Funding awarded for maintenance of Canada’s fleet of combat vessels
Rehana Begg
The contract is expected to result in up to 400 jobs at the shipyard, plus hundreds more for marine sector suppliers and subcontractors
GATINEAU, QC, Aug. 15, 2019 /CNW/ – The Government of Canada, through the National Shipbuilding Strategy, awarded a $500-million contract to Halifax-based Irving Shipbuilding to carry out maintenance work on Halifax-class frigates.
The funding is part of the federal government’s investment of more than $7.5 billion in the Royal Canadian Navy’s 12 Halifax-class frigates that would provide necessary ongoing maintenance until they are retired in the early 2040s.
This initial five-year contract guarantees a minimum of three frigates for the shipyard, with work planned to begin in the early 2020s. The contract is expected to rise in value as additional work packages are added.
The Royal Canadian Navy requires that at least 8 of the 12 frigates are able to deploy at all times to meet the Navy’s commitment to the Government of Canada.
This contract is expected to result in up to 400 jobs at the shipyard, plus hundreds of related jobs for marine sector suppliers and subcontractors across the country.
On July 16, 2016, the Government of Canada awarded similar contracts to Seaspan’s Victoria Shipyards Limited in Victoria, B.C., and Chantier Davie in Lévis, Que.
The Canadian Surface Combatants will replace the Halifax-class frigates and the retired Iroquois-class destroyers.
Construction on the Canadian Surface Combatants is scheduled to begin at Irving in the early 2020s.
