Canada boosts shipbuilding

The government set up the shipbuilding program, which is the largest in the country’s history, to revive Canada’s shipbuilding industry while modernizing its Navy and Coast Guard, which are still operating some ships that are a half-century old.

The new vessels will play an important role as Canada asserts its sovereignty claims in the Arctic. In addition to several military vessels, Canada will build six to eight Arctic patrol ships and a new icebreaker, Sunnewsnetwork reports.

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Canada claims a large swath of the Arctic including the Northwest Passage, which could become an important shipping route as climate change melts away the northern ice cap. Several countries, including the United States, contend that the passage is international waters.

The vessels will be built at shipyards in Halifax and Vancouver.