Irving Shipbuilding Inc. Nets C$8bn Canadian Destroyers Contract

Irving Shipbuilding Inc. (ISI) has been awarded an initial C$8 billion contract to start construction work on the first three River-class destroyers being built for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN).

The ships — the future HMCS Fraser, HMCS Saint-Laurent, and HMCS Mackenzie — are the first of a wider strategy for the 2030s and beyond to build up to 15 new warships at an estimated cost in the region of C$80 billion. The first three ships, formerly referred to as the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) project, are named after Canada’s key waterways feeding into the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans.

The new ISI contract will cover the first 6 years of construction; the full cost of building the three ships has been estimated at slightly over C$22.2 billion, in a programme described as “the largest and most complex shipbuilding effort undertaken in Canada since the Second World War.”

The new multi-role destroyers are intended to serve as a replacement for both the RCN’s four retired Iroquois-class destroyers and its 12 Halifax-class frigates, equally capable of carrying out missions on the open ocean and in complex coastal environments.

Their design is based on BAE Systems’ Type 26 frigates being built for the Royal Navy in the U.K. and the related Australian Hunter-class frigates.

As per a recent Canadian Government press statement, the ships “will provide decisive combat power for operations at sea, and in support of joint-force operations ashore, and will support missions conducted as part of counter-piracy, counter-terrorism, intelligence and surveillance, interdiction and embargo, humanitarian assistance, research and rescue, and enforcement of law or sovereignty.”

Royal Canadian Navy Commander Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee commented: “Today’s announcement is a major step forward in delivering the first three River-class Destroyers — these impressive ships will offer an incredible capacity to the Royal Canadian Navy and Canada, ensuring that we can defend our waters against any adversary and deliver frontline combat power anywhere in the world.”

And ISI President Dirk Lesko added: “Today is a major milestone for Irving Shipbuilding and for Canada. This contract validates more than a decade of hard work by industry and government and provides stability for the hard-working men and women who design, build and maintain Canada’s surface fleet.”

• You can read more details on the Canadian Government website