Question Period Note: Renewal of the Fleet

Renewal of the Fleet

Since 2019, the Government has announced significant investments into Fleet Renewal, including up to 16 Multi-Purpose Vessels, two Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships, up to six Program Icebreakers, and two Polar Icebreakers.

Additionally, in 2019, Canada announced the expansion of the National Shipbuilding Strategy with the addition of a third large Canadian shipyard. This will enhance domestic shipbuilding capacity and allow Coast Guard to renew its icebreaking fleet in a more timely manner, supporting continued service delivery.

Interim measures, such as the acquisition of three medium icebreakers and investing in vessel life extension work, have also been put in place to ensure that the Coast Guard can continue delivering essential services for Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

Icebreaking Fleet
Coast Guard icebreakers are essential to Canada’s economy by supporting year-round marine trade and supporting the safe passage of goods to keep our economy moving.

By investing in up to six new Program Icebreakers, the Government has taken steps to ensure the continuation of essential icebreaking services in Atlantic Canada, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and the Great Lakes, as well as the Arctic.

Additionally, Canada recently announced the procurement of two Polar Icebreakers - one to be built at Vancouver Shipyards and the other at Chantier Davie, once it qualifies to become the third shipyard under the NSS. This will ensure a continuous and self-reliant Canadian presence in the Arctic.

On the Third Yard
The Request for Proposal process to qualify a third shipyard under the National Shipbuilding Strategy was completed in July 2021. The evaluation process is currently ongoing. It is being led by Public Services and Procurement Canada and is expected to conclude in 2021.

Once that is completed, negotiations will begin for a potential Umbrella Agreement expected to be in place in 2022.

Condition of the Fleet
Our government is actively investing in the Coast Guard’s current fleet so that it remains ready to serve Canadians until new ships are delivered under the National Shipbuilding Strategy. The Canadian Coast Guard fleet has a rigorous maintenance plan for each of its vessels to keep them in safe, reliable working condition.

Building new ships takes time. Until new assets are delivered, the Coast Guard is actively ensuring continued service delivery for Canadians - by undertaking vessel life extension work for existing ships and acquiring commercial vessels as required.

• Renewal of the Canadian Coast Guard fleet is underway. Funded replacement plans are currently in place for the large vessel fleet, including:
o Three Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels, which have all been delivered;
o One Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel (OOSV);
o Two Polar Icebreakers;
o Up to 16 Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPV);
o Two Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (Coast Guard variants of ships currently in construction for the Department of National Defence); and
o Up to six Program Icebreakers.
• The National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) is delivering ships for the Canadian Coast Guard. The first Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel, CCGS Sir John Franklin, was delivered by Vancouver Shipyards on June 27, 2019. The second ship, CCGS Capt. Jacques Cartier, was delivered on November 29th 2019 and the third and final ship, CCGS John Cabot, was delivered on October 9, 2020.
• Construction work is currently underway on the OOSV following cut steel in March 2021. Ancillary contract work is ongoing on the MPV project at Vancouver Shipyards (VSY) following the August 2020 contract award. Additionally, Ancillary contract work has commenced on Polar-VSY to finalize the design and prepare for construction engineering.
• Coast Guard is also renewing its small fleet. Twenty-one new small vessels have already been delivered, including two new Channel Survey and Sounding Vessels and ten new Search and Rescue Lifeboats that have joined the fleet in the past few years. An additional ten Search and Rescue Lifeboats will be constructed at Hike Metal Products, in Wheatley, Ontario and Chantier Naval Forillon, in Gaspé, Quebec and design work is ongoing on a new Near-Shore Fishery Research Vessel.
• Coast Guard has also completed the renewal of its helicopter fleet with delivery of sixteen new light-lift helicopters and seven new medium-lift helicopters. Coast Guard just recently acquired the 16th light helicopter in September 2021.
• The Coast Guard is putting in place interim measures and investing in vessel life extension work to ensure continued delivery of critical services and minimize impact on our programs until new ships are delivered. This includes:
o A comprehensive Vessel Life Extension program to maintain the current fleet operational as new ships are being built;
o Acquisition of three interim icebreakers- the first, CCGS Captain Molly Kool, came into service December 2018. The second, CCGS Jean Goodwill, joined the Coast Guard fleet in late 2020. Delivery of the third ship, CCGS Vincent Massey, is expected in 2022; and,
o The contract for the light icebreaker was awarded to Atlantic Towing Ltd. on September 22, 2021. The icebreaker began transit in October and is expected to arrive in Canada in December 2021.

Announcements:
• On May 22nd, 2019, the Prime Minister announced a renewal of the Canadian Coast Guard fleet with up to 18 new large ships built in Canadian shipyards, helping the Coast Guard continue to deliver its important services, and creating good, middle class jobs across the country.
o Total funding for the 18 large ships is $15.7 billion, which represents early estimates of project budgets including construction, logistics and support, contingency, project management and infrastructure costs. The costs of each ship class will be announced following contract negotiations.
o Irving Shipbuilding will build two non-combat Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships, which will be adapted for the Coast Guard to perform a range of critical mission, including Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organizational patrols.
o Vancouver Shipyards will build up to 16 Multi-Purpose Vessels to support a variety of missions, including light icebreaking, aids to navigation, environmental response, and offshore search and rescue.
o At the time, 16 Multi-Purpose Vessels were expected to replace the Polar Icebreaker in Vancouver Shipyards’ program of work, as the Government explored options to ensure the efficient delivery of the Polar Icebreaker.
• On August 2, 2019, the Government of Canada announced that six new Program Icebreakers would be constructed for the Canadian Coast Guard.
o The total value of the investment was not announced to ensure value for money is achieved in the contracting process.
o The Government intends to add a third strategic partner for large ship construction under the NSS to build the six Program Icebreakers. This additional shipbuilding capacity is needed to meet Coast Guard’s urgent requirements for replacements for its aging Medium and Heavy Icebreakers.
o The Government of Canada issued an Invitation to Qualify (ITQ), to establish a short list of shipyards that demonstrate they meet the initial, defined requirement to build six program icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard. In December 2019, it was announced that Chantier Davie had pre-qualified to become the third shipyard.
o The Request for Proposal was released to Chantier Davie in late July 2020 and concluded in July 2021. Evaluation work is still ongoing and is expected to be completed in 2021.
• The Government of Canada will also proceed through a competitive process with the design of a new class of smaller ships, the new Mid-Shore Multi-Mission ship, which would complement the work of the large fleet in shallow areas and deliver mid-shore science activities.
• On May 6, 2021, Canada announced the procurement of two Polar Icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard. One will be built at Vancouver Shipyards and the other is expected to be constructed at Chantier Davie, once it qualifies to become the third shipyard under the NSS.

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