Category Archives: ICE Pact

“The ICE Pact: One Year Later” –Sixty Degrees North

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Canadian Coast Guard Multi-Purpose Icebreaker (MPI). Source: Seaspan
Note: The MPI image does not show the right propulsors; it will use Steerprop’s contra-rotating propulsors (CRP). Additionally according to Seaspan, the design could easily be upgraded to PC3. Confirmation from Seaspan and Aker Arctic. 

To get a realistic view of the potential of the ICE Pact, I recommend a review of the Sixty Degrees North’s review of the state of the agreement after the first year–useful, but perhaps less than we might have hoped.

“Canadian shipyard in talks to buy US shipbuilder amid trade war talk” –Defense News

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Canada’s Polar Icebreaker

After the continued frustration of the Polar Security Cutter program, the ICE Pact agreement between Finland, Canada, and the US seems promising, but we have heard little about how it will work or what it will produce. Forbes discusses the possibilities here.

We may be seeing the first steps of implementation as Canada’s Davie shipyard, which has already purchased a shipyard with a long history of building icebreakers in Finland, seeks to buy a shipyard in the US. There aren’t many possibilities, I would guess either the old Navy yard in Vallejo that has been doing the five year rolling service life extension on Polar Star or the Philly Shipyard currently building “National Security Multi-Mission Vessels” for the merchant marine academies.

Defense News reports.

Davie, a Quebec shipbuilder set to play a key role in a joint icebreaker production agreement between Canada, the United States and Finland, is moving forward with plans to expand its operations south of the border despite a looming trade war threatening the continent.

As part of the expansion, the Canada-based multinational shipbuilder has set out to acquire an American shipyard, which would secure an initial and important footprint in the U.S. for the company.

Davie is expected to build Canada’s second in class large Polar Icebreaker and six “Program” Icebreakers.

Davie is very clearly specializing in icebreakers while continuing to produce ice strengthened commercial ships.

The first of Canada’s Polar Icebreakers (pictured above) is being built by Seaspan, with the second of class being built by Davie. These will be heavy icebreakers, even by US Coast Guard standards, bigger and more powerful than the Polar Security Cutters.

  • Length Overall 158.2m (519 ft)
  • Beam: 28m (91 ft 10 in)
  • Draft: 10.5m (34 ft 5 in)
  • Classificaton: LLoyd’s Polar Class PC2
  • Installed Power: 46 MW (61,687 HP)
  • Top Speed: 18 knots
  • Icebreaking 2.5m @ 3 knots continuous
  • Design Displacement: 26,000 tons
  • Complement: 100 Persons

Canada’s “Program Icebreaker.” Six are planned.

The design for the six “Program Icebreakers” might provide a basis for both the Coast Guard’s Arctic Security Cutter (medium icebreaker program) and the new Great Lakes icebreaker. (It would be a substantial improvement of USCGC Mackinaw and  we really need some medium icebreakers.) Their specifications are:

  • Length: 100-110 m (328 to 360 ft)
  • Beam: under 23.8 m (78 ft) for Great Lakes;
  • Draft: 6-8 m (20 to 26 ft)
  • Icebreaking: Capable of maintaining 3 knots in 1.4 m (4.6 ft) of ice
  • Accommodations: more than 30 crew and program teams of 34
  • Range: 20,000 nautical miles at 12 knots
  • Able to operate and maintain one medium helicopter
  • Significant general and containerized cargo capacity