Davie’s Quebec facility is currently undergoing an $840-million upgrade to bolster its capacity for the work set to begin there on a new Polar Max icebreaker destined for Canada’s Arctic.Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press
Canadian shipbuilder Chantier Davie Canada Inc. is getting an American sibling.
Davie’s parent company, British-based Inocea Group, is establishing a U.S. entity, Davie Defence Inc., to run its new Texas shipyards and bid for a contract from the U.S. government to increase its icebreaker fleet.
In June, Davie announced its intention to acquire shipyards in Galveston, Tex., from Gulf Copper & Manufacturing Corporation. That transaction is now nearing completion (pending a few regulatory approvals). Davie Defence Inc. has dubbed its new facility the “American Icebreaker Factory.”
The new U.S. entity will be led by chief executive officer Kai Skvarla, who has previously worked on the United States Coast Guard’s naval shipbuilding program and most recently British multinational Serco’s maritime and defence portfolio.
Work on icebreaker bound for Canadian Arctic begins at Davie shipyard in Finland
A series of discussions between Davie and the U.S. federal government, which began under the Biden administration, helped set the stage for Davie’s move into the U.S., said chief communications officer Paul Barrett. The signing of the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort by Canada, the U.S. and Finland in 2024 to expedite the building of polar vessels also played a role.
Logistically, it’s essential to have a U.S. entity and CEO, he said, adding that legislation put in place to protect national security will be easier to navigate.
“That’s something you have to do, it’s not something you can choose to do, and that’s not just about the current administration, but that’s any administration,” Mr. Barrett said.
Upgrades to the Texas facility are estimated to cost Davie Defence Inc. US$1-billion and will be done purposefully to support the building of new U.S. Coast Guard ships, such as the Arctic Security Cutter (ASC).
In June, Davie also announced its intention to acquire shipyards in Port Arthur, Tex. That transaction is still in the works.
Davie’s Quebec facility is undergoing an $840-million upgrade to bolster its capacity for the work set to begin there on a new Polar Max icebreaker destined for Canada’s Arctic. Work on this icebreaker has already begun at Davie’s shipyards in Helsinki, Finland, and a steel-cutting ceremony to mark the start of construction in Canada should be held within a matter of months.
For a Quebec shipbuilder, the road to Canadian icebreakers goes through Helsinki
The improvements being made to the Texas facility will be similar to those happening in Quebec, Mr. Barrett said, with an emphasis on modernization and increasing capacity.
Once complete, the company said its work at the Texas shipyards could create 2,000 jobs at the Gulf Copper facilities and more than 7,000 jobs statewide, through its supply chain.
The U.S. has three polar icebreakers – compared with Russia’s fleet of more than 40 and Canada’s 18. In partnership with Davie’s Helsinki shipyard, the company says it could deliver a new Arctic Security Cutter to the U.S. Coast Guard within 26 months.
“We have already built the ASC hull seven times over. This means we can build new American ASCs quickly and transfer Finland’s unrivalled icebreaker know-how to Texas,” Mr. Skvarla said.