HALIFAX—Irving Shipbuilding has started building Canada’s first Arctic offshore patrol ship at the company’s massive shipyard in Halifax.
Hundreds of employees gathered Sept. 2 in the new assembly hall as a huge sheet of cut steel was hoisted into place and a special ceremony was held to mark the occasion.
Kevin McCoy, president of Irving Shipbuilding, says welders, pipefitters, marine fabricators, and ironworkers are involved in the project, which is on schedule.
“Today is a milestone we have all been anticipating,” McCoy said in a statement. “It is a great day to be a shipbuilder in Nova Scotia as we mark the beginning of this generational opportunity.”
The company says the ship will be the first of up to 21 vessels that will renew Canada’s fleet of warships over the next 30 years. About 900 Irving employees are working on the project at two locations in the Halifax area, but that number is expected to jump to 1,600 over the next two years.
The federal government’s $35-billion national shipbuilding strategy saw shipyards chosen to do the work in 2011. In January this year, federal officials formally announced that Irving Shipbuilding had been awarded a $2.3-billion contract for a total six Arctic patrol vessels.
