Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels (MCDVs)

[Underway]

Dofasco aren't set up to do the specialized annealing and heat treatment for those specialty steels,

Dofasco pivoted a few years ago and their killer app is specialty steel for cars roll frames.

But I too am unsure of what is happening at those places, though in my drive past today I noticed a bunch of massive Canada flags on Dofasco's buildings and cranes. That was new.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Perhaps carney can put one of his promised government emergency plans into effect and get them built. And a lot faster than normal timings.

 

[PrairieFella]

Wouln't that go by train to Thunder Bay then by boat from there? That's a pretty old shipping route from what I recall.


There were a bunch of similar proposals from different companies that got screened out when NSS went through the first phase, and that was a fully funded program supported by Cabinet.

This is optimistic marketing that may have some discussion with a few senior people, but no one that has understands how to make it a reality. At that proposed tonnage the NSS yards get first dibs on ships on the larger size, and when they are looking at building the order books will be opening up in Vancouver. On the smaller ships those are required to be openly competed under the 65 year old 'Made in Canada' policy, with the NSS yards specifically excluded, but we don't do untendered proposals (unless you are Davie).

Nice marketing though.

It is a very old trade route. One of Thunder Bay's old raison d'être in fact. I don't know what quality of steel they make but I know they at least make construction grade stuff. Most of the elevator steel in Canada comes from Gerdau in Selkirk. Maybe it's being looked into, idk

 

[Navy_Pete]

Dofasco pivoted a few years ago and their killer app is specialty steel for cars roll frames.

But I too am unsure of what is happening at those places, though in my drive past today I noticed a bunch of massive Canada flags on Dofasco's buildings and cranes. That was new.

I think that's ultra light steel, which is something they started working on with the various car plants about 20 ish years ago (but makes a lot of sense). It's pretty neat to see it get made, actually a few bits of ultra thin steel get pressed and fitted together with machine welding to form hollow structures that are much stronger, but takes a lot of accuracy and precision on the cutting/forming/welding side so took a while to get everything sorted. My dad worked on it in the early stages so got to hear about it for years.

Their cold rolled steel is thin sheet, and their hot rolled can handle up to 0.5", so with the right grade that's okay for some ships (CPF shell are in the 6-8mm range, with a lot of primary structure at 1/2" or less), but things like armor plating on the flight deck is a pretty specialty grade and I think 3/4" or so.

Using Canadian steel would be awesome for RCD, but imagine they've already got contracts in place due to the volume and lead time required and already received some to do all the test welds and modules to dial in their machine settings as well as manual welding procedures. The RCD will actually be harder to make, just because the thinner steel is a lot more susceptible to heat distortion compared to the heavy plate on AOPs, but I'm sure there are a few thousand kms less linear welds when you don't need to do 50 passes to fill in a butt joint on 2" plate where the cap is a dozen passes wide. Failing an Xray on those and having to gouge it out to redo has to suck.

 

[Nvlgzr]

I wonder if Gerdau in Selkirk,MB could make ship steel? But at that point the cost of shipping would be nutty.

Gerdau has a huge plant in Whitby as well. I think they recycle steel there.

 

[YZT580]

Perhaps carney can put one of his promised government emergency plans into effect and get them built. And a lot faster than normal timings.

do you need more than one supplier? I wouldn't think the total need for specialty steel for the navy would keep more than one kiln up and running. Be more logical to have the mills agree on their specialty range and go from there. or would it?