Question Period Note: Acquisition of an Interim Light Icebreaker

Acquisition of an Interim Light Icebreaker

In 2019, the Government of Canada announced an unprecedented investment in 24 new large ships – all to be built in Canada under the National Shipbuilding Strategy.

As building new ships will take time, the Government is funding interim measures to bridge the current and future fleet, including a comprehensive Vessel Life Extension program, acquisition of three commercial icebreakers, with a fourth ‘light’ icebreaker also planned as a backfill measure.

The contract for the light icebreaker has been awarded and the vessel arrived in Canada on January 3, 2022. Provisional vessel acceptance occurred January 12, 2022, with final acceptance and purchase expected to be completed by the end of January.

• The Canadian Coast Guard is building new ships to renew its fleet. Funded replacement plans are currently in place for the large fleet, including:
• Three Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels, all of which have been delivered;
• One Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel;
• Two Polar Icebreakers;
• Up to 16 Multi-Purpose Vessels;
• Two Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (Coast Guard variants of ships currently in construction for the Department of National Defence); and
• Up to six Program Icebreakers.
• Coast Guard is also adopting interim measures to minimize service interruptions for clients until replacement vessels come online. This includes:
• A comprehensive Vessel Life Extension program to maintain the current fleet operational as new ships are being built;
• Acquisition of four interim icebreakers to backfill for ships while Vessel Life Extension work is undertaken. This includes:
• Three interim icebreakers with “medium” icebreaking capabilities: 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 summer 2022; and
• A fourth interim icebreaker with “light” icebreaking capabilities: A revised Request for Proposal was released in mid-September 2020 and closed on November 17, 2020. Bid evaluations took place over summer 2021, and a contract was awarded to Atlantic Towing on September 22, 2021. The vessel began transit in late October and arrived in Canada on January 3, 2022. Provisional vessel acceptance occurred January 12, 2022, with final acceptance and purchase expected to be completed by the end of January.

None