Canada Selects Irving Shipbuilding to Build Arctic Patrol Ships for $1.9 Billion

By Mike De Souza

OTTAWA, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Canada has picked Nova Scotia’s Irving Shipbuilding Inc to construct at the least 5 Arctic patrol ships for the nation’s navy for C$2.3 billion ($1.9 billion) and has elevated the general program’s price range, authorities officers mentioned on Friday.

The complete price range for constructing the ships, a part of the federal government’s efforts to exert Canadian sovereignty within the Arctic, has elevated by C$400 million to C$3.5 billion, with C$1.2 billion of that for use for things like infrastructure, ammunition, administrative prices and closing working functionality.

Irving Shipbuilding President Kevin McCoy mentioned the contract requires the corporate ship at the least 5 ships, however is designed for it to ship six if prices are contained.

“This is a new design and class of military ship that will be constructed in a brand new shipyard,” he mentioned. “These things bring with them risk. This is a fact of life. What we have done here is try to understand and manage these risks.”

He mentioned building is ready to start later this yr and run to 2022, and estimated this system would create about 1,000 building jobs.

The 104-meter ships will give the navy new capabilities to navigate the icy waters of the Arctic and accommodate landings of helicopters underneath some circumstances.

Canada’s parliamentary watchdog warned final October the federal government would wish to extend this system’s price range or obtain fewer ships than deliberate.

The authorities had initially estimated it may construct six to eight ships for about C$3.1 billion.

($1=$1.20 Canadian) (Additional reporting by Randall Palmer; Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson; and Peter Galloway)