Mr. Chairman, thank you for providing me with the opportunity to speak with you and the members of the committee regarding the national shipbuilding strategy.
My name is Andy Smith, and I am the deputy commissioner of the Coast Guard in charge of shipbuilding and materiel.
The Canadian Coast Guard's on-water missions, including aids to navigation, icebreaking, search and rescue, environmental response, fisheries conservation and protection, and ocean science, are fundamental to enabling the Canadian maritime economy, facilitating northern community resupply, supporting northern Arctic sovereignty, advancing the stewardship of our oceans and promoting maritime safety.
To effect this wide-ranging mandate, the Canadian Coast Guard operates 123 ships, including 26 large ships over 1,000 tonnes. The average age of these large ships is 40 years, and although they are safe and well maintained, a generational and comprehensive renewal of the Canadian Coast Guard fleet is needed to ensure that we continue to be able to serve Canadians and promote Canadian interests.
The Coast Guard fleet renewal plan has been in existence since 2005 and has accelerated significantly with the introduction of the national shipbuilding strategy.
Over the last four years, the government has approved the renewal of the non-combatant fleet, including the construction of 30 large ships.
The Canadian Coast Guard is a core member of the national shipbuilding strategy and is engaged in all aspects of the strategy, namely, large ship construction, small ship construction for ships less than 1,000 tonnes, and ship repair and maintenance.
More specifically, the Canadian Coast Guard had either construction or repair contracts in every major yard in Canada over the last six years and is currently progressing the design or construction on three new classes of vessels, including the polar icebreaker.
Subject to the conclusion of the current process to select a third shipyard, we anticipate having contracts for large ship design and construction in the three major Canadian shipyards. A key element of our fleet renewal program is keeping the current fleet safe and operational until the arrival of new ships, and in this regard, we are engaged in repair and vessel life extension work for the entire fleet.
With the launch of the national shipbuilding strategy in 2010 and the commitment of long-term government program funding, the Canadian shipbuilding industry underwent a renaissance following a fallow period. This long-term commitment resulted in the modernization of two major shipyards, the regeneration of the Canadian marine supply chain and the reconstitution of the government's program and project management expertise in the shipbuilding domain.
With respect to the large ship fleet renewal, the Canadian Coast Guard cut steel on its first large vessel in 2015. The first large ship and the first class of ships to be delivered under the national shipbuilding strategy were the offshore fisheries science vessels built at Vancouver shipyards and delivered in 2019 and 2020.
These ships, with their advanced technology and laboratory capabilities, will enable fisheries science research on both coasts for decades to come.
We also experienced good success with our small vessel fleet regeneration, which is realized via an open competition process with smaller Canadian shipyards. The channel survey and sounding vessels delivered by Kanter Marine, in St. Thomas, Ontario, and the search and rescue lifeboats being delivered by Hike Metal Products, in Wheatley, Ontario, and Chantier Naval Forillon in Gaspé, Quebec, bear testament to this success.
As concluded by the Auditor General in her February 2021 report, shipbuilding is a complex and challenging undertaking. We were pleased to take delivery of three large well-built ships, but we must acknowledge that these ships have taken longer to produce and have cost more than originally envisioned.
Additionally, in the last two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an undeniable impact on the shipyards and the global supply chain. Current production schedules have been adversely impacted. Moving forward, as we continue to work with the shipyards to monitor performance and incorporate lessons learned, there is an expectation that build duration and, by extension, costs will come down, particularly on long series runs of ships.
As the operator of the largest federal civilian fleet, the Canadian Coast Guard is heavily invested in the national shipbuilding strategy. The regeneration of the aging fleet is a top priority for us, and we continue to work with the entire stakeholder community to realize the goal of timely fleet renewal.
Thank you. I'll be happy to take your questions.