Canada awards Québec’s Davie shipyard $3.25B polar icebreaker deal

The Canadian government has awarded a $3.25bn contract to the Québec-based shipbuilder Davie to build a new polar icebreaker.

Through this deal Davie will deliver its production-ready heavy icebreaker design called the Polar Max to Canada by 2030.

To support the rapid delivery of the ship, Davie said it “will capitalize on the expertise of Helsinki Shipyard, which was acquired by Davie in 2023 with the support of the Québec government.”

To remind, Davie acquired in November 2023 Finland’s Helsinki Shipyard, an expert in icebreaker design and construction. The shipyard has built over 50% of all the world’s icebreakers.

Davie president and CEO, James Davies, said the project will accelerate economic benefits for Quebecers and strengthen the skills of his Lévis shipbuilders.

“In a volatile world, we can and must forge shipbuilding collaborations with trusted allies like Finland to secure shared interests,” he said.

The company emphasized that this contract is a “huge win for the ICE Pact” and that the Polar Max will be the first flagship project of the trilateral partnership.

“It will be