Seaspan Shipyards has named Algoma Steel and Stigterstaal Canada as the primary steel plate suppliers for up to six multi purpose icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard. The agreement is valued at about 182 million dollars and covers up to 24,000 metric tonnes of Canadian made structural steel, 4,000 tonnes of steel plate per vessel, under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy.
The order is the largest for polar class steel in Algoma’s history and includes steel for Seaspan’s flagship heavy polar icebreaker, the future CCGS Imnaryuaq. Algoma will produce the structural steel at Sault Ste. Marie, Stigterstaal will handle marine steel processing and distribution, and the vessels will be built at Seaspan’s yards in British Columbia. Seaspan’s wider Coast Guard orderbook runs to up to 16 vessels, and the company says its supply chain now includes more than 880 Canadian companies and more than 3 billion dollars in contracts.
The ships themselves are about 100 metres long with a displacement of nearly 9,000 tonnes, a crew of 50, diesel electric propulsion and Polar Class 4 icebreaking capability, designed for the Lower Arctic and offshore work including search and rescue and environmental response.
Industry Minister Melanie Joly framed the award as economic security policy, saying building the icebreakers with Canadian steel strengthens domestic supply chains and sovereign capability. Algoma chief executive Rajat Marwah called it the largest order of polar class steel in the mill’s history and a proud moment for steelmaking in Sault Ste. Marie.