Shipbuilding Association Of Canada News

"How to make ships more efficient?" This was the key question posed at the 15th Canadian Committee meeting of Germanischer Lloyd (GL). More than 20 representatives of the Canada and U.S. Flags, ship owners and operators, yards, consultants, and port authorities attended the event hosted by Executive Vice President Americas Capt. Kevin Coyne and Committee Chairman Peter Cairns from the Shipbuilding Association of Canada. "Reducing the environmental impact of shipping in order to upgrade its image as an environmentally friendly mode of transportation, is one of the most important topics for the maritime industry," he said in his introduction. Apart from fuel efficiency and emissions also statutory delegation and ship recycling was on the agenda.

July 27 marked the opening of the Government of Canada's Shipbuilding Consultation, which seeks input from key stakeholders on comprehensive and viable options for a long-term, sustainable Canadian shipbuilding strategy. The Government is committed to building and maintaining an effective federal fleet of ships for maritime security and services. Fleet renewal plans could see the Government invest in excess of $40 billion to build more than 50 large vessels over the next 30 years.

The shipbuilding industry and its marine suppliers are major employers in many regional markets in . The industries provide high-paying and highly skilled jobs that help workers and the communities they live in. Over the next 25 years, the federal government has plans to spend billions of taxpayer dollars on new ships for the Navy and the Coast Guard. Some decision-makers in , as evidenced in recent public statements, are actually considering buying these ships in places like and . These ships paid for by taxpayers can and should be built in . These countries will not buy ships from us. The federal government has determined that Arctic Sovereignty is a national priority and as a result the Navy and the Coast Guard should be providing additional surveillance and services to the North.

Canada needs a new shipbuilding strategy that will help domestic firms become more globally competitive, says the president of the Shipbuilding Association of Canada (SAC). But Peter Cairns is not calling for policies that enable Canadian companies to build ships for overseas markets. He wants Ottawa to introduce tax breaks and other incentives so that Canuck firms can beat out international rivals on domestic deals to build ships that sail in Canadian waters. Ottawa-based SAC, which represents Canada's ship-building and ship-repair companies across the country, is forecasting $8.6 billion worth of demand for Canadian vessels over the next 15 years.

The Star has reported that Canadian Shipbuilding & Engineering Ltd. (CSE) will seek government money, cut labour costs and restructure before resorting to a sales process if necessary, the monitor overseeing its bankruptcy protection said in court documents. CSE was formed 20 years ago by the merger of the shipbuilding and repair divisions of two of Canada's biggest private shipping companies, Canada Steamship Lines and what is now called Upper Lakes Group Inc. The CSL Group — owned by former Prime Minister Paul Martin until 2003 — sold its remaining interest in Canadian Shipbuilding & Engineering in November. Upper Lakes Group Inc. now owns more than two-thirds of CSE, which had 420 employees when all its operations were running.