Shipbuilder Chantier Davie has pre-qualified to become the third strategic partner under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS), the Canadian government announced.
Under the multibillion-dollar program to renew the Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy fleets, the yard will build six program icebreakers for the coast guard.
In May 2019, the government revealed plans to add a third Canadian shipyard as a partner under the NSS and in August, Canada launched the competitive process to select the new shipyard.
“This shipyard has demonstrated it meets initial requirements related to experience, capability and capacity, as defined in the Invitation to Qualify issued on August 2, 2019,” the government said in a statement.
Chantier Davie will now move to the next stage in the selection process, the Request for Proposal and evaluation stage.
This will include a third-party assessment of the shipyard’s infrastructure, submission of a formal proposal, and a due diligence process to ensure the shipyard is financially capable of performing the work and making any necessary upgrades to its infrastructure.
As explained, assessment is similar to the process previously undertaken in 2011 to select Irving Shipbuilding Inc. and Seaspan Shipyards as strategic partners under the NSS.
Once this phase is completed, the government will begin negotiations for an umbrella agreement, which is expected to be put in place in late 2020.
“Today’s historic announcement marks the beginning of a multi-generational program which will span the next three decades,” Alex Vicefield, Chairman of Davie Shipbuilding, commented in a separate statement.