Steel Cut On First Canadian Coastguard Newbuilding

The first of the two Canadian Coast Guard vessels is expected to be delivered in 2026, while the last in the series will be delivered in 2027.

The Canadian Coast Guard’s AOPS will be tasked with a wide range of missions. Both ships will operate as the Canadian Coast Guard’s primary platform with increased capabilities to support fisheries enforcement on Canada’s east coast, support search and rescue and icebreaking operations, while strengthening Canada’s presence in the Arctic.

The vessel is the seventh in the eight-strong AOPS series. Under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS), Irving Shipbuilding is constructing six AOPS vessels for the Royal Canadian Navy, two AOPS for the Canadian Coast Guard and a further 15 Canadian Surface Combatants (CSC) for the Royal Canadian Navy.

The first three AOPS have been delivered to the Royal Canadian Navy, while AOPS 4 is slated to be delivered later this summer. The mega blocks of AOPS 5 will be joined in August 2023 and construction on AOPS 6 is continuing with the keel laying this month. Both AOPS 5 and 6 are on schedule for delivery in 2024 and 2025 respectively.