The biggest icebreaker of the Canadian Coast Guard is the result of collaboration between Elomatic and Seaspan Vancouver Shipyard
CLIENT
Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards (VSY)
PROJECT
Polar icebreaker ordered by the Canadian Coast Guard is a modern, multipurpose, heavy icebreaker capable of operating in Canada’s Arctic waters and northern Economic Exclusion Zone.
The overall aim of the project is to construct a larger and more powerful icebreaker than the ones currently in operation in Canada to enable operations at higher latitudes and in demanding Arctic conditions to support the country’s sovereignty and security.
The vessel will be approximately 150 meters in length, have a top speed of over 18 knots, and accommodate up to 100 crew and personnel. Its operational range of up to 30,000 nautical miles enables the icebreaker to remain in the Arctic for extended periods, allowing the Coast Guard to maintain a year-round presence.
WHEN
The project began in 2021 autumn, and the vessel is set to be built in 2030.
OUR ROLE
Elomatic has been a key engineering partner in vessel design from basic design to functional design and is continuing the collaboration in production design phase. An important part of the collaboration with Seaspan is the development of the capabilities at the shipyard including standards development, project management, process development, and design build support.
“Having been part of the original decision in 2020 to undertake an initial partnership with Elomatic as a development partner to Seaspan and to then select the Cadmatic software, I would say have both resulted in a most effective relationships between our companies. Seaspan has benefitted greatly from the Elomatic design expertise both in Ice Class capable ships but also in refining our processes in adopting a new design software. I would view those two decisions in 2020 as pivotable in advancing our ship design capability.”
Jim Carr, Senior Vice President, Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards
How did we do it?
The initial basic design phase started in 2021, as a collaboration between Elomatic, Aker Arctic, and Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards (VSY) to review and validate the vessel concept, aiming to confirm the design met Canada’s arctic mission needs. The integrated project team has been comprised of Elomatic, Aker Arctic, Seaspan, Vard Marine, Canal Marine & Industrial Inc., Barrier Marine Services, and Genoa Design International.
Elomatic has played a pivotal role in this project, not only as a key engineering partner in vessel design but also as a consultative partner, supporting the shipyard in project management and the advancement of shipbuilding practices. Leveraging its extensive experience in complex shipbuilding projects, Elomatic has continuously refined both the software and processes involved in modern ship design. As an example, the entire vessel has been designed using software developed by an Elomatic subsidiary Cadmatic.
Following the successful completion of the basic design phase of the project, Elomatic has continued to develop the design in the functional design phase, which is scheduled for completion by the end of year 2024. Elomatic’s role has been to both support the Polar program and Seaspan’s growth toward development of best practices within the shipyard.
Having played a major role in the design phases, Elomatic is committed to continuing its involvement in the Polar project through to the planned vessel delivery to the Canadian Coast Guard in 2030.
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