Blue Drop Training wins C$15 million AOPS award

APRIL 29, 2016 —Fleetway, Inc. and Irving Shipbuilding have announced the award of a C$15 million contract to Halifax, NS, based company Bluedrop Training & Simulation for the design of the training and simulation software for the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) vessels .

The AOPS vessels, currently under construction at Irving’s Halifax Shipyard, are the first ships to be built under the combat vessels package of Irving’s shipbuilding contract under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS). Fleetway was selected by Irving to provide the Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) and the Personnel Training requirements for the project

To date, over C$1 billion in AOPS contracts have been awarded to over 190 Canadian companies , including over $405 million in contracts to Nova Scotia companies.

“This contract with Bluedrop provides a significant investment in Nova Scotia, creating jobs and economic spin off in the province,” said Kevin McCoy, President of Irving Shipbuilding. “By investing here at home, Irving Shipbuilding can help ensure Canadian companies who are engaged in the shipbuilding industry remain competitive for years to come.”

Bluedrop is a 100% Canadian owned small business with over 35 years of experience working with Canada’s Armed Forces.

Currently, Bluedrop’s Halifax office has 25 full and part-time employees dedicated to work on the AOPS project, including eight positions that were created as a direct result of the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) contract.

“Bluedrop is proud to be a part of this important project for Canada,” said Jean-Claude Siew, Vice-President, Technology and Simulation with Bluedrop Training & Simulation. “Our state-of-the-art virtual training and simulation center here in Halifax is the only facility of its kind in Canada and will ensure our Navy has access to leading edge training technologies to prepare and train the future fleet.”