BY JOETEY ATTARIWALA

Delivering the Next Generation of Vessels for the RCN and CCG

Canada boasts the longest coastline of any nation. It is true that the vast expanse and harsh environments of our northern waters serve to safeguard our people and our significant maritime interests, however recent geo-political events have shown that our national security is more important than ever.

While successive governments have occasionally procured large vessels for the Navy and Coast Guard over the past few decades, none were successful in re-establishing a full Canadian shipbuilding industrial base until the Government of Canada implemented what is now known as the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS).

“As one of Canada’s large-vessel shipbuilders under the National Shipbuilding Strategy and a strategic partner for the Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy, the topic of maritime and Arctic security is constantly top of mind for Seaspan Shipyards. Canada and industry have invested in rebuilding our domestic shipbuilding capabilities, in particular where Artic-going and icebreaking vessels are concerned,” says John McCarthy, CEO of Seaspan Shipyards. “Seaspan is leading the way in delivering highly capable, complex ships that will help ensure that Canada’s Arctic waters are safe and secure.

BUILT IN CANADA FOR CANADA

Seaspan’s work on Canada’s West Coast is helping to renew a shipbuilding legacy that started generations ago. The company is now a leader in ship design, engineering, newbuild and ship repair, and has developed a sustainable industry that will be home to many future generations of shipbuilders and marine professionals.

With a dedicated workforce of over 4,000 people, Seaspan Shipyards includes three separate and unique shipyards: Vancouver Shipyards, Vancouver Drydock and Victoria Shipyards. As a result of its diversity and capacity, it is unique in its ability to provide a complete range of shipyard services, including new construction, conversion, repair, life-cycle maintenance and refurbishment work for naval, research and commercial vessels, including cruise-ships, deep-sea vessels and submarines.

Through the investments as part of the NSS, Seaspan boasts that it has now built the largest marine engineering and design team in Canada and has completely transformed how ship design and engineering is done in this country.

NON-COMBAT VESSELS

Canada and the maritime industry have invested heavily over the past decade to rebuild the capacity of this once thriving sector and deliver large, complex ships built in Canada, by Canadians and with a robust Canadian supply-chain.

“It is a privilege to have the opportunity to be at the forefront of a changing industry, and a driver of an industrial revolution that is not only rebuilding the Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy fleets, but also changing the lives of so many Canadians, now and in the future,” says McCarthy. “Opportunities for engineers, designers and skilled tradespeople that didn’t exist even a decade ago in Canada, have now become new career paths which can be pursued and held up as an example of a successful Canadian manufacturing industry.”

Seaspan has so far built and delivered three Polar Class rated vessels (as per the International Association of Classification Societies) to the Canadian Coast Guard, with one more going in the water in 2024, and another 17 ice breaking vessels on the order books.

The three vessels already delivered are the Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels (OFSV), the first full class of large vessels under the NSS for the Canadian Coast Guard. These Polar Class 7 rated vessels (Summer/Autumn operation in thin first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions) are acting as the primary offshore fisheries science platforms for Fisheries and Oceans Canada and will be equipped to carry out science research missions. These research missions serve an important role in monitoring the health of fish stocks, understanding the impacts of climate change, and supporting research that allows us to better understand our oceans.

Today in their shipyard, Seaspan is at full speed ahead on four major shipbuilding programs, two in construction and two in design.

This year, Seaspan will launch the Canadian Coast Guard’s new Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel (OOSV). This ship is a Polar Class 6 rated vessel (Summer/autumn operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions) and will be the Coast Guard’s largest and technologically-advanced science vessel, bringing increased capability and capacity to support ocean science missions on Canada’s East Coast.

Later this year, Seaspan is also slated to launch the Royal Canadian Navy’s HMCS Protecteur, the longest naval vessel ever constructed in Canada, and one of two Joint Support Ships (JSS) Seaspan is building for the Royal Canadian Navy. At 174 metres, the new vessels are about 30 per cent longer than the current Halifax-class frigates. These ships will provide support and supplies like fuel, munitions, food and spare parts to other Royal Canadian Navy and allied ships while at sea.

Today, there are over 1,000 Seaspan employees involved in the construction and development of Joint Support Ship 1 (JSS1), the future HMCS Protecteur; and JSS2, the future HMCS Preserver. Namesakes of the original HMCS Protecteur AOR 509, and HMCS Preserver AOR 510, these new vessels will continue to honour the dedication and sacrifices of the generations of sailors who served aboard the original vessels.

Seaspan is also well underway on JSS2 with over 60 per cent of its blocks in construction. This ship is slated for delivery to the Navy in 2027.

