DAVIE PARTNERSHIP

Ottawa, May 26, 2026
Québec-based Davie and UK-based Kraken Technology Group (Kraken) today announced a strategic collaboration to establish Canadian production, integration and development of Kraken’s market-leading autonomous solutions.

Davie will provide Canadian capacity and capability to produce, integrate and develop Kraken’s advanced uncrewed surface vessels, and next-generation autonomous maritime systems.

The agreement also provides a framework to combine Kraken’s unique technology with Davie and its affiliates’ unmatched transatlantic shipbuilding footprint.

The announcement comes as Western governments increasingly prioritise autonomous and AI-enabled maritime capabilities as part of wider efforts to strengthen sovereign industrial capacity and accelerate naval modernisation.

Philip Burns-O’Brien, Senior Vice-President Commercial Development, Davie Shipbuilding, said: “This collaboration represents a leap in our evolution as a next-generation maritime industrial leader. 

The future of maritime security will see crewed and autonomous vessels operating seamlessly across vast distances in the world’s most contested environments. Kraken brings world-class autonomous vessel technologies. Davie brings scale, advanced shipbuilding infrastructure and a record of delivering mission-critical vessels on time and on budget.”

James Davies, CEO, Davie Shipbuilding, said: “This announcement reflects our strategy to combine next-generation innovation with industrial capability and capacity. In a new era of maritime competition, autonomous vessels will matter as much as crewed ships. 

Governments need trusted partners like Davie and Kraken to deliver the most advanced autonomous technologies at speed and scale. The National Shipbuilding Strategy created a strong foundation. Now Canada and its allies must build on it to restore Western maritime strength.”

Lindsey Kettel, President, Davie Shipbuilding, said: “By combining innovative technologies with Canadian industrial expertise, this collaboration exemplifies Canada’s ‘Build, Partner, Buy’ policy. 

Bringing together Kraken’s advanced autonomous systems with Davie’s scale, capacity and shipbuilding expertise, we can establish Canada as an autonomous maritime leader, while strengthening Québec’s role at the heart of Canada’s shipbuilding industry.”

Mal Crease, CEO of Kraken Technology Group, said: “This partnership with Davie is a significant opportunity for us to continue growing our footprint in North America."

The ability to accelerate production and deployment of our modular, scalable and proven platforms will ensure that we can deliver to our customers across the defence, security and commercial domains. Combining innovation with industrial capacity is paramount to the future of our security at sea and we look forward to delivering this with Davie.”

About Davie

Based in Québec, Canada since 1825, Davie is a world-class designer and builder of specialist, mission-critical ships such as icebreakers, ferries and warships for government and commercial customers.
Davie became a partner in the Government of Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy on April 4, 2023. This historic agreement is for the design and construction of the largest and most technologically advanced ice-going ships ever constructed in and for Canada. Davie is part of Inocea, a global shipbuilding group operating five major shipyard facilities across Canada, the United States, and Finland. Together, the group represents one of the most significant independent shipbuilding footprints in the Western world. 

Learn more at davie.ca, helsinkishipyard.fi and gulfcopper.com.