea trials for the Canadian Coast Guard’s (CCG) Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel and started construction on the CCG’s most powerful icebreaker, and made key partnerships with Canadian companies like Algoma Steel – a true sign of the rebirth of this industry. Seaspan’s capability is a national strategic asset. We’re ready to design and build the ships Canada needs, in Canada. Thank you to our government partners, our Canadian shipbuilding supply chain and, most importantly, our world-class designers, engineers and tradespeople for proving over the last 15 years that build-in-Canada solutions are the right choice for the economy, for industry, and for Canadians.”
The above is just some of the many Seaspan accomplishments that have occurred under the NSS. To talk about those accomplishments, plus Seaspan’s NSS ambitions for the next 15 years, the company’s Senior Vice President of Strategy, Business Development and Communications for Seaspan, Dave Hargreaves granted an exclusive interview to CDR.
15 YEARS OF NSS PROGRESS
In 2012, two years after the NSS was announced, Seaspan won the non-combat portion of this multi-billion contract. “On the basis of that and the framework agreement with the government that we signed known as the Umbrella Agreement, we invested a substantial amount of money in rebuilding our Vancouver shipyard,” Hargreaves told CDR. “The rebuild cost a little under $150 million and it was all private money. The reconstruction of the Vancouver Shipyards took about three years.”
Seaspan began its NSS work in 2015. From then until 2021, they built and delivered three Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels (OFSV) for the Coast Guard.
“The first OFSV was a significant learning curve for us, since it was the first NSS vessel that we had built at the renovated Vancouver shipyard,” said Hargreaves. “In fact, it was a steep learning curve for everyone involved, certainly ourselves, our supply chain, our workforce, and the Canadian government. But we learned from the experience and became more efficient as work on the second and third OFSVs progressed. All three ships have since been delivered to the CCG, including the third one during COVID, and they are all in service now. From what Seaspan has heard, the Coast Guard is very happy with them.”
The next step in Seaspan’s NSS journey was the building of two Joint Support Ships (JSS) for the RCN. “The first JSS was launched in December 2024 and is undergoing outfitting and sea trials,” Hargreaves said. “The second is being built now, and showing much greater efficiency in that build due to lessons learned during the first.”
At 174 meters in length, the two JSS are the longest ships ever built in Canada. According to Dave Hargreaves, both are very complex ships. “They are resupply and support vessels for Canada’s other naval ships, but also our allies’ naval ships as well,” he said. “This means that the JSS have all kinds of capabilities and duties to perform, including refueling at sea. Each one has a substantial helicopter deck and maintenance/hangar capability. They also have extensive dental and hospital capabilities, in addition to their ship supply roles.”
As was mentioned earlier in this article, Seaspan launched an Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel (OOSV) for the Coast Guard in August 2024. “The OOSV is a very complicated science vessel, so it is very densely packed with lots and lots of technology, more of a general-purpose science vessel for the Coast Guard,” said Hargreaves. “This one is very important from a Canadian research capability. Having been launched, it is in the final phase of getting everything wrapped up and then moving onto delivery to the CCG.”
POLAR ICEBREAKER
At present, Seaspan is working on the Polar Icebreaker for the CCG. When completed, the Polar Icebreaker will be the one of the most capable icebreakers in the world, designed to operate year-round in the Canadian Arctic.
“We have been in the design phase with the CCG for a couple of years,” Hargreaves said. “This will be an incredibly capable vessel, in fact the most complex vessel that we will build under the NSS. The Polar Icebreaker is 158 meters long — not quite as long as the JSS, but a lot heavier due to its icebreaking capability. This is why the Polar Icebreaker will be able to operate in the Arctic year-round, down to an operational temperature of -50 degrees C. And then, it is — in true Canadian fashion — the Swiss Army knife of vessels; doing everything from icebreaking and transportation to search-and-rescue and security.”
Once the Polar Icebreaker has been completed, Seaspan will turn its attention to building a fleet of up to 16 Multipurpose Icebreakers (MPI). They will be used for missions such as icebreaking in moderate ice conditions; assisting in spring time flood control in the St. Lawrence waterway and Great Lakes region; search-and-rescue, emergency response, and security and protection missions; and maintaining Canada’s marine navigation system that is composed of approximately 17,000 aids to navigation.
“We are currently in the design phase of the first six MPIs,” Hargreaves told CDR. “The construction of this first group is due to start in 2027.”
At present, the MPIs represent Seaspan’s last project under the NSS. However, the company is hopeful that Ottawa will procure more NSS vessels in the near future, to keep Seaspan and its other NSS partners engaged over the next 15 years.
