CCG

Seaspan's Vancouver Drydock (Seaspan) is pleased to announce the successful completion of the Canadian Coast Guard's CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier's Vessel Life Extension (VLE). After undocking at the end of April 2024, the vessel completed an in-water work period in preparation for ship commissioning and sea trials.

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Seaspan Shipyards (Seaspan) is proud to launch the Canadian Coast Guard's flagship science vessel, CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk, Canada's newest and most modern research vessel.

The fourth ship designed, built and launched by Seaspan under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, it marks the culmination of years of hard work by the dedicated Seaspan employees and partners, as well as hundreds of others across Seaspan's cross-Canada supply chain who worked on the vessel.

The offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel (OOSV) is a floating laboratory that will serve as the primary oceanographic science platform for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. As a Polar Class 6 vessel, it will be a highly advanced ice capable ship equipped with the latest scientific research systems. The new ship will provide increased capability and capacity to support marine surveys and scientific research on ocean currents and the seabed in Atlantic Canada. It will also contribute directly to increasing our overall understanding of the impact that climate change has on the oceans.

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• ABB has secured a comprehensive propulsion system contract with Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyard for the first of the Canadian Coast Guard’s new-generation polar icebreakers
   
• The icebreaker is expected to be the world’s largest and most powerful diesel-electric icebreaker when it enters service in 2030
   
• Azipod® propulsion has been selected to support the vessel’s operational efficiency, reliability and icebreaking capability, meeting tightest emissions regulations

Seaspan Shipyards, Canada’s long-term shipbuilding partner for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) and Royal Canadian Navy, has awarded ABB a contract to deliver an integrated propulsion system for the first of the CCG’s new-generation polar class icebreakers.

The vessel is expected to be one of the world’s largest and most powerful diesel-electric icebreaker when it enters service in 2030, with ABB supplying vessel systems complying with IACS Polar Class 2 requirements for year-round operations in moderate multi-year ice conditions. The vessel will have 34MW of propulsive power provided by a single shaftline and twin Azipod® units. In addition to increasing efficiency and reliability, Azipod® propulsors offer improved maneuverability in icy waters.

This major marine systems order marks a significant milestone for ABB in Canada, with ABB assuming the role of single system integrator responsible for the engineering, delivery and commissioning of the comprehensive propulsion package.

Upon delivery, the vessel will join a reference list of 150 other icebreaking or icegoing vessels outfitted with ABB’s propulsion technology. As the first vessel of its kind to be built in Canada in over 60 years, it will set a performance benchmark for the new generation of domestically built coast guard icebreakers.

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Seaspan Shipyards (Seaspan) has successfully completed construction of the 'Prototype Block' for the Canadian Coast Guard’s (CCG) Polar Icebreaker program. Construction of this Prototype Block ensures that Seaspan has the proper processes, procedures, equipment, and skills necessary to build the first heavy Polar Icebreaker in Canada in more than 60 years.

Seaspan developed and built this Prototype Block to ensure that our production teams are fully prepared to cut steel on the Polar Icebreaker in late 2024. The process of building the Prototype Block resulted in learnings in three key areas: improvements in design for manufacturing; testing of new equipment, processes and procedures; and validation of first-time quality in manufacturing to form and weld this new, specialized and thicker steel.

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The Canadian Coast Guard has taken delivery of a new search and rescue (SAR) boat built by shipyard Chantier Naval Forillon based in Quebec.

CCGS Baie des Chaleurs is named after Chaleurs Bay, the portion of the Gulf of St Lawrence that sits between Quebec and New Brunswick. The newbuild belongs to a series of 20 new SAR boats named after geographical bays across Canada, hence their alternate designation of Bay-class.

The aluminium-hulled SAR boat was built to a design by naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd (RAL) in compliance to Lloyd’s Register’s Special Service Craft rules. The RAL design is itself an improved variant of the Severn-class lifeboats operated by the UK’s Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Compared to the earlier RNLI boats, Baie des Chaleurs and its sisters each have a larger size, a greater range, and specific design elements that will allow operation even under extreme weather conditions, particularly along Canada’s Atlantic coast. The boat therefore has self-righting ability and is durable enough to withstand 12-metre seas and Beaufort Force 12 conditions.

Baie des Chaleurs has an LOA of 19 metres, a moulded beam of 6.3 metres, a draught of 1.67 metres, a gross tonnage of 75, and space for four crewmembers. Two MTU 10V2000 M94 diesel engines that each produce 1,200 kW drive fixed-pitch propellers to deliver a maximum speed of 25 knots.

