B.C. shipyard embroiled in legal battle over New Zealand warship upgrades
A legal battle is brewing between two of Canada's largest defence contractors over upgrades to a pair of New Zealand navy warships in British Columbia.
The companies, Lockheed Martin Canada and Seaspan Shipyards, were contracted by the New Zealand government to install new combat and surveillance systems aboard Her Majesty's New Zealand ships Te Mana and Te Kaha.
The ships comprise the entirety of New Zealand's frigate fleet and the upgrades are intended to extend the life of the warships into the mid-2030s.
But last year, Seaspan's Victoria Shipyards, which was subcontracted by Lockheed to perform the work, filed a civil claim in B.C. Supreme Court alleging that problems with the Lockheed designs were costing the shipyard more than $20 million in delays and workarounds on the first ship alone.
Lockheed Martin Canada responded with a counterclaim, saying the project delays were due to negligence, understaffing and mismanagement at the shipyard. Lockheed said the issues had set the company back more than $10 million per ship as of last July.
"The plaintiff [Victoria Shipyards] has acted in bad faith, comes to the court with unclean hands and is not entitled to an equitable remedy," lawyer Neil Abbott wrote in response to the shipyard's claim.
Lockheed Martin Canada also disputed Seaspan's claim that the Victoria shipyard was selected for the project because of its previous success in upgrading the combat systems on Canada's warships under the domestic frigate modernization and life-extension program.
"Rather, New Zealand knew that LMC [Lockheed Martin Canada] was the leading provider of vessel weapons upgrade systems," Abbott wrote. "LMC felt that New Zealand would more likely award the ANZAC project to LMC if the work would be carried out at a shipyard in another Commonwealth country."
Both ships were due to return to New Zealand from Victoria last year.
The upgraded Te Kaha was to be returned by the end of March 2020 but delays prolonged its handover until December. The Te Mana remains in Victoria and is now expected to return to New Zealand in April 2022, exactly eight years after the contract was awarded.
A spokesperson for the New Zealand Defence Force declined to comment on the force's confidence in the upgrades or the effects of the program's delays on naval operations, citing the ongoing court proceedings.
Lockheed Martin Canada declined to comment on the case, citing the ongoing litigation. Seaspan did not respond to a request for comment.
According to Seaspan, the New Zealand frigate program marks the first time a foreign warship has undergone modernization in Canada since the Second World War.
The matter is set to go to a hearing in mid-November.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.