Page 31: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2026)

ICEBREAKERS

My mentor, Fred Harris, had a mantra: “You ? nish the design, you ? nish the plan, then you build.”

All projects live and die by the types and amount of changes along the way.

Jim Carr, SVP, Seaspan Shipyards ?

bat Ship program, and later relocated to Australia to help estab- ferred to the two ASC builders.

lish the engineering organization supporting the Hobart-class “It gave them a tremendous head start,” Carr said.

Air Warfare Destroyer program. Rather than recreating years of engineering work, Bol-

Today, at Seaspan Shipyards in Vancouver, Carr has over- linger and Rauma Marine Constructions can focus their ef- seen an equally dramatic transformation. forts on adapting the production information to their own “When I arrived, engineering consisted of roughly 20 peo- shipyard processes.

ple,” Carr said. “Today we have approximately 300 engineers. That distinction is important. Every shipyard builds di? erent-

We’ve become what I believe is the largest marine engineer- ly. Production drawings, sequencing and fabrication methods ing organization in Canada.” are highly speci? c to each facility, but starting from a mature

That growth mirrors Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strat- design signi? cantly reduces engineering uncertainty.

egy (NSS), which has evolved Seaspan from a regional com- mercial shipbuilder into one of North America’s premier de-

ENGINEERING BEGINS signers and builders of complex government vessels.

LONG BEFORE CUTTING STEEL

The company’s engineering backlog now stretches well into

One of the recurring themes throughout Carr’s career is that the next decade, encompassing O? shore Fisheries Science successful shipbuilding begins long before construction starts.

Vessels, O? shore Oceanographic Science Vessels, Joint Sup-

His philosophy echoes lessons learned from legendary Bath port Ships, Canada’s future Polar Icebreaker, and ultimately Iron Works executive Fred Harris. “Finish the design. Finish as many as 16 Multi-Purpose Icebreakers under the Canadian the plan. Then build.”

Coast Guard program.

Carr believes that disciplined engineering remains the single

It was this engineering maturity — not simply an existing hull greatest predictor of shipbuilding success. For the Arctic Secu- design — that attracted the attention of the U.S. Coast Guard.

rity Cutter program, that means resisting the temptation to con- tinually re? ne or expand requirements once construction begins.

MORE THAN AN

Every experienced shipbuilder knows what happens when programs become consumed by change orders: Schedules “OFF-THE-SHELF” DESIGN

The phrase “o? -the-shelf” often oversimpli? es complex na- slip; Costs escalate; Learning curves reset.

val acquisition programs. Carr believes the Coast Guard has largely avoided that trap.

In reality, the Coast Guard is receiving far more than drawings. Rather than pursuing extensive redesigns, the service has

By the time Seaspan licensed its MPI design to support the deliberately limited changes to those that can be incorporated

Arctic Security Cutter program, Carr explained the engineering without disrupting production, while reserving more substantial package had already progressed well beyond conceptual design. capability upgrades for post-delivery modernization e? orts.

The design had completed class approval. Major equipment That discipline may ultimately prove as valuable as any en- selections had been ? nalized. Technical procurement speci? - gineering innovation.

cations covering roughly 100 major equipment packages had been completed. Material de? nitions were established, and the

DIGITAL SHIPBUILDING COMES OF AGE three-dimensional production model had already advanced to

The engineering tools supporting Seaspan’s current programs what Carr describes as “production-ready.” di? er dramatically from those Carr used earlier in his career.

In practical terms, the engineering package represented The company’s philosophy can be summarized in three words: nearly 47,000 individual technical information ? les trans- “Digits to steel.” www.marinelink.com 31

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