South Korean companies are interested in bidding on the Canadian submarine program. (Hanwha Ocean photo)
By David Pugliese
Canada’s focus for shipbuilding programs has now shifted to new icebreakers and submarines.
Canada, Finland and the U.S. outlined on Nov. 13 at a special meeting in Washington a new plan for co-operation on the construction of icebreakers.
Jean-Yves Duclos, Canada’s Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Alejandro Mayorkas, United States Secretary of Homeland Security, and Wille Rydman, Finland's Minister of Economic Affairs, signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding to establish the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE Pact).
The pact is being described by Canadian government officials as a “landmark partnership” that will enhance industry collaboration among the three countries as well as coordinate expertise and strengthen abilities to produce best-in-class polar vessels, including icebreakers.
The ICE Pact will allow new equipment and capabilities to be produced more quickly, according to Public Services and Procurement Canada.
This includes setting up a system to rapidly exchange information on these icebreakers, keeping construction cost-and- time efficient.
Through the ICE Pact, Canada, the U.S. and Finland will also work together on a joint workforce-development program to ensure that the workers building these vessels have the skills and training that are needed.
By jointly developing and producing world-class Arctic and polar icebreakers, the nations are laying the foundation for a competitive shipbuilding industry, according to the Canadian government.
The Liberal government is also highlighting this increased cooperation as an initiative to “create thousands of good middle-class jobs”, grow the economy, empower scientific research, and help uphold security and sovereignty in the Arctic.
Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard,
stated that the increased information sharing and joint learning opportunities through the ICE Pact will “help us ensure we're building the highest- quality polar icebreakers for our future Canadian Coast Guard fleet."
Canadian shipyards will continue building polar icebreakers and other Arctic and polar capabilities under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS).
“By working together, we are supporting national security and climate interests in the Arctic for the collective benefit of all three countries," Duclos added.
The Canadian Coast Guard currently has 18 icebreakers of varying sizes and capabilities, making it the second-largest icebreaking fleet in the world.
The information and best practices that Canada, the U.S. and Finland gain through the ICE Pact will also help inform current and future work on icebreaking capabilities built under the National Shipbuilding Strategy.
In May 2021, Canada announced the construction of two new polar icebreakers under the NSS at Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd. and Chantier Davie Canada Inc. Both polar icebreakers will have capacity and abilities beyond those of Canada's current largest icebreaker, the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St-Laurent.
U.S. Homeland Security officials noted that the ICE Pact includes four components: 1) enhanced information exchange between the United States, Canada, and Finland; 2) workforce development collaboration; 3) engagement with allies and partners, and; 4) research and development. “Given the high costs of shipbuilding, long-term orders are essential for shipyard success in each of our countries,” the U.S. agency pointed out. ”The collective investment in our domestic shipyards has the potential to scale production and reduce the cost of Arctic and polar icebreakers for our own use and for our allies and partners.”
Due to the capital intensity of shipbuilding, long-term, multi-ship orderbooks are essential to the success of a shipyard, the White House pointed out in its original July statement with the initial announcement of the ICE Pact.
As yards in the United States, Canada, and Finland make significant investments in their domestic capacity to build these vessels for their own needs, ICE Pact invites allies and partners to purchase vessels from American, Canadian, and Finnish shipyards with experience building polar icebreakers, the White House added.
Through diplomatic collaboration, shipyards focused on building polar icebreakers can reach the scale needed to reduce costs for allies and partners that need access to the polar regions, Canada, the U.S. and Finland noted.
To coincide with the signing of the ICE Pact MOU announcement, Davie, the Quebec-based shipbuilder, reaffirmed its commitment as an industry partner in the initiative.
Davie noted that as the only ICE Pact shipbuilder with a dedicated presence in all three member nations, it is uniquely positioned to bridge the critical gap in western icebreaking capacity.
Currently holding the largest global order book for heavy icebreakers under Canada's National Shipbuilding Strategy, Davie is also the owner of Helsinki Shipyard in Finland. That firm, purchased by Davie in November 2023, is responsible for over half of the world's icebreaking fleet. Furthermore, Davie will soon establish a U.S. shipbuilding presence, further solidifying its role across the ICE Pact countries, company officials noted.
Final site and partner selection for the move has still to be announced. But Davie’s initiative had earlier caught the attention of the White House which issued a July 29 statement highlighting the move. “Throughout its history, Davie has also supported American shipbuilders on strategic projects such as the U.S. Navy Nimitz Class Aircraft Carriers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers,” the White House noted in its praise for the company. “Davie seeks to collaborate with U.S. partners to support the growth of American shipbuilding capacity.”
Davie is in the process of positioning itself as a critical link in the production of icebreakers not only for Canada but the world. The firm also pointed out that as a partner under the NSS, it has an initial $8.5 billion contract that covers construction of seven heavy icebreakers and two large hybrid ferries.
