In March 2025, the Canadian government awarded contracts to Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards and Chantier Davie Canada to build two polar icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard. The contracts, awarded as part of the country’s National Shipbuilding Strategy, should see the vessels delivered by the early 2030s.
The programme to replace Canada’s existing icebreaking vessels was formally launched in 2012, but has faced many delays and undergone numerous changes. The aim is to replace the Canadian Coast Guard’s fleet of heavy icebreakers with a new class of icebreakers built to modern specifications.
The Government of Canada has contracted Seaspan and Chantier Davie to build one ship apiece. According to a 2024 report from the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, acquisition of the polar icebreakers is estimated to cost C$8.5 billion (US$5.9 billion), including the development and acquisition phases of the project. Although the vessels will have slightly different capabilities, working together, they will be able to fulfil all of the Arctic missions Canada requires of them and ensure a year-round presence in the region. They will be larger and more powerful than earlier polar icebreakers operated by the Canadian Coast Guard, and will enable the Coast Guard to operate at high latitudes for longer periods.
The new vessels have different hullforms, but both have high ice class – Polar Class 2 – and both make use of Aker Arctic’s Hybrid DAS propulsion concept, employing two azimuthing propulsion units flanking a fixed shaft line. Having gained popularity in recent years, the twin-azimuth hybrid configuration has largely replaced the classic triple-shaft configuration prevalent in polar icebreakers for decades.
The polar icebreaker to be built by Seaspan – the first scheduled for construction in Canada in 60 years – is based on a design developed for the Government of Canada under a 2012 contract awarded to STX Canada Marine, with Aker Arctic as part of the design team. As the original design was developed over a decade ago, 2021 saw Seaspan team up with Aker Arctic and another Finnish firm, Elomatic, to review the design. Other companies to have joined the design refresh effort include Canal Marine & Industrial, Barrier Marine Services and Genoa Design International.
The aim of the design review was to build a modern, effective icebreaker and investigate possible improvements in the design, while identifying potential technical risks. The regulatory landscape has also evolved significantly since 2012, so the design and engineering team had to take steps to plan for potential regulatory changes. The hull of the icebreaker has been optimised, resulting in a lighter ship with reduced steel weight, reduced construction costs and an efficient steel structure.
The Seaspan polar icebreaker will be able to operate for several months at sea without needing to return to port, and will be equipped with a flight deck to land Arctic-capable helicopters. Measuring 158m x 28m, and with a design displacement of 26,036tonnes, the new vessel will have more than 40MW of installed power and 36MW of propulsion power; a moonpool, to enable safe deployment of equipment from within the vessel; and a vehicle garage for unmanned aerial systems. It will also feature over-the-side science handling capability; a flexible forward working deck, with a cargo hold below; an aft deck with multiple cranes and flexible load-out; and towing capability.
In a March 2025 presentation at the Aker Arctic ‘Arctic Passion’ seminar in Helsinki, Seaspan Shipyards COO Jari Antilla added that the vessel will have an open-water speed of 18 knots, a speed of 3knots in 2.5m ice and a 20,000nm range at 12knots. The icebreaker will bear the class notations ✠100A1 Icebreaker(+), Ice Class PC 2, LA, Winterization H(-50) D(-50) ✠LMC, NAV 1, IBS, DP(AM), UMS, CCS, ICC, PSMR. The contract is valued at C$3.15 billion, and the ship is due to be delivered by 2032. The official start of construction is scheduled for April 2025.
Chantier Davie will build its icebreaker in Lévis, Quebec, working closely with Helsinki Shipyard in Finland
Chantier Davie will build its polar icebreaker in Lévis, Quebec. To accelerate construction, the company will work closely with Helsinki Shipyard in Finland, which it owns. Through a work-sharing programme, Canadians will work alongside their Finnish counterparts to build a portion of the ship in Finland. The skills and knowledge Chantier Davie workers will acquire will be applied to future icebreakers, improving the shipyard’s capacity to build this kind of vessel.
Less information has been released about this design, but it is known that it will be based on Davie’s Polar Max-type icebreaker, the design of which was developed at Helsinki Shipyard, based on Aker Arctic’s Aker ARC 148 hullform. In addition to conventional Canadian Coast Guard operations, it will also function as a research vessel and be capable of undertaking year-round oil spill response and emergency towing operations. The Davie-built icebreaker will be 139m in length, and the ship is expected to be delivered by 2030.
