Navy Needs to Prepare for Tough Talks Over Warship Delays, Cost Increases: Norman

The centre block of the future HMCS Max Bernays is moved from the fabrication building to dockside at the Irving Shipbuilding facility in Halifax on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021.The vessel is Canada's third Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) being built for the Royal Canadian Navy. Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press

OTTAWA—Retired vice-admiral Mark Norman is warning the Royal Canadian Navy to start preparing for some hard discussions as delays and escalating costs continue to buffet the country’s $60-billion plan to build new warships over the coming decades.

The Department of National Defence revealed this week that the first of 15 new warships being built to replace the Navy’s 12 frigates and three already-retired destroyers will be delivered in 2030 or 2031, years later than planned.