Meanwhile, the Royal Canadian Navy continues with its initiative to acquire a new submarine fleet.
The Canadian government has requested submarine builders submit information on their boats by Nov. 18 in what is seen as a first step in the eventual purchase.
Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair issued a statement Sept. 16 noting that submarines are crucial to maintaining the country’s sovereignty. “To avoid any gap in Canadian submarine capabilities, Canada anticipates a contract award by 2028 with the delivery of the first replacement submarine no later than 2035,” Blair noted in his message.
Canadian defence officials have already met with officials from South Korea, Spain, France and Sweden about conventional-powered subs. Norway and Germany have also pitched Canada about a program for such sub
Royal Canadian Navy commander Vice Admiral Angus Topshee visited South Korean submarine builders in November to hear details about that country’s naval programs.
On November 10, Topshee visited Hanwha Ocean's Geoje shipyard and discussed Canada's upcoming submarine acquisition project.
During the visit, Hanwha Ocean introduced Topshee to the KSS-III Batch-II submarine, a model that the firm is highlighting for the Canadian project.
Topshee had an in-depth briefing from Hanwha Ocean on its original design and construction process of the KSS-III Batch-II submarine, according to company officials.
In addition, Hanwha Ocean highlighted that the KSS-III CPS is the only model capable of meeting all High-Level Mandatory Requirements. The company also outlined plans to enable independent submarine maintenance through transfer of technology, allowing In-Service Support (ISS) capabilities to be established in Canada.
Charlie SC Eoh, President and Chief Operating Officer of Hanwha Ocean stated, “The CPSP project is not only about delivering a submarine built in Korea to Canada; it represents a milestone for long-lasting partnership that will promote economic, industrial, and defence cooperation between two nations”.
The president and chief operating officer of Hanwha Ocean also added, “During his visit to the Hanwha Ocean Geoje shipyard, VAdm Topshee had the opportunity to see the current production line of the KSS-III submarine. In addition to obtaining significantly enhanced capability of the submarine much sooner, Hanwha Ocean’s capacity to deliver the KSS-III well in advance of the replacement of Victoria Class Submarines would lead to significant cost-savings for Canada compared to continuing to support this aging fleet.”
Two days later Topshee was at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries along with representatives from Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and ROK Navy Headquarters.
During his visit, Topshee inspected the primary submarine of the ROK Navy, which is under maintenance at HD HHI, and toured its submarine construction and production facilities, gaining firsthand insight into the company’s advanced submarine construction capabilities.
HD HHI officials also introduced their vision for Canada’s submarine acquisition project, actively discussing opportunities for collaboration between the two countries in research, development, and workforce training.
Sang-kyun Lee, CEO of HD HHI, stated, “HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has the capabilities to be a crucial partner not only for Canada’s submarine acquisition project but also for the Navy’s overall operational capacity.”
A HD Hyundai Heavy Industries news release quoted Topshee as stating that he “was deeply impressed by Hyundai Heavy Industries’ technology and productivity, demonstrated not only in submarine construction and maintenance but also in successfully completing various naval projects, including Aegis destroyers, frigates, and patrol ships. In particular, their ability to deliver multiple projects on time, even when managing several simultaneously, was remarkable.”
Back in Canada, Royal Canadian Navy officers continue to develop the requirements for the new subs.
Canada’s proposed new submarines will be required to launch and recover underwater drones and patrol covertly for a minimum of 21 days, defence industry representatives have been told.
The new subs will have to be capable of operating undetected for a range of 7,000 nautical miles, as well as a minimum of 21 days of continuous dived operations.
The boats will need to operate under the ice in the Arctic but only for limited periods of time.
The briefings to industry stipulated that the subs be capable of no less than 60 days of self-sustained operations. On board communication systems must be compatible with the U.S. military.
No details have been released about the budget for the project, but former naval officers who have examined the request for information told the Ottawa Citizen that the cost of the program will be in the $100 billion range.
The documents presented to industry Sept. 16 requested information on the production cost for acquiring eight or 12 submarines.
National Defence spokeswoman Frédérica Dupuis noted the Victoria-class submarines service life comes to an end between 2034 through 2040, and Canada’s intent is to avoid a capability gap in that time period.
But the first submarine won’t actually be operating with the Royal Canadian Navy until 2037, noted various Department of National Defence briefings.
Besides the multi-billion dollar price tag for the submarines there are other potential hurdles for the proposed purchase.
In the past, the navy has had trouble training enough submariners to crew its current fleet of four boats, let alone eight or 12 new boats.
The Conservative party has supported an immediate replacement program for the Victoria-class submarines.
Canada currently operates four used Victoria-class submarines bought second hand from the British. Those were delivered between 2000 and 2004.
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