Modernizing Canadian coastal ships

The contract for the conversion and refit of the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Judy LaMarsh has been awarded to St. John’s Dockyard Ltd. (Newdock). This contract is valued at nearly $34.3 million under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, and will create up to 80 highly skilled jobs in the region. This news was announced by Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, joined by Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.

Work on the vessel has already begun in December 2023, and is expected to continue until March 2025.

The work to enhance the vessel’s capabilities includes overhauling the propulsion, communication, and navigation systems. In addition, work will be undertaken on the crew accommodation and workspaces, and a new buoy crane will be installed.

The CCGS Judy LaMarsh performs operations essential to the start of several fishing seasons, and tends to the navigational buoys in the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence Seaway, and Atlantic Canada. In addition, the vessel is available for search and rescue and other emergency response operations when needed. The vessel’s main areas of operation are Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence Seaway. Once the seaway is open, the vessel will provide navigational assistance, and maintain aids to navigation from the Quebec border to Thunder Bay, Ontario.

“I am very proud to see that today’s announcement will create nearly a hundred well-paying jobs while stimulating the economy of the St. John’s region,” said The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. “As the CCGS Judy LaMarsh departs for the next year, robust measures will be put in place to continue to keep Canadians safe on the water, and to keep vital trade routes open year-round. We are already looking forward to welcoming it back, even more modern and adapted to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.”