HALIFAX—The president of Irving Shipbuilding has torpedoed a report that the federal government is trimming its order for Arctic patrol ships.
Kevin McCoy said Wednesday Oct. 22 that the government has not changed its mind.
“We have received absolutely no change from our customer in terms of what our near-term or long-term workload should be,” McCoy said before starting a speech at a shipbuilding conference in Halifax.
Earlier this week, industry and military sources told The Canadian Press the government has scaled back its original plan to buy between six and eight vessels, choosing instead to buy five with an option for a sixth.
But McCoy insisted the company plans to build six light icebreakers, starting next September, with the final ship to be delivered in 2022. The Halifax-based company has spent $424 million on design work and upgrading its shipbuilding facilities on the city’s waterfront, he said.
The government’s $35-billion national shipbuilding strategy saw shipyards chosen to do the work in 2011.
The Arctic ships have had their capabilities repeatedly watered down on the drawing board to keep costs down. Defence and industry experts have said it’s not unusual for the government to scale back big procurement projects to reduce costs.
