According to an announcement, the agreement with Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards and Stigterstaal Canada provides a framework for the three companies to assess the feasibility of Algoma Steel supplying maritime and conventional steel grades to Seaspan. 

With Stigterstaal acting as a commercial and logistical subcontractor, the companies will engage in discussions to evaluate technical, commercial and logistical requirements for Seaspan’s recently started polar icebreaker for the Canadian Coast Guard. 

The ship will be the only heavy polar Icebreaker to be fully built in Canada and, once delivered, will be the largest and most capable ship in the Coast Guard’s fleet. Capable of breaking 2.5 m of ice continuously, the ship will be used for year-round operations in the Arctic.

The companies said the framework agreement aligns with Seaspan’s broader efforts to increase the use of Canadian-made materials in shipbuilding and foster collaboration across the country’s industrial base.

“Algoma Steel is proud to support Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy and serve as a strategic supplier to the country’s infrastructure and defense sectors. With the completion of our plate mill modernization and the ongoing transformation to electric arc furnace steelmaking, we are well positioned to deliver high-quality, made-in-Canada steel for critical national projects,” said Algoma chief commercial officer Christopher Ford.