Seaspan Shipyards introduced it has accomplished building of the ‘Prototype Block’ for the Canadian Coast Guard’s (CCG) Polar Icebreaker program. Construction of this Prototype Block ensures that Seaspan has the right processes, procedures, gear and expertise essential to construct the primary heavy Polar Icebreaker in Canada in additional than 60 years.
Seaspan mentioned it developed and constructed the Prototype Block to make sure that its manufacturing groups are totally ready to chop metal on the Polar Icebreaker in late 2024. The technique of constructing the Prototype Block resulted in learnings in three key areas: enhancements in design for manufacturing; testing of recent gear, processes and procedures; and validation of first-time high quality in manufacturing to type and weld this new, specialised and thicker metal.
“Having the opportunity for our engineering and production teams to work collaboratively to construct this Prototype Block very early in the design process was beneficial not only to Seaspan, but also to our customer and our cross-county supply chain. We are all working toward the same goal of delivering the Polar Icebreaker to the Canadian Coast Guard. Our skilled trades team has now seen, felt, tested, and worked on this specialized steel, so we are now better prepared to ensure that Seaspan begins full rate construction with a more mature design,” mentioned Martin Edwards, Chief Program Officer at Seaspan Shipyards.
Steel wanted to assemble the Polar Icebreaker is twice as thick in some areas because the metal Seaspan has used for the opposite ships constructed underneath the National Shipbuilding Strategy and is more difficult to work with mixed with the tight body areas to assist icebreaking capabilities. It additionally takes further time to weld, and the thicker metal just isn’t as malleable, due to this fact establishing this additional Prototype Block previous to beginning full price building was essential for our preparedness.
“The completion of the Prototype Block for our Polar Icebreaker is an important milestone for the Canadian Coast Guard. We eagerly await its delivery as this vessel will extend Coast Guard on-water operations and ensure the continuous delivery of critical services in the high Arctic. This includes search and rescue, environmental and humanitarian response, supporting important ocean science and arctic sovereignty,” mentioned Mario Pelletier, Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard.
Seaspan has already gained important expertise designing and constructing Polar Class vessels together with three Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels which are actually in service with the Canadian Coast Guard; an Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel that’s presently underneath building at its Vancouver Shipyards location; and a category of as much as sixteen Multi-Purpose Vessels (additionally Polar Class) that’s presently in design.
Designed to function within the Arctic’s ice-covered waters, the Polar Icebreaker will play a vital position in enabling the Canadian Coast Guard to transit and function on greater than 162,000 km of Arctic shoreline. The capabilities of the Polar Icebreaker will assist maintain a year-round presence in Canada’s North in assist of Indigenous Peoples and different northern communities, Arctic sovereignty, high-Arctic science (together with local weather change analysis), and the flexibility to reply to main maritime emergencies together with search and rescue.
With Canada’s present largest Icebreaker, the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent, set to retire on the finish of the last decade after 60 years of service, the brand new Polar Icebreaker shall be one of many world’s largest and strongest standard icebreakers. With a displacement of 27,876 tonnes, the Polar Icebreaker shall be 158 meters lengthy and 28 meters vast, and capable of accommodate as much as 100 personnel. It will be capable of function farther north, in tougher ice circumstances and for longer durations than any icebreaker in Canada so far.
