Seaspan Shipyards contracts Genoa for polar icebreaker tech design services

Image: Seaspan Shipyards

North Vancouver, B.C.-based Seaspan Shipyards has inked a contract with Newfoundland-based Genoa Design International (Genoa) to continue providing design expertise on the Canadian Coast Guard’s new heavy polar icebreaker.

Under the contract, Geona will provide design guidance, growing its local workforce in Vancouver to more than 100 naval architecture and marine systems designers. Work will continue into the vessel’s build phase, which is already underway at Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards. Additionally, Genoa will provide its technical leadership and program support to advance the first built-in-Canada heavy icebreaker in more than 60 years.

Measuring 158 meters long and 28 meters wide, Seaspan’s polar icebreaker will be incredibly complex, designed to operate self-sufficiently in the high-Arctic year-round. It will play a critical role in enabling the Canadian Coast Guard to transit and operate on more than 162,000 kilometers of Arctic coastline. The capabilities of this Polar Class 2 icebreaker will help sustain a 12-month presence in Canada’s North in support of Canada’s Arctic sovereignty, high-Arctic science (including climate change research), indigenous peoples and other northern communities, and the ability to respond to major maritime emergencies including search and rescue.

It will be able to accommodate up to 100 personnel, and, as one of the only Polar Class 2 vessels in the world, will be able to operate farther north, in more difficult ice conditions and for longer periods, than any icebreaker in Canada to date.

The ship will be the seventh vessel designed and built by Seaspan under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS). It will also be the fifth Polar Class vessel to be built for the CCG, and one of up to 21 icebreaking vessels overall that Seaspan is constructing.

“Genoa’s signing of the Polar Icebreaker Build Contract with Vancouver Shipyards is the latest milestone in an enduring partnership that began and continues under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy. Together, we are strengthening our nation’s ability to support national fleet requirements, from ship construction to vessel lifecycle support. Now more than ever, Canadian companies like Genoa are vitally important to the nation’s sovereignty and security.” said Gina Pecore, CEO, Genoa Design International

“Seaspan’s new heavy polar icebreaker is more than a ship — it represents a national capability for generations,” said Kate Morton, vice president – supply chain, Seaspan Shipyards. “Genoa continue to be an important Canadian design partner, helping us deliver this flagship vessel to the Coast Guard. Together, we’re continuing to strengthen the capacity and sustainability of Canada’s revitalized shipbuilding industry.” —