Looking ahead to Seaspan’s programs currently in the design phase, the team has recently begun construction engineering and procuring long lead items for the first flight of six ships for the Coast Guard’s new fleet of multi-purpose vessels (MPVs), which will be Polar Class 4 vessels. In total, Seaspan will be building 16 MPVs. As Polar Class 4 rated ships (Year-round operation in thick first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions), these vessels will allow the Coast Guard to carry out a variety of mission types, including icebreaking in moderate ice conditions.

HEAVY POLAR ICEBREAKER

Later this year, Seaspan is set to begin construction on the first heavy polar icebreaker to be built in Canada in more than 60 years. It will serve as one of the flagships of the Canadian Coast Guard’s fleet and one of the world’s largest, most complex, and most powerful icebreakers. Functional Design of the Seaspan Polar Icebreaker is currently 75 percent complete.

The new vessel is replacing CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent, which is set to retire at the end of the decade. The new Polar Icebreaker is complex and benefits from significant advances in technology and innovation. It will have a Polar Class 2 designation (PC2 — Year-round operation in moderate multi-year ice conditions), a first for the Canadian Coast Guard and one of only a handful of PC2s in the world.

“Considering Canada’s geographic location and the ship’s mission profile, it only makes sense that Canada should have one of the most capable icebreakers on the planet. The size and flexibility of the vessel will allow its crew to fulfil many different demanding missions necessary for Canada, including a wide array of Arctic science missions, search and rescue, security, navigation, transportation and emergency response,” says Jessica Fetterman, the Chief Engineer for the Polar Icebreaker program at Seaspan. “It will be one of the most complex vessels ever built and is configured to minimize the crew and mission personnel’s exposure to extreme weather conditions, making the Polar Icebreaker a vital instrument to carry out important Canadian Coast Guard missions in the Arctic.”

The Polar Icebreaker is designed to safely navigate the Arctic’s ice-covered waters and will play a critical role in enabling the Canadian Coast Guard to patrol and protect 162,000 km of Arctic coastline. It will have a top speed of over 18 knots, an operational range of about 30,000 nautical miles and will help the Coast Guard sustain a year-round presence in Canada’s North which requires an operational temperature down to -50 degrees celsius.

Onboard there are scientific laboratories, a moon pool to safely deploy equipment from within the ship, a helicopter flight deck and hangar, a vehicle garage and space for a future Remotely Piloted Aircraft System. That’s in addition to the fact the ship is already like a miniature city, with its own power station, sewage treatment plant and hotel accommodation. The bow is carefully designed to exert pressure on the ice to help break it, and the stern is also specially shaped for ice breaking, making the ship highly maneuverable in ice.

Earlier this year, Seaspan successfully completed construction of the ‘Prototype Block’ for the Polar Icebreaker program, which will help ensure the production teams are fully prepared to cut steel in late 2024. Steel needed to construct the Polar Icebreaker is twice as thick in some areas as the steel Seaspan has used for the other ships built under the NSS and is more challenging to work with.

THE NEXT MISSION

As the company looks to the future, Seaspan’s Victoria Shipyard has its sights set on new opportunities to support Canada’s submarine program under the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP). Victoria Shipyards is uniquely positioned to provide In-Service Support (ISS) for the next generation of submarines when the time comes. Currently, the delivery of deep submarine maintenance in Canada is provided by three partners known as Team Victoria Class, which includes Babcock Canada, BMT and Victoria Shipyards. The work is highly specialized and it takes significant time and investment to build the knowledge and skills required to work on these vessels.

“We believe it’s critical for Canada to plan now to create the capability to provide maintenance for future submarines in Canada,” says McCarthy. “Enhancing and sustaining Canadian ISS will ensure dependable, ongoing maintenance of vessels and minimize the risk to future submarine operations. By doing so, it will help achieve sovereign independence from other nations, sustain Canadian expertise to operate, maintain, upgrade and enhance the fleet, and provide substantial industrial and technological benefits to our country.”

“Canada has learned critical lessons about the importance of ensuring ISS capability is in place well-before delivery of a vessel. It takes many years and significant investment, including building an expert Canadian workforce, to create effective maintenance capacity,” McCarthy added.

FULL STEAM AHEAD

Seaspan has been one of the major players to help develop robust design, shipbuilding and repair capabilities here in Canada. Through this continued growth and re-investment, shipbuilding has once again become a boon for jobs and the country at-large, contributing billions of dollars so far to the Canadian economy. Both government and private industry have collectively invested billions of dollars in Canada’s sovereign capabilities.

“The NSS has been an incredible opportunity for Canada and for Seaspan, but re-building a moribund industry is no easy feat,” said McCarthy. “Having said that, we are incredibly proud of the improvements that we have made as a shipyard since we cut steel on our first NSS vessel in 2015. We are looking forward to seeing the ships we are building sailing with the Navy and Coast Guard and performing their important missions to protect Canada’s waters and other strategic interests.”

Joetey Attariwala is CDR’s Senior Staff Writer