On Friday, the Feds signed a contract for $610million to have Davie acquire and convert 3 Icebreakers for Coast Guard use. The first ship is to be delivered by December 2018, with the other 2 to be delivered in Summer  and fall 2019.

The ships were built for the offshore industry to work in Alaska, so should be well suited for the job. The Proposed ships are Tor Viking II, Balder Viking and Vidar Viking. the Ships are owned by Norwegian tor, but are flagged, and currently are tied up in Sweden. Built to DNV Ice-10 standards, they will be classed as medium icebreakers in CG Service.

In a separate announcement last week, the feds awarded a contract for emergency towing vessels. the need for these vessels became apparent After several ships broke down in BC Waters, and were rescued by US based Tugs, the feds have awarded a contract to Atlantic towing to provide 2 emergency towing vessels in BC waters for the next 3 years. Word is Atlantic Eagle and Atlantic Raven will be the ships stationed on the west coast.

Original article: Coast Guard to get Icebreakers, Emergency towing Vessels..