Interior and exterior lighting of each warship will be marine-grade LED, and lighting management systems will also be supplied.
In total, around 9,000 lights are involved, and will be supplied.
Marl is the lighting design authority, subcontracted to Apex, and Marl will transfer licensing rights to Apex to manufacture and assemble the lighting in Moncton, New Brunswick
“The partnership not only enables the growth of our Moncton workforce, but positions Apex to strengthen our offerings to a wider Canadian supply chain,” said Apex CEO Keith Parlee.
Marl, based in Cumbria UK, was acquired by Norwegian company Glamox in August 2024. Both have a history in military lighting.
“Our collaboration with Apex Industries continues Glamox’s history of lighting vessels for the Royal Canadian Navy over the past 35 years,” said Glamox CEO Astrid Simonsen Joos.
Apex was awarded the lighting systems contract by Irving Shipbuilding, which will build the vessels in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Lockheed Martin Canada has the contract for the military equipment.
The ships are first of Canada’s ‘River-class’: HMCS Fraser, HMCS Saint-Laurent and HMCS Mackenzie, expected to enter service in the early 2030s.
They are based on the ‘global combat ship’ design used by UK Royal Navy Type 26 frigates and the Royal Australian Navy Hunter-class frigates.
They will replace Canada’s Iroquois-class and Halifax-class ships.
The first ship lighting package is scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2026, and a contract for lighting a further three destroyers is under discussion.
Earlier this year, Glamox announced custom spectrum lighting for oil rigs, designed not to confuse migrating birds
