Government of Canada awards 2 contracts for Canadian Coast Guard's Multi-Purpose Vessels

GATINEAU, QC, March 26, 2024 /CNW/ - The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) saves lives, protects the environment, and keeps our waters safe, secure and open, which benefits our economy. Through the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS), the Government of Canada is renewing the CCG fleet, while generating economic opportunities for the Canadian marine sector.

Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and Mike Kelloway, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, on behalf of the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, announced that 2 contracts have been awarded to Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd. (VSY), with a combined value of $490.6 million (taxes included), to initiate the next stages of procuring the first flight of Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs) for the CCG. These contracts will allow VSY to undertake vital pre-construction work, such as selecting specific pieces of equipment, refining the design, ensuring all necessary information and plans are in place, and procuring essential material items needed to begin construction.

The Multi-Purpose Vessel (MPV) project will result in highly versatile icebreaking ships designed with multi-mission capabilities. These new vessels will support a wide variety of critical services, such as icebreaking, maritime search and rescue, scientific research, environmental response, emergency towing, maintenance and deployment of buoys, as well as support for offshore fisheries patrols.

A $310.2-million construction engineering services contract has been awarded for work to complete the design of the first flight of 6 MPVs and ensure that the technical requirements provided by the CCG are met. A second $180.4-million goods contract has been awarded for work to procure materials with long-lead manufacturing time and other items that will be required in advance of construction of the first 6 MPVs.

The MPV project is a multi-stage procurement with distinct contracts to design and subsequently construct the MPVs. The first contract was awarded to VSY in August 2020 for the development of the MPV concept design. The contracts announced today will build upon the work completed under the first contract.

The NSS is creating jobs in Canada's shipbuilding industry and marine sector, and providing members of the CCG with the equipment they need to ensure safe and accessible waterways for Canadians. Contracts under the NSS are estimated to have contributed close to $25 billion ($2.1 billion annually) to Canada's gross domestic product between 2012 and 2022, and created or maintained over 18,800 jobs annually between 2012 and 2023.

"The Multi-Purpose Vessel project will help ensure that members of the Canadian Coast Guard have versatile vessels to complete essential missions in Canada's oceans and waterways. By awarding the construction engineering services and goods contracts, we are making significant progress toward completing the design and preparing for construction." 

The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos
Minister of Public Services and Procurement 

"The designers and the ship builders of Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyard ? are playing key roles in taking the Canadian Coast Guard's new multi-purpose vessels (MPVs) out of the drawing room and into the open ocean. The contracts announced today are an important milestone to getting these ships completed and represent a major investment in North Vancouver. This will secure good jobs while advancing the delivery of the MPVs to significantly expand the operational capacity of our Coast Guard for years to come."

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources

"The Canadian Coast Guard saves lives at sea, keeps waterways open and safe for the movement of goods and services, protects the marine environment, and supports Canadian sovereignty and security. The Multi-Purpose Vessels will be key assets for the Canadian Coast Guard's future fleet, giving our personnel the modern, reliable tools they need to continue their vital work from coast to coast to coast."

Mike Kelloway
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

"The Canadian Coast Guard needs to be equipped with the vessels required to continue its vital work. At the same time, our government is making sure that the contracts awarded will generate significant economic benefits for Canadians. Canada's collaboration with Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd. will bring further investments to the Canadian marine industry, while creating high-value jobs in shipbuilding design, engineering, marine systems and equipment, as well as supporting innovation in the industry."

The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne
Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

• On May 22, 2019, the Government of Canada announced a $15.7-billion investment to renew the CCG fleet in order to ensure capacity to deliver important services for Canadians. This included building up to 16 MPVs.
• On August 12, 2020, the Government of Canada awarded an initial ancillary contract to VSY for the development of the MPV concept design and to collect information about building the vessel.
• The construction engineering services contract and the goods contract include work to finalize the design, engineering and other preparation to ensure readiness to proceed with construction.
• The new MPVs will be replacing the current vessels as part of a multi-year fleet renewal plan, while also providing optimal flexibility and modular mission capability to help fulfill the CCG's mandate and support other government programs for marine security and waterways management.
• With their ability to operate in all areas of operations covered by the CCG, including the Arctic, the MPVs will form the backbone of the modern CCG fleet. The delivery of the first MPV is anticipated to be in 2030, with deliveries continuing until the mid-2040s.
• The Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy and the NSS Value Proposition apply to the MPV project.

Multi-purpose vessels
National Shipbuilding Strategy: Shipbuilding and industrial marine
Industrial and technological benefits

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SOURCE Public Services and Procurement Canada