BY TIM PAGE
GUEST OPINION
In his January 24, 2018, article “Canada can’t refuel its own ships” Sen. Colin Kenny suggests that the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) is flawed and that the Government of Canada should gift more sole-sourced contracts to Davie Shipyards in Quebec.
Sen. Kenny’s suggestions would be detrimental to the Royal Canadian Navy and to Canadian taxpayers.
Under the NSS, Seaspan Shipyards was competitively selected by the Government of Canada to build non-combat vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard and Navy; this includes the construction of two new Joint Support Ships (JSS). In addition to building Canada’s next generation of ships, the NSS was intended to revitalize Canada’s shipbuilding industry.
Seaspan has embraced this challenge with the support of our workforce, suppliers, and the people of British Columbia. We have demonstrated our commitment through the hundreds of millions of dollars invested by our company in our processes, people, and facilities. This includes a $170-million investment in our state-of-the-art facility in Vancouver, purpose-built to meet the long-term shipbuilding needs of the Federal Government and funded entirely by our company.
In December of 2017, Seaspan proudly launched the first vessel to be designed and built under the NSS. Construction progress continues on two Coast Guard vessels as we continue with the design and engineering work on others. On JSS we have worked to transform a proven design into one that fully meets Canada’s needs for the long-term.
Without basis, Sen. Kenny claims that JSS will not be ready until 2026 and 2028. This is pure fiction.
Built by Seaspan, JSS will provide the Navy with vessels that will have an operational life expectancy of more than 30 years; the vessels could be deployed in any location or situation, and would be owned by the Navy. The vessels would feature leading technology that meets or exceeds NATO standards.
By contrast, Sen. Kenny’s proposal would have Quebec-based Davie converting used commercial vessels into limited capability oilers and leasing them to the Government. These old ships are already halfway to the scrapyard with reduced operational life expectancy.
Davie’s untested conversion program would produce vessels that have commercial radar only, and non-NATO compliant communications technology. Additionally, the proposed vessels would not have diplomatic status and only limited self-defence capabilities. Critically, they would be restricted on when and where they could be deployed, limiting their value during major international events or crises.
All these limitations would come at a very high price through expensive leasing arrangements between Davie and the Government of Canada. MV Asterix, Davie’s interim oiler, is costing the Navy nearly $700M to simply lease it for a mere five years.
Building ships takes time. Rebuilding an entire industry takes even longer. In support of providing Canada with fully capable ships ready for any threat or environment now and over the long term, the Navy’s choice of JSS remains the best solution.
- Tim Page is Vice-President of Government Relations for Seaspan Shipyards
