As part of the government’s National Shipbuilding Strategy, Canada has contracted local shipbuilders to start building the coast guard’s modern polar icebreakers. The project, which was awarded to Vancouver Shipyards and Chantier Davie Canada Inc., will create two ships to take the place of the service’s aging heavy icebreakers, including the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent, the largest hull, which has been in service since the 1960s. Chantier Davie received 3.25 billion Canadian dollars ($2.2 billion), while Vancouver Shipyards was granted 3.15 billion Canadian dollars ($2.1 billion) to begin the construction of the new ships.
