Big price tag for the Louie's replacement

 

The CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent will be kept in service until replacements are delivered in 2030.

 On March 7 and March 9 the federal government announced contract signings to build the long-planned Polar Icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard. The much needed replacement for the aged CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent has been "in the works" for decades but with little progress until the National Shipbuilding Strategy was announced. Even then the needed replenishment ships for the Royal Canadian Navy and other research and survey vessels created a huge backlog at Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyard (VSY), and the RCN ships were given priority.

As previously announced, one ship, to be named the CCGS Arpatuuq, will be built by Seaspan Vancouver Shipyard (VSY). It will be a Polar Class 2 diesel-electric ship of 63,000 total horsepower delivered to one shaft and prop and two ABB azipods. The announced contract cost is $3.15 billion (exclusive of tax) with a delivery date of 2030. The ship was originally to be named the John Diefenbaker, but a change in policy (and political parties) resulted in a culturally significant name for northern populations. Arpatuuq refers to Akpatok Island, in Ungava Bay, Nunavut. The Canadian government commissioned STX to design the ship. That company, formerly associated with Wartsila, has Finnish icebreaker experience.

The government re-assessed its need for year round capability in the arctic and decided to include CDC in the National Shipbuilding Stratetgy and add a second  Polar icebreaker in the plan, while eastablishing the Lévis yard as a centre of excellence for icebreaker technology.

The second ship, to be named CCGS Imnaryuaq is to be built to a totally different design prepared by Chantier Davie Canada Inc (CDC) in association with their wholly owned Helsinki Shipyard. The ship will be built entirely in Canada at CDC's Lévis, QC shipyard but with icebreaker expertise from Finland. The PolarMax design is "off the shelf" from CDC/Helsinki, and will be a slightly smaller ship. Price tag for this one is $3.25 billion, also for delivery in 2030.

Its name comes from a 300 meter high cliff at the southern end of Banks Isand in the Amundsen Gulf, and was once named Nelson Head.

The CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent (affectionately called "The Louie") was launched by Canadian Vickers (now defunct) in Montreal in 1966 and commissioned in 1969. It has been endlessly refitted, rebuilt and repowered over the years, and will presumably require even more TLC to keep it going for another five years. 

Its fleet mate, the smaller CCGS Terry Fox will also be replaced by the new Polar ships, and is in a $135.56 million Vessel Life Extension now at Heddle Shipyard in St.Catharines, Ontario.

 CCGS Terry Fox

CCGS Terry Fox built in 1983 for private industry. It was leased by the CCG in 1991, then purchased in 1993 as a temporary measure until new icebreakers could be delivered.

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