This letter was sent to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and copied to The Chief for publication.
I have been directly involved in the shipbuilding industry in Canada for nearly 30 years.
Having worked as a naval architectural assistant and marine consultant and spending more than two decades in ship production in several major Canadian shipyards, I find it very perplexing that the Canadian government, according to CBC News, says that it will "take more than a decade to build a Polar class icebreaker."
I'm very aware both academically and also from production experience that a Polar class icebreaker can be both designed and produced inside of six years. In 1982 I was directly involved in some of the complex design issues in what was then to be the Polar Eight class icebreaker, (the one that was designed to death involving several reputable design firms).
The design for the said icebreaker has been completed and revisited many times in the past 30 years in hopes of the Canadian government following through with its promises to have such a vessel built.
The Russian government and the former Soviet governments have been building several huge nuclear powered icebreakers for years. It does not take over a decade to design and build a large Polar class icebreaker with conventional propulsion.
Please bear in mind it took only 12 years to design and build 12 very complex patrol frigates for the Canadian navy.
All those very complex vessels were built inside of nine years.
As a suggestion and also to make a point, the hull technology (the shape and design of the vessels hull), which has been researched to death over and over in Canada in the past 30 years could be built on one coast and the upper deck (the superstructure) and auxiliary equipment modules could be produced on the other coast.
This provides much needed work and also allows the simultaneous design and production of both phases of the vessel. The hull could be towed to the other coastal shipyards to be outfitted and have the super structure installed. This practice is not uncommon.
The superstructure deckhouse would not be complex by any standard, they never are, and hence construction would relatively be efficient.
While on contract in San Diego, California, I was involved in and witnessed the design, building and installation of a 300-tonne superstructure module on a large US Naval replenishment vessel.
The project was started and completed inside of three years. That included the hull as well as the superstructure!
Sadly, I can only attest that most of my experienced ship design/shipbuilding colleagues have left to find work south of the border or to Europe where they build large super class ferries and other ships for Canada.
Obvious as it is, the real reason that the Canadian government and others say it may take over a decade to produce an Arctic class Polar icebreaker is that it may take that long to train the necessary skilled workers all over again. We have to replace the ones that left for Europe or that went south of the border.
It is with heartfelt passion that I implore the government of Canada to move more quickly to expedite the design and construction of the Polar class icebreaker.
Shipyards are closing and running out of work while the need to establish Canadian sovereignty in the Northern Arctic waters is more important than ever.
Every Canadian realizes that it is not the place of government to ensure the survival of any particular corporation, however it is the responsibility of the government of Canada and the provinces to ensure that every effort is taken to support the industries upon which the people depend.
While it is appreciated for the recent contracts awarded to the marine sector, it is imperative that projects that could be acted upon now rather than later are put into action. We need to keep our skilled workers home in Canada let alone their native provinces.
Stephen D. Harbin
Squamish