CANADA NEEDS TWO MORE JSS
A case in point: The RCN clearly needs two more JSS for operational reasons, and Seaspan is well-positioned to build them. “Having just two JSS is not sufficient for the demands that the RCN has to address, especially when one of the first two JSS has to undergo scheduled maintenance in port,” Hargreaves told CDR. “As the NSS’ current JSS prime contractor, Seaspan is the logical choice to build them. We have the infrastructure, tooling, and skilled workforce to build additional JSS in the most efficient, cost-effective manner possible. It just makes sense for the Canadian taxpayer.”
MCDV REPLACEMENT
The RCN is also in the market for new corvettes. The Navy’s current fleet of 12 Kingston-class corvettes (aka coastal defence vessels) are coming to the end of their operational lifespans. Eight of them are due to be retired this year, the rest in 2029.
RCN Commander Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee told The Canadian Press that the navy wants the ships to be “Canadian from the core” and “absolutely built in Canada,” wherever possible. Seaspan certainly fits those qualifications. As well, given that Vice-Admiral Topshee wants the new corvettes to sail in Arctic ice conditions, choosing a shipyard that has built all manner of modern icebreakers seems a logical choice.
“We are very interested in the corvette program because it fits very well, from a build perspective, with our MPI program,” said Hargreaves. “Starting in 2029-2030, Seaspan will have yard space to start building corvettes alongside the MPIs, not to mention the know-how and tooling. Right now, the Navy is still working on what the requirements are going to look like for the corvettes. We are very interested in working with them on what a design might look like that meets the RCN’s requirements.”
Given their NSS-driven expertise in state-of-the-art icebreakers, Seaspan is interested in providing these ships to the entire world. One possible client is the U.S. Coast Guard’s Arctic Security Cutter (ASC) Program. To compete for this contract, Seaspan has partnered with Bollinger Shipyards, Rauma Shipyards, and Aker Arctic. According to Seaspan, the four companies represent the world’s premier icebreaker shipbuilding companies. Bollinger is the largest privately-owned shipbuilder in the United States: It is currently building the first heavy icebreaker in the United States in 50 years and has built and delivered nearly 200 high-performance vessels to the U.S. Coast Guard over four decades. Rauma is Finland’s legendary ice-class shipyard, and Aker Arctic has developed the majority of icebreaker designs currently in use today. Taken as a whole, this is a powerhouse team of icebreaker know-how.
“We are proud to collaborate with Bollinger, Rauma and Aker Arctic to share our expertise in icebreaker design and engineering with the United States — a historic ally and close partner with Canada in securing the Arctic,” said Seaspan CEO McCarthy. “Together, we’ve assembled the world’s foremost experts in icebreaking construction to deliver a low-risk, mission-ready solution that fully meets the U.S. Coast Guard’s requirements. Together, through the ICE Pact, we’re strengthening Arctic security and advancing the long-term capabilities of our nations’ shipbuilding industries.”
The four ASC partners are promoting the Seaspan-Aker Multi-Purpose Icebreaker (MPI) design for the Arctic Security Cutter Program, as it exceeds all of the program’s requirements and supports all eleven ISCG statutory missions. “With the ability to break four feet of ice, travel 12,000 nautical miles, and operate for over 60 days, the design is purpose-built to support the evolving mission needs of the U.S. Coast Guard in the harshest conditions,” Hargreaves explained. “Additionally, its shared multi-mission design with the Canadian Coast Guard MPI fleet will create the largest class of icebreaking capability in the world, which will optimize interoperability and maintenance support. If we can win this contract, it will be very good for Seaspan, Canada’s shipbuilding industry, and Canada itself — because it will reward the NSS program’s investment with export revenues.”
SUBMARINE IN-SERVICE SUPPORT
Beyond these projects, Seaspan would like to provide in-service support to the RCN’s new fleet of patrol submarines, whoever may be chosen to build them. The reason: “Today, our Victoria yard is the shipyard that maintains the current Victoria-class submarines, which everybody knows are extremely challenging,” said Hargreaves. “As Canada is moving ahead remarkably quickly with their Canadian Patrol Submarine Program, we accept that they’re not going to be built in Canada, and so we’re not making a play to build them here. But we do have the know-how to service submarines and have been working with TKMS — one of the two short-listed bidders — to gain knowledge about their vessels.”
In the civilian space, Seaspan is also interested in building new ferries for British Columbia, should the opportunity arise. But whatever happens, the company is determined to keep the modern facilities and skilled workforce that the NSS made possible employed into the foreseeable future.
“The people who put together the NSS did a lot of things right,” Hargreaves told CDR. “They have revitalized the Canadian shipbuilding industry, putting us back on the world stage while ensuring the RCN and CCG have the modern ships they need to fulfill their missions for decades to come. This is hard-won knowledge that Canada needs to hold onto both for the sake of its own defence, and the health of our national economy. To keep it alive, Seaspan and our NSS partners must stay in the business of shipbuilding, both at home and abroad.”
James Careless is CDR’s Ottawa Bureau Chief
