About: Polar 8 Project

The Polar 8 Project was a Canadian shipbuilding project intended to provide the Canadian Coast Guard with a large icebreaker capable of operating year-round in the Northwest Passage. The project was developed as a means to assert Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic Ocean. It commenced in 1985 but was cancelled in 1990 while still in the final design stage. It was Canada's direct response to the unauthorized transit through the Northwest Passage in summer 1985 by USCGC Polar Sea, a United States Coast Guard icebreaker. Polar 8 refers the capability of the ship in ice of that thickness in feet, in this case 8 feet (2.4 m). Initiated in 1985, the vessel was never constructed and the project was cancelled in 1988.