Canada awards Davie, Seaspan frigate maintenance contracts
Written by Nick Blenkey
HMCS Calgary (U.S. Navy photograph)
Canada has unveiled plans to invest C$7.5 billion (about US$5.74 billion) in maintaining the Royal Canadian Navy’s fleet of 12 Halifax-class guided missile frigates between now and their planned retirement in the early 2040s.
Yesterday, Public Services and Procurement Canada said that Chantier Davie, Lévis, Quebec, and Seaspan Victoria Shipyards Limited, Victoria, British Columbia, will each receive a C$500 million (about US$383 million) contract, to carry out maintenance work on the first group of frigates. A similar contract with Irving Shipbuilding Inc. is currently being finalized. These are initial contracts, and values are linked to individual ship maintenance schedules, the cost of shipyard labor rates and projected condition, and work that needs to be completed on the individual ships.
The Davie award will be the largest federal contract awarded the shipyard to date.
The five-year contracts guarantee a minimum of three frigates for each shipyard, with work planned to begin in the early 2020s. These contracts are expected to rise in value as additional work packages are added.
The twelve frigates were commissioned between 1992 and 1996. Three were built by Davie, the others by the now defunct Saint John Shipbuilding, in Saint John, New Brunswick.
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