SEASPAN Marine now has it in writing.
On Wednesday, the federal government and the North Vancouver-based shipbuilding company announced they have signed an umbrella agreement for construction of $8billion worth of non-combat ships under the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy.
"It marks a significant milestone," said John Shaw, vice-president of government relations and business development. "We're looking forward to meeting the challenges both in the near term and in the long term."
The agreements are long-term documents that define arrangements under which Ottawa will negotiate "fair and reasonable" contracts to build the seven non-combat ships, according to a press statement from the Ministry of Public Works and Government Services.
Each contract will likely seal a deal to build between one and three ships, including vessels for the Coast Guard, fisheries, navy support ships and an icebreaker.
The first of those is expected to be one of two scientific vessels planned, said Shaw - either a 55-metre fisheries research vessel or a 78-metre oceanographic vessel.
Shaw said inking the agreement means Seaspan can now go ahead with detailed design work on new facilities at the shipyard and hiring senior members of teams who will oversee the shipbuilding contracts.
Shaw said there has been "tremendous interest" from workers both across the country and internationally in working for the shipyard. He said the numbers of resumes received so far has been in the "four digits."
The deal is expected to provide 4,000 jobs over the next eight years, 3,200 of them in North Vancouver. A further 17 ships may also eventually be built here.
This month, Seaspan also launched an online database portal that potential suppliers can use to register to be considered for the shipbuilding program.
The registration portal is open to all suppliers worldwide interested in doing business with Seaspan.
