Canada extends Babcock contract as it awaits new German submarines

Le NCSM Windsor, a Canadian submarine, is seen in Victoria, BC. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press)

The federal government is extending Babcock Canada’s maintenance contract for its fleet of aging submarines by up to 18 years as it waits for the delivery of new German-made vessels.

The extension awarded to Babcock is valued at more than $1 billion over the next six years and gives the Canadian government a decade more flexibility to prolong the life of its current Victoria-class submarines.

Of Canada’s four submarines, only one is operational. The other three are under maintenance.

“(The contract) carries the Victoria class submarines across the next six years with options for potential extension out to the end of life,” said Jason Young, vice-president of Marine and Mission Systems at Babcock.

In an interview with CTV News, Young said the federal government has the option of extending its sustainment contract with the firm after 2032 for up to another 12 years as Canada watches how its deal with TKMS “rolls out in the future.”

• READ MORE: TKMS CEO says real work ‘begins now’ after being named sub bidder

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that the government had chosen to negotiate with German shipbuilder TKMS to procure as many as 12 submarines after a tight competition.

In a news release, TKMS said that Canada can expect delivery of the first Type 212CD conventional submarine by 2032 and three more by 2036.

The Type 212CD submarine has yet to roll off the assembly line, but the Germans have promised to prioritize Canadian orders. Its South Korean rival, Hanwha had promised to deliver four submarines by 2035. The Korean navy even sailed a KSS-III submarine to CFB Esquimalt, B.C., at the end of May.

As the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) waits for its new submarines, it will be up to the engineers at Babcock Canada to keep the Victoria-class submarines afloat. The British boats were built between 1983 and 1990 and decommissioned before being purchased by Canada.

Young said the RCN’s four Victoria-class submarines are “more than able to be extended into 2040 should Canada want that.” The entire fleet is nearing 40 years old.

Young says that maintaining “the orphan class” of submarines includes challenges such as finding spare parts that are no longer produced.

Since it began servicing the Victoria-class boats in 2008, Young says Babcock has had to rely on its 400 engineers and technicians to reverse-engineer submarine parts and develop a “sovereign supply chain” to build substitute parts with the required “form and function.”

“It’s deep engineering capabilities that allows us to maintain the class and look for ways we can build those components in Canada, …or procure them through an international supply chain.”

Unlike some other Canadian contractors, Babcock chose to only sign a teaming agreement with Hanwha, not the eventual winner, TKMS. When asked if that decision limits its future prospects, Young said the federal government has yet to choose a company to maintain the TKMS submarines once they’re delivered. When the request for proposals is posted, Young says Babcock will submit a bid.