Canadian Navy to welcome first Arctic and offshore patrol ship on Friday Yet while the first Arctic patrol vessel was handed over to the navy on Friday after numerous delays and cost overruns, the Department of National Defence says the facility won’t be ready until 2022.Defence Department spokeswoman Jessica Lamirande blamed travel difficulties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic for the latest delay, which follows numerous environmental and structural problems over the years.[ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ]The port was originally supposed to include an airstrip and staffed year-round, but both plans were dropped after the project’s $116-million budget was found to have more than doubled to.