By Leo Ryan, Maritime Magazine Editor
Following years of delays and lobbying, Chantier Davie at Lévis, Quebec has been officially integrated into the multi-billion dollar national ship procurement plan built around the urgent needs to modernize the Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy fleets. At a special event staged today at the shipyard, Prime Minister Trudeau announced the federal government has reached an agreement with Chantier Davie for the shipyard to become the third strategic partner under the more than decade-old National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS).
In the view of industry observers. Davie, thus, wins the recognition it deserves after an impressive performance under restructured operations in the past few years. On the other hand, the other two partners, Irving Shipbuilding and Seaspan Shipyards, have had technical issues and delivery delays on certain contracts.
“Our strategic partnership with Chantier Davie will help ensure our Coast Guard is supported by modern, made-in-Canada vessels so it can continue to save lives, keep our waters secure, and protect the environment,” Mr. Trudeau said. “This will also help strengthen Canada’s world-class marine industry and create good middle-class jobs, right here in Quebec.”
Mr. Trudeau indicated that negotiations can now begin for contracts that include the construction of six icebreakers and one polar icebreaker for the Canadian Coast Guard.
Visibly pleased by what has occurred, François Legault, Premier of Québec, hailed “a great day for all of Québec.”
While qualifying it as “a win, win, win for everybody,” he said the quality of the Davie shipyard workers has played a vital role. “You are the best!” he exclaimed.
Premier Legault confirmed that the Québec government will be investing $519 million to modernize the shipyard’s installations to “ensure its growth.”
When work on contracts reach a peak in the coming years, at least 1,800 jobs will be created, he said. The shipyard presently employs nearly 1,000 workers.
In his view, with this latest development, the federal government has committed the equivalent of $8.5 billion in contracts for Davie.
“Since 2015, our government has supported workers at Chantier Davie by awarding more than $2 billion in contracts to refurbish Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers and ships,” noted Jean-Yves Duclos, federal Minister of Health.
World markets on horizon
Quebec Economy Minister, Pierre Fitzgibbon, recalled that since its creation in 1825 the shipyard at Levis has completed contracts on 700 vessels. And he stressed that the big financial support pledged by the Quebec government amounted to investments in productivity that will position Davie to capture new business not only in Canada but in foreign countries.
The potential broader horizon was also evoked in comments by Alex Vicefield, Chairman and CEO of Inocea Group, parent company of Davie.
“In 2012, we took over a sleeping giant,” Mr. Vicefield said, and transformed Davie into a world class facility, as illustrated by its on-budget, on-time conversion of a containership into a combat support vessel, the Asterix, for the Canadian navy.
In Mr. Vicefield’s view, Davie has set “new shipbuilding standards in the last 10 years” which are now recognized by the Canadian government.
He then stressed that a major objective was to develop business beyond Canada – an apparent reference to the announcement in late March that Chantier Davie is exercising an option to eventually purchase Finland’s Helsinki Shipyard. Such a transaction would establish an international hub for Arctic shipbuilding.
James Davies, President and CEO, Chantier Davie Canada Inc., was similarly bullish on the future.
“This historic agreement puts the ‘National’ in National Shipbuilding Strategy,” he said. “The federal government deserves much credit. Together, we will bridge a strategic shipbuilding gap and create guaranteed capacity for future fleet renewal at Canada’s largest shipbuilder.
“It is an acknowledgement of everything Davie has achieved over the past decade, our expertise, and the quality of our Quebec-based workforce. We can now get to work delivering the icebreakers Canada urgently needs to meet its growing responsibilities as an international Arctic presence, while fulfilling its critical southern wintertime mission to keep our economy flowing.
We also commend the Government of Quebec for supporting our journey to become one of the world’s most advanced shipbuilding facilities. The NSS will be a springboard to create an internationally competitive shipbuilding hub in Quebec.”
(Photo of Prime Minister Trudeau and Alex Vicefield by Kevin Dougherty)