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This season, seven icebreakers were deployed to support community resupply and deliver key services such as icebreaking, search and rescue, maintaining aids to navigation, responding to marine pollution incidents and hazards, and supporting scientific research. The CCGS Amundsen was the first vessel deployed for the season on June 14, 2024, from Quebec City, QC, and the CCGS Des Groseilliers was the last vessel to return from the Arctic on December 8, 2024.

In Rankin Inlet, NU, the Arctic Marine Response Station was open from June 21 to October 22, 2024, and responded to eight search and rescue incidents. Aside from this essential service, the all-Indigenous team also performed four training exercises and patrolled over 737 nautical miles around the areas of Rankin Inlet, Chesterfield Inlet, and Whale Cove, NU.

In August, the Canadian Coast Guard welcomed the United States Coast Guard's (USCG) District 17 Rear Admiral Megan Dean aboard the CCGS Pierre Radisson in Resolute Bay, NU, and the CCGS Amundsen in Frobisher Bay, NU. From August 24 to 26, 2024, the Canadian Coast Guard joined the United States Navy, USCG, and the Royal Danish Navy for Operation NANOOK 2024, which is a yearly maritime exercise led by the Canadian Armed Forces to enhance surveillance and collective responsiveness in the Arctic. These continued partnerships play an important role in keeping northern waters safe and reinforces Canada's long-standing sovereignty in the North.

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MAN Energy Solutions will deliver the engines, shafts and propellers for the AOPS’ integrated diesel-electric propulsion systems, as well as complete integrated logistics services (ILS) documentation. 

Each vessel will feature 4 × MAN 6L32/44CR engines, with each engine delivering 3,600 KW and utilizing common-rail (CR) electronic injection, high-efficiency turbochargers, electronic hardware and variable valve timing.

The company will also provide a selective catalytic reduction system with each engine. In combination with the SCR system, the common-rail injection system is expected to optimized each engine’s fuel consumption and emissions, resulting in IMO Tier III compliancy without sacrificing engine efficiency. This ultimately could reduce each ship’s carbon footprint to a minimum, a crucial factor when considering the fragile Arctic environment for which the ships are destined. 

Finally, MAN Energy Solutions will deliver 2 × MAN Alpha-branded five-bladed, bolted propellers that meet PC5 rules and which can even be exchanged underwater. These cater for higher cavitation inception speeds, possible shock impacts, and mission-critical conditions requiring additional redundancy, silent operation with minimal hydro-acoustic signatures, and suppressed underwater-radiated noise, the company highlighted.

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The Canadian coast guard's Marine Environmental and Hazard Response unit of Haida Gwaii has acquired the first-ever autonomous surface vessel (ASV) within the Canadian coast guard.  The delivery culminates two years of dedicated effort, innovation, and collaboration between Shift Coastal Technologies, and the Canadian coast guard’s autonomous systems.

To meet the emerging technology needs of the Canadian coast guard, the OceanSled Ranger Autonomous Surface vessel, and the Coastal Intelligence Management System (CiMS) software was evaluated and procured based on its unique capabilities and adaptability. The OceanSled Ranger is a shallow water, multi-mission ASV. The Canadian coast guard intendeds to use the boat for marine emergencies, including missing persons and coastal environmental protection.

The new boat can remove personnel from dangerous nearshore and intertidal environments. Its modular architecture allows seamless integration of sensors, including surface and subsea cameras for improved marine domain awareness during a marine incident. The software system can be deployed locally or in the cloud, and ingests, fuses, and visualizes crucial data from remotely operated systems, providing real-time insights for decision-making during critical operations.

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Learn about recent repair, refit and maintenance projects, including in service support contracts, awarded by the National Shipbuilding Strategy, under its third pillar.

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The Canadian Coast Guard says water levels on the Mackenzie River are so low that its vessels will be sent elsewhere – and anyone on the river should “use extreme caution.”

That warning, issued in a Thursday news release, applies to a vast stretch between the start of the Mackenzie River off Great Slave Lake and the Aklavik Channel in the Beaufort Delta.

“Due to the current conditions, the Canadian Coast Guard’s level of service, such as providing on-the-water response and maintaining aids to navigation, is impacted,” the news release stated.

The Canadian Coast Guard has two Hay River-based ships, CCGS Eckaloo and CCGS Dumit, which are both specially designed to access shallow areas of the river so navigational buoys can be serviced.

