Saint John Shipbuilding - Canadian Patrol Frigate Project

Canadian Patrol Frigate Project

By far the largest contract placed with the shipyard, and the largest single shipbuilding order ever issued in Canadian history, was for the Royal Canadian Navy's Halifax-class frigate program, which saw nine warships built at Saint John during the early 1990s. Flush with revenues during this contract, Irving Shipbuilding went on a buying spree of several bankrupt or failing shipyards in eastern Canada as part of a strategy to assist with spreading the work at its overcrowded shipyard in Saint John.

The East Isle Shipyard in Georgetown, Prince Edward Island was purchased from the provincial government and used to construct modules for the Halifax-class frigates. Similarly, Irving Shipbuilding purchased the Shelburne Ship Repair shipyard in Shelburne and the Pictou Shipyard in Pictou to support the Halifax-class project. Irving Shipbuilding also purchased Halifax Dartmouth Industries after that shipyard was sub-contracted in 1992 to build the Kingston-class coastal defence vessel as part of the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel Project by the winning consortium led by SNC Lavalin.

However, changing global economic conditions for Canada's shipbuilders during the late 1990s coupled with changes to federal government tariffs and tax policies for Canadian ship owners saw Saint John Shipbuilding left with little work after the Halifax-class frigates were completed. Kent Lines ordered several container ships and Irving Shipbuilding's shipyards in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island were kept moderately busy with repair and small contract construction, but there were no large contracts on the horizon. The skilled workforce at Saint John Shipbuilding dwindled as welders and engineers and other trades and professionals left for work on other projects in Canada and abroad. The yard was mothballed in 2000 after it completed its last ship.

Finally on 27 June 2003, Irving Shipbuilding announced that it had signed an agreement with the federal government for $55 million in economic readjustment funding provided that Saint John Shipbuilding be closed permanently. The Irving Group of Companies announced the intention of permanently decommissioning Canada's largest shipyard and building a new wallboard manufacturing plant and other businesses on the site.