After a lengthy battle between two companies for the contract to build 12 new submarine for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP), the federal government announced Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) will be the strategic build partner for the next era of Canadian military technology.
In support of Canada’s defence industrial strategy, Seaspan and TKMS signed a teaming agreement in support of the project in January. Seaspan is the only industry shipyard in the country that has been maintaining submarines in Canada since 2005– mostly at the Victoria Shipyards in Esquimalt.
“Canada has made a generational decision about its security and sovereignty today and Seaspan, as part of the integrated sustainment team, is ready to answer that call,” said John McCarthy, CEO of Seaspan Shipyards, in a news release.
The Esquimalt ship yard currently maintains Canada’s decades-old Victoria-class submarines and is the only Canadian West Coast shipyard with the “proven experience, technical expertise and specialized workforce that can readily maintain the country’s new submarine fleet entirely within Canada,” they said. The current submarine program has more than 300 technicians and tradespeople.
“We have spent more than 20 years building up the specialized expertise and a highly qualified Canadian team who can perform this work. Seaspan will provide the comprehensive through-life support this fleet requires, entirely within Canada. Today marks a new chapter for this country’s defence industrial base, and Seaspan is immensely proud to be a part of it,” noted McCarthy.
For nearly a year, TKMS has been crossing swords with the South Korean-based Hanwha – both of which spent months signing local partnerships and conducting local diplomacy in a bid to win the procurement contract.
The TKMS Type 212CD-class submarines is a diesel and electric-powered ship that holds general torpedoes along with the potential for anti-ship and anti-air missiles and a new generation of torpedoes.
Under CPSP, Canada expects to receive up to a dozen new ice-capable submarines to replace the Victoria-class fleet, with the first submarine expected to be delivered in the mid-2030s.