Feds award another $3.3B NSPS contract for 10 non-combat ships
by Canadian Manufacturing Daily Staff
Vancouver Shipyards will build as many as 10 additional vessels for Canadian Coast Guard
VANCOUVER—Another contract for as many as 10 Canadian Coast Guard vessels worth an estimated $3.3-billion has been awarded under the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS).
Announced by Minister of Industry James Moore and Minister of Public Works Diane Finley, Vancouver Shipyards will be building as many as 10 additional large non-combat ships for the Coast Guard fleet.
The latest NSPS investment is in addition to the previously announced Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels, and Offshore Oceanographic Science and Polar Icebreaker vessels that will be built by Vancouver Shipyards, bringing Seaspan’s announced total to 17 since October 2011.
“This is yet another example of the unprecedented investment our government has made in the Canadian Coast Guard and the Canadian shipbuilding industry,” Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Gail Shea said in a statement.
The $3.3-billion investment will see as many as five Medium Endurance Multi-Tasked Vessels and five Offshore Patrol Vessels built at the company’s facilities in Vancouver.
“The (NSPS) has played a key role in revitalizing British Columbia’s shipbuilding industry, creating thousands of long-term, skilled jobs,” said Moore. “(This) announcement will ensure that the job creation is sustained, and that British Columbia continues to be a leader in Canadian shipbuilding.”
The NSPS is now in its fourth phase, with the designs of the initial set of ships being finalized and contracted shipyards undertaking the infrastructure upgrades required to enable them to build the new ships.
