MONTREAL, July 11,
2024 /PRNewswire/ - Davie, the Canada-based multinational shipbuilder, today
announced its intention to be among the first private sector
contributors to an historic trilateral agreement between the
governments of Canada,
Finland, and the United States.
Canada's Prime Minister,
Justin Trudeau, and Finland's President, Alexander Stubb, joined US President,
Joe Biden, at the NATO summit in
Washington, D.C., to launch the
trilateral Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, or "ICE Pact."
This initiative will stimulate collaboration to achieve more
efficient, rapid, and cost-effective production of much-needed
icebreakers for both domestic and export markets.
As the world becomes more volatile, there is an unprecedented
willingness and urgency among NATO allies to increase collaboration
in research, trade, energy, and security in the contested polar
regions. Icebreakers are key to meeting shared priorities. While
adversaries' shipbuilding industries operate on an effective war
footing, Western allies markedly lack sufficient icebreakers and
other specialized ships. No single nation can solve this challenge
alone, but trusted allies with common goals and advanced
shipbuilding can.
Davie commends the vision of the partners in creating the ICE
Pact. As an icebreaker specialist with advanced facilities in
Canada and Finland, Davie is uniquely qualified to be a
major contributor. Davie's Finnish business, Helsinki Shipyard, has
built over 50% of the global icebreaker fleet. Davie is also
building the world's largest order book of polar icebreakers for
the Government of Canada in
Québec.
Demand for these specialized, hard-to-build ships is arguably at
an all-time high, with more than 80 open projects among Western
countries. Under the ICE Pact, global diplomatic collaboration
will help icebreaker builders capture these opportunities.
The ICE Pact has three initial areas of focus: 1. Enhanced
information exchange; 2. Workforce development; 3. An active
invitation to partners and allies to buy icebreakers built in
Canada, the US, and Finland. In the months ahead, a memorandum of
understanding between the partners will define a practical
framework for implementing the ICE Pact in each country. This
will include a mechanism for adding new allies and partners.
The ICE Pact aims to strengthen the efficiency, resilience,
and competitiveness of shipbuilding in the partner countries.
Building superior ships for domestic and export markets will
strengthen collective sea power, foster economic growth, and create
thousands of skilled jobs.
Links to statements:
Canada: Canada, Finland, and the
United States joint statement on ICE Pact | Prime Minister
of Canada (pm.gc.ca)
USA: Joint Statement on ICE
Pact | The White House
About Davie
Based in Québec, Canada since
1825, Davie is a world-class designer and builder of specialist,
mission-critical ships such as icebreakers, ferries and warships
for government and commercial customers. Davie became a partner in
the Government of Canada's
National Shipbuilding Strategy on April 4,
2023. This historic agreement is for the design and
construction of the largest and most technologically advanced ships
ever constructed in and for Canada. The initial $8.5 billion package of work includes seven
heavy icebreakers and two large hybrid-powered ferries. Davie is
part of the Groupe Davie, which acquired Finland's Helsinki Shipyard, the world leader
in icebreaker design and construction in November 2023. Find
out more at davie.ca and helsinkishipyard.fi.
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SOURCE Davie