By Canadian Press

Canada to pay another $700M for Navy support ships in latest cost increase

Jun 15, 2020 | 10:34 AM

OTTAWA — The federal government says it expects to pay $700 million more for two new support ships for the navy than expected.

The new figure was revealed today as the government officially awarded a contract to Seaspan shipyards in Vancouver to build the two vessels.

The cost to build the ships was originally pegged at $2.3 billion when Seaspan was first selected to construct the vessels in 2011.

That figure was later revised up to $3.4 billion before today’s announcement, which brings the total cost to $4.1 billion.

Work on the first of the two ships has already started and the government says it expects the vessel to be delivered in 2023, four years later than originally planned.

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Canada has been without a full-time support ship since 2014 and is currently relying on a converted civilian vessel that is being leased from Quebec’s Chantier Davie shipyard.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2020.

The Canadian Press