Irving Shipbuilding celebrated the start of production of Canada’s First Arctic Offshore Patrol ship (AOPS) at its Halifax Shipyard.
Delivery of the first HMCS Harry DeWolf-class ship is expected in 2018. Production has begun on two units for the centre section of the first Arctic Offshore Patrol ship.
The ship is the first of up to 21 vessels that will renew Canada’s combatant fleet over the next 30 years under the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy.
Over the next two years, the workforce at Marine Fabricators in Dartmouth and the Halifax Shipyard is expected to rise to 1600 direct employees with over 1000 directly employed on AOPS production. In addition, total employment at Irving Shipbuilding (all operations) is forecasted to rise to over 2500 direct employees at peak production of the larger Canadian Surface Combatant vessels that will replace Canada’s current fleet of Halifax Class frigates.
To date, the modernization at Irving Shipbuilding and the AOPS contract have resulted in over $1 Billion in spending commitments.
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Image: JD Irving