AWARDS 2025 | Best Large Research Vessel – CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk – Vard Marine & Seaspan Shipyards

This outstanding offshore oceanographic science vessel for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) represents the largest dedicated science vessel in the CCG fleet and the first of a planned class of three.

Built by Seaspan Shipyards in Canada to a Vard Marine design, the vessel features Polar Class 6 ice capability, with a reinforced bow and ice belt enabling safe transit through first-year ice up to one metre thick in marginal Arctic zones without sacrificing speed or efficiency, supporting extended operations in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.

The ship offers exceptional endurance – up to 84 days – with a 13,250-nautical-mile range at 12 knots. Scientific capabilities stand out, with the ship featuring multiple laboratories, an ocean sampling room, a marine mammal observation station, a drop keel, sonars, an A-frame, three winches, two cranes, and a modular deck for swapping equipment.

Naalak Nappaaluk significantly enhances Canada’s marine science presence in challenging waters.

"Speaking for the vessel design only, the designer faced the age-old quandary of marrying the owner’s wish list into a vessel that met required duties and performance requirements whilst also meeting a targeted construction cost," Mark Cook, Chief Technical Officer at Vard Marine, told Baird Maritime.

"Compromises had to be made to deliver a best value design. The competing interests of peak performance in terms of seakeeping, station keeping, speed, bottom science suite, and stability led to the design of unique hull form. The varying science missions required the layout of a very busy multi-functional working deck."

"Naalak Nappaaluk was purpose-built for the Canadian Coast Guard’s science missions and executed entirely within Canada’s shipbuilding ecosystem," added Seaspan. "The ship integrates sophisticated acoustic systems, deployable equipment, science labs, dynamic positioning and heavy over-the-side handling capabilities into a cohesive platform designed, engineered and built in Canada."

Seaspan remarked that the challenge in construction lay mainly in ensuring the precision that was necessary to enable the vessel's sophisticated and unique systems and equipment to work together.

"When you’re operating in a tightly constrained footprint with sensitive acoustic requirements, heavy handling systems and dense system routing, precision matters. Every foundation, every routing decision, every alignment has a downstream effect on subsequent blocks of the ship. Delivering performance without compromise required disciplined engineering, careful sequencing and collaboration between design and production."

Ensuring precision in construction was necessary in delivering a polar-capable research vessel, as Seaspan believes the growing focus on maintaining security and a presence in the Arctic is a trend that has been shaping the global marine industry.

"Seaspan is contributing directly to this need by strengthening Canada’s domestic shipbuilding ecosystem. As part of these efforts, Seaspan is constructing a new polar icebreaker for the CCG, the first heavy polar icebreaker to be built in entirely in Canada in more than 60 years, which will allow year-round presence in the high north and play a critical role in protecting Canada’s Arctic sovereignty."

The builder added that it is also a key partner under the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort Pact, a trilateral partnership between Canada, Finland and the United States to design and deliver best-in-class Arctic vessels through coordinated expertise and industrial collaboration.

In Cook's view, meanwhile, the naval architecture sector has been working to keep pace with changes in regulations, which are occurring along with the evolution of environmental and safety issues such as cybersecurity. The results of these are more complex designs and increased construction and operating costs to be shouldered by vessel owners.

Even with these challenges, the previous year was a favourable one for both Vard Marine and Seaspan.

"The year 2025 was a very busy year for Vard Marine across a wide swath of market segments in both commercial and governmental ship programs," Derek Buxton, Vard Marine's Vice President for Business Development, told Baird Maritime.

"We saw a significant uptick in the demand signal for icebreaker and government ice-classed ship designs. We were actively engaged on multiple icebreaker files across North America and Europe. More generally, and at one point in 2025, we had eight naval programs underway around the world that were building ships designed by Vard Marine.

Buxton said other areas of focus on the commercial shipbuilding side of the business included work on windfarm service operations vessels, cable laying vessels, and multiple vessel refit and conversion projects for the offshore sector.

"We were also very active in research and innovation with key focus areas being alternative fuels and autonomous vessels," added Buxton. "We remain very bullish on the future as governments and commercial operators around the world are looking at renewing and expanding their fleets."

Seaspan meanwhile remarked that it had other notable projects besides completing and delivering Naalak Nappaaluk in 2025, which the company regarded as "a monumental year". April saw the company begin construction on a new heavy polar icebreaker for the CCG, and this vessel will be capable of year-round operation in Canada's high north.

"Progress on both joint support ships currently under construction for the Royal Canadian Navy progressed well, with activation of the main switchboards on HMCS Protecteur in March and significant consolidation work on the growing HMCS Preserver in the yard," added Seaspan.

"Vancouver Shipyards is looking forward to delivering the joint support ships and a heavy polar icebreaker, all while preparing to build Canada’s new fleet of multi-purpose icebreakers (MPIs) with the functional design review meeting with Canada for the first flight of six MPIs now successfully completed."

Seaspan said construction of the first MPI is scheduled to begin sometime in 2027.

For a list of the 2025 "Best Of" award winners, please click here.