Joint support ships

Overview

The joint support ships (JSS) will provide the Royal Canadian Navy with the ability to:

increase the range and endurance of naval task group missions, with the capability of delivering fuel and other vital supplies to vessels at sea
provide facilities for medical and dental services
provide a home base for helicopter maintenance repair

Shipyard

Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd. (Vancouver, British Columbia)

Project status

JSS 1 and JSS 2 are under construction

Number of vessels to be built

Project budget

$4.1 billion (under review)

Estimated delivery

In June 2022, the Government of Canada announced new timelines for the delivery of the JSS
On June 12, 2020, a performance-based build contract was awarded to Vancouver Shipyards for the full construction of 2 JSS
- this build contract includes the finalization of the scope and terms of the project, the construction and delivery of the ships, spare parts, technical data, training and infrastructure
In early 2019, the Government of Canada made a decision to re-sequence construction of the JSS and the offshore oceanographic science vessel (OOSV) at Vancouver Shipyards, in order to build on the momentum underway with the construction of the JSS early blocks
- under the revised sequencing, Vancouver Shipyards will complete construction on JSS 1, followed by construction of the OOSV and then JSS 2

Construction of JSS 1 and JSS 2 continues.

Updates on the progress of the joint support ship project: July 2018 to present
Timelapse video of the joint support ship block 435 being moved: A ship build is typically broken down into individual block units, which are then joined, most often in groups of 4, to form grand blocks. Watch as, with millimeter precision, block 435 of joint support ship 1 is moved into position (June 2020)