Canada to Invest More Than $8 Billion in Six New Arctic Icebreakers

+ ADD ZONA MILITAR TO YOUR GOOGLE FEED

Why add us? Get the latest news from Zona Militar in your Google feed.

JOIN THE WHATSAPP CHANNEL

Join our official WhatsApp channel and receive the news as it happens.

As part of its drive to strengthen Arctic surveillance and power-projection capabilities, Canada has decided to invest more than $8 billion in building its next generation of icebreakers, which will operate under the Canadian Coast Guard. Davie Shipbuilding stated on its official website that the agreement covers the construction of six vessels to meet the requirements of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, with deliveries expected to begin during the next decade.

👉 Read also: With Airfox drones and 8 countries involved, the Spanish Navy deploys BAM Meteoro to the Gulf of Guinea

Canada’s new Arctic icebreaker fleet

Kevin Brosseau, Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard, commented on the development: “The icebreaking services of our Canadian Coast Guard are essential to keeping our waterways open and safe, while maintaining the flow of trade that supports Canada’s economic growth (…) These vessels will strengthen our support for coastal and northern communities, expand our capacity for scientific missions, and reinforce Canada’s maritime presence and security in an Arctic region that is becoming more active and important every year.”

The new generation of icebreakers being built by Davie Shipbuilding will help Canada move forward with replacing its current fleet of heavy and medium vessels used in the Arctic to monitor the principal maritime routes. They will also clear the waterways of the St Lawrence River, a major commercial gateway to the city of Quebec. The company said the new ships will be vital for safeguarding Canadian waters and supporting the various coastal communities in the north of the country.

📌 You may be interested in

• South Korea loses competition to Germany and Norway to equip Canada with up to 12 new attack submarines
• British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth returns to service to lead a three-month deployment in Northern Europe

Canadian Coast Guard capabilities and shipbuilding

The Canadian Coast Guard, which forms part of the Ministry of Defence structure, currently operates around nine icebreakers for these duties. Of these, CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent is the largest, measuring 119.6 metres in length with a beam of 24.4 metres; it is one of the institution’s two heavy icebreakers.

The programme to build these six vessels also seeks to develop greater domestic naval-industrial capability and strengthen the network of local defence-related companies that will join the supply chain. The shipbuilder itself indicated that the process will prioritise Canadian suppliers, materials and designs.

The recent acquisition of these new icebreakers is part of a broader Canadian Government programme intended to reinforce the country’s naval capabilities, given that Arctic ice melt will help open new navigable routes that will require close monitoring.

In the specific case of the Navy, Canada announced in July that it had selected German company TKMS to supply twelve new attack submarines to replace the ageing Victoria-class boats; these will continue to receive maintenance under an agreement with Babcock. In addition, it was reported in mid-July that the new River-class destroyer programme had also reached an important milestone, with the keel-laying ceremony for the first vessel, HMCS Fraser.

Images used for illustrative purposes.