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The Canadian Coast Guard is looking for your feedback to inform the development of our first Long-Term Strategy, which will guide us into 2050 and beyond. We want to hear from you on what you think about the long-term goals and key actions identified in the Long-Term Strategy Discussion Paper, which is organized by four strategic pillars: Services, People, Assets, and Governance.  

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Ottawa – Gastops, a global leader in intelligent condition monitoring solutions, announced a significant contract award from Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards (Seaspan) to support the Canadian Coast Guard’s Multi-Purpose Vessel (MPV) Project.

Gastops is a long-standing provider of specialized propulsion system integration services to Naval, Coast Guard and system integrators, shipyards, and marine control system companies around the world.  Gastops utilizes dynamic simulations to validate propulsion machinery selection, develop and substantiate propulsion machinery control algorithms, evaluate propulsion machinery performance, and support the marine propulsion system design process. 

Under this agreement, Gastops will leverage its expertise in dynamic simulations of marine propulsion and electric plants to evaluate and optimize system performance and efficiency of the MPV’s propulsion machinery through a process referred to as Dynamic Response Analysis (DRA).

The contract requires a comprehensive DRA of the Electric Propulsion System to verify control algorithms for the propulsion system, assess performance of the propulsion machinery, and aid in design of the electric propulsion system. The use of a dynamic simulation model of the ship will allow the propulsion and integrated electrical systems to be analyzed for all anticipated vessel maneuvers.

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Sydney, NS – Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, was at the Canadian Coast Guard College in Sydney, Nova Scotia, on May 30 to highlight funding from Budget 2024 allocated to the Canadian Coast Guard.

The College equips personnel with the skills they need to serve Canadians on all coasts.  This investment, totaling $397 million over five years, will ensure the Canadian Coast Guard has the necessary training capacity, seagoing personnel, support staff and provisions to operate new vessels to be delivered for the fleet of the future.

Under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, the Government of Canada has made significant investments in the renewal of the Canadian Coast Guard fleet, bringing a modern, versatile approach to program delivery.

The new funding announced in Budget 2024 is to operate the future Canadian Coast Guard vessels. It includes recruitment and training of seagoing personnel to crew the new ships, and funding to build robust capacity to support vessel operations.

Budget 2024 also provided $130 million over six years to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, with $20 million ongoing to address marine fuel cost pressures. This funding will help to address the unpredictability and volatility of marine fuel costs.

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The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) has asked for engineering design consultancy services from Griffon Hoverwork to update their current air cushion vehicle (ACV) design and to conduct feasibility studies into alternative power plant options.

The Canadian Coast Guard operates a fleet of four ACVs, which primarily support the CCG’s search & rescue, icebreaking and marine navigation services mandate in the central and western regions of Canada. Due to their aluminium build and icebreaking core duty in harsh environments, the ACVs have a relatively short in-service life expectancy and are ready to be replaced.

Mark Downer, Engineering Director at Griffon Hoverwork, says: “Griffon’s experience in ACVs is extensive, with a track record of our products operating in more than 45 countries and a pedigree stretching back seven decades. Over that time we have continually evolved our hovercraft, both in terms of upgrading existing models and introducing new designs.

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St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador - Ensuring that Canadian Coast Guard personnel have the equipment they need to keep Canada’s waterways safe, clean and navigable is a top priority for the Government of Canada.

Today, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, joined by the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, announced that, following a competitive process, the contract for the conversion and refit of the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Judy LaMarsh has been awarded to St. John’s Dockyard Ltd. (Newdock). This contract is valued at nearly $34.3 million under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, and will create up to 80 highly skilled and well-paying jobs in the region. Work on the vessel has already begun in December 2023, and is expected to continue until March 2025.

The important work to enhance the vessel’s capabilities includes overhauling the propulsion, communication, and navigation systems. In addition, work will be undertaken on the crew accommodation and workspaces, and a new buoy crane will be installed.

The CCGS Judy LaMarsh performs icebreaking operations essential to the start of several fishing seasons, and tends to the navigational buoys in the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence Seaway, and Atlantic Canada. In addition, the vessel is available for search and rescue and other emergency response operations when needed. The vessel’s main areas of operation are Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence Seaway. Once the seaway is open, the vessel will provide navigational assistance, and maintain aids to navigation from the Quebec border to Thunder Bay, Ontario.

This is just one example of how, through the National Shipbuilding Strategy, the Government of Canada is revitalizing the shipbuilding industry, creating good, skilled jobs, and building entirely new classes of ships to ensure Canada’s marine services have safe, reliable and modern equipment to fulfill their missions.

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