(OTTAWA) — Through the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS), the government of Canada is equipping members of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) with modern, built-in-Canada ships and equipment needed to carry out their important work now and into the future, while supporting and creating jobs right across the country. The NSS contributes over a billion dollars to Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP) every year, while creating and maintaining more than 15,000 jobs annually in our shipbuilding industry and with Canadian suppliers of the marine sector.
On Monday, Anita Anand, minister of Public Services and Procurement, and Harjit S. Sajjan, minister of National Defense, announced that Canada has taken an important step toward delivering the RCN’s future fleet, by awarding a performance-based contract to Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards for the full construction of two joint support ships (JSS). Valued at $2.4 billion (including taxes), this contract will allow the transition to full-rate construction of the first ship, the construction of early blocks for which began in June 2018, and then the second ship.
The JSS will deliver fuel and other vital supplies to vessels at sea, offer medical and dental services, and provide facilities for helicopter maintenance repair. The presence of replenishment ships increases the range and endurance of operations at sea, allowing Canadian combat ships to remain at sea for significant periods of time without going to shore for resupply.
Quick facts
• As outlined in Canada’s defense policy, Canada has committed to acquiring two JSS designated as the Protecteur class to replace the RCN’s decommissioned auxiliary oiler replenishment vessels. This project is part of a broader effort to revitalize the RCN’s surface fleet of ships.
• The design contract for the JSS project was awarded in February 2017, and early build construction began in June 2018.
• The first JSS is expected to be delivered in 2023, and the second in 2025.
• The total JSS budget includes $3.1 billion for the purchase of the two ships and initial spares, as well as $1 billion for design and production engineering work, project management and associated contingency costs, resulting in a total value of $4.1 billion.
• Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd. was competitively selected as a strategic source of supply under the NSS in 2011. Its work package includes the construction of the RCN’s JSS.
• The Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy applies to this contract, ensuring that Seaspan will invest 100 percent of the value of the contract in the Canadian economy.
• NSS contracts issued between 2012 and December 2019 are estimated to contribute over $17.04 billion ($1.54 billion annually) to GDP, and create or maintain more than 15,521 jobs annually, through the marine industry and its Canadian suppliers from 2012 to 2022.
