Montreal (ots/PRNewswire) – Davie, the Canada-based multinational shipbuilding company, today announced its intention to be among the first private sector contributors to a 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 in launching the trilateral “ICE Pact” at the NATO summit in Washington, DC. This initiative will promote cooperation to achieve more efficient, faster and to achieve more cost-effective production of the urgently needed icebreakers for both the domestic and export markets.
As the world becomes increasingly volatile, there is unprecedented willingness and urgency among NATO countries to increase research, trade, energy and security cooperation in the disputed polar regions. Icebreakers are key to meeting shared priorities. While the opposing shipbuilding industries operate on an effective war footing, the Western allies clearly lack sufficient icebreakers and other specialized vessels. No single nation can solve this challenge alone, but trusted allies with shared goals and advanced shipbuilding can.
Davie praises the partners’ vision in creating the ICE pact. As an icebreaking specialist with state-of-the-art facilities in Canada and Finland, Davie is uniquely qualified to make an important contribution. Davie’s Finnish company, Helsinki Shipyard, has built more than 50% of the world’s icebreaking fleet. Davie is also building the world’s largest order backlog of polar icebreakers for the Canadian government in Quebec.
Demand for these specialized, difficult-to-build ships is arguably at an all-time high, with more than 80 open projects in Western countries. Under the ICE pact, global diplomatic cooperation will help icebreaker builders take advantage of these opportunities.
The ICE pact initially includes three focus areas: 1. Improved information sharing; 2. Workforce development; 3. An active call for partners and allies to purchase icebreakers built in Canada, the United States and Finland. In the coming months, an agreement between the partners will establish a practical framework for implementing the ICE pact in each country. This also includes a mechanism for accepting new allies and partners.
The ICE Pact aims to strengthen the efficiency, resilience and competitiveness of shipbuilding in partner countries. Building superior ships for domestic and export markets will strengthen collective maritime power, promote economic growth and create thousands of skilled jobs.
Links to explanations:
USA: Joint statement on the ICE pact | The White House
About Davie
Davie, based in Quebec, Canada, since 1825, is a world-leading designer and manufacturer of specialty vessels 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 covers the design and construction of the largest and most technologically advanced ships ever built in and for Canada. The first work package, worth $8.5 billion, includes seven heavy icebreakers and two large hybrid-powered ferries. Davie is part of the Davie Group, which acquired Finland’s Helsinki Shipyard, the world leader in icebreaker construction, in November 2023. For more information, see davie.ca and helsinkishipyard.fi.
For further information please contact: Marcel Poulin Director, External Affairs and Industry Involvement, Davie marcel.poulin@davie.ca +1 581 992-8564