After US expansion, Canada’s Davie shipyard eyes Sweden icebreaker gap

MILAN — After saying it was shopping for U.S. shipyard websites to construct icebreakers, the Canadian shipbuilding firm Davie is zeroing in on the necessity for such ships in Sweden.

The intentions had been made public in a current LinkedIn put up by Davie’s chief government officer, James Davies, who mentioned the Swedish “growing old icebreaker fleet wants pressing renewal” and that the corporate’s “shipyards are open and prepared.”

An evaluation about Sweden’s lackluster icebreaking chops was a part of a current report by Helsinki Shipyard, which Davie has owned since 2023.

Sweden at the moment has six icebreakers, a few of which had been constructed a number of a long time in the past. In 2022, the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA), or Sjöfartsverket, issued a young for the development of two new icebreakers, with the primary one anticipated to be delivered in 2026.

The plan by no means materialized, because the SMA said in 2024 that no bids met their outlined necessities, per a report from the Swedish media Sjöfartstidningen.

The acquisition course of for brand new vessels stays ongoing, though no remaining determination on building has been made, in response to Aker Arctic, a non-public consulting firm based mostly in Finland.

Davie appears keen to maneuver in on this chance, because it additionally organized at the side of the launched report, a seminar on June 25 in Sweden targeted on the explanations behind the Scandinavian nation’s pressing want for brand new ice boats.

Final month, the Canadian shipbuilder introduced its plans to purchase two American shipyards situated in Texas from Gulf Copper and Manufacturing Corp.

In an interview with the Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail, firm officers mentioned their goal was to make the most of the websites to construct new Arctic icebreakers by upgrading the prevailing services.

A Davie spokesman mentioned he was not nervous concerning the shaky state of affairs between Canada and the US, prompted by President Donald Trump’s threats in opposition to the northern neighbor, hindering regulatory approvals for the corporate’s envisioned U.S. enlargement.

“Our proposed American acquisition shall be distinct from our different companies – it’s necessary to level out that we’re not solely a Canadian enterprise, we’re a non-public worldwide shipbuilding group and majority-owned by U.Okay. residents with established operations in Quebec and Helsinki,” Paul Barrett, chief communication officer at Davie, advised Protection Information in an e-mail.

The corporate has been owned by James Davies and Alex Vicefield since 2012, each of that are British residents, and Davie’s father or mother group, Inocea, can be based mostly in the UK.

“Rebuilding America’s shipbuilding base is a uncommon bipartisan precedence – the rising hole in Western functionality, particularly within the Arctic calls for pressing and collaborative options,” Barrett wrote.

Davie has additionally positioned itself as an important trade associate within the trilateral Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, or ICE Pact. The settlement, signed in 2024, seems to mix Finnish, Canadian and U.S. experience to construct superior ice boats able to year-round operations within the Arctic.

Nationwide coordinators and authorities representatives from the three international locations met on June 12 to debate strengthening icebreaking capabilities underneath the pact. Discussions targeted on 4 areas of labor: information-sharing, workforce improvement, allied and trade relations, and analysis and improvement.

“Every nation offered their preliminary evaluation and evaluation of the Request for Data they carried out of their respective markets to collect trade enter and suggestions – this can allow them to mobilize shipyards, provide chains and lay the groundwork for future personal sector participation,” a press release from the federal government of Canada famous.

All events are set to fulfill once more this fall, with the following assembly to be held in the US.