Seaspan completes ‘Prototype Block’ for Canadian Coast Guard’s future Polar Icebreaker
Seaspan Shipyards (Seaspan) has successfully completed construction of the ‘Prototype Block’ for the Canadian Coast Guard’s (CCG) Polar Icebreaker program. Construction of this Prototype Block ensures that Seaspan has the proper processes, procedures, equipment, and skills necessary to build the first heavy Polar Icebreaker in Canada in more than 60 years.
Seaspan developed and built this Prototype Block to ensure that our production teams are fully prepared to cut steel on the Polar Icebreaker in late 2024. The process of building the Prototype Block resulted in learnings in three key areas: improvements in design for manufacturing; testing of new equipment, processes and procedures; and validation of first-time quality in manufacturing to form and weld this new, specialized and thicker steel.
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 National Shipbuilding Strategy and is more challenging to work with combined with the tight frame spaces to support icebreaking capabilities. It also takes additional time to weld, and the thicker steel is not as malleable, therefore constructing this extra Prototype Block prior to starting full rate construction was crucial for our preparedness.
Seaspan has already gained significant experience designing and building Polar Class vessels including three Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels which are now in service with the Canadian Coast Guard; an Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel that is currently under construction at its Vancouver Shipyards location; and a class of up to sixteen Multi-Purpose Vessels (also Polar Class) that is currently in design.
The Polar Icebreaker will be an incredibly complex ship, designed to operate in the Arctic’s ice-covered waters, and will play a critical role in enabling the Canadian Coast Guard to transit and operate on more than 162,000 km of Arctic coastline. The capabilities of the Polar Icebreaker will help sustain a year-round presence in Canada’s North in support of Indigenous Peoples and other northern communities, Arctic sovereignty, high-Arctic science (including climate change research), and the ability to respond to major maritime emergencies including search and rescue.
With Canada’s current largest Icebreaker, the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent, set to retire at the end of the decade after 60 years of service, the new Polar Icebreaker will be one of the world’s largest and most powerful conventional icebreakers. The ship will be the flagship vessel of the Canadian Coast Guard’s icebreaking fleet, with a critical mission of protecting Canada’s Arctic sovereignty.
With a displacement of 27,876 tonnes, the Polar Icebreaker will be 158 metres long and 28 metres wide, and able to accommodate up to 100 personnel. It will be able to operate farther north, in more difficult ice conditions and for longer periods than any icebreaker in Canada to date.
The primary missions of the Polar Icebreaker include protecting Canada’s sovereignty, Arctic science, environmental response, Northern resupply, and search and rescue.
Seaspan, a division of Seaspan ULC, is a leader in Canada’s ship design, engineering, building and ship repair industry. With modern facilities and a dedicated workforce of approximately 3,900 in North Vancouver and Victoria, the company has proven itself to be a trusted and strategic partner on a range of complex projects for both government and the private sector.
