By
Rebecca Gibson |
Canada’s west coast shipyards in the Seaspan Shipyards group are regular ports of call for cruise liners on the Alaska run and for the many ferries that serve the island neighbourhood of British Columbia. Victoria Shipyards, Vancouver Drydock and Vancouver Shipyards perform construction, conversion, maintenance, repair and upgrade projects. “We work to a common set of principles,” says vice president and general manager, Seaspan Victoria Shipyards, Malcolm Barker. “Ship owners can therefore feel confident about using services across the group.”
Princess Cruise Lines’ Sapphire Princess arrived at Victoria Shipyards from California in January for a multi-million dollar refurbishment. It is one of four vessels in its class and Golden Princess was a previous visitor in 2010. The yard used its roller fender system for the first time to accommodate the width of Sapphire Princess. Work on the hull included paint blasting and Lloyds inspections.
Above the water line, there were major upgrades to the passenger recreation areas, including a ‘movies under the stars’ system, which provides passengers with a poolside cinema experience. As a full-service yard, Victoria Shipyards provides naval architects, engineers and tradesmen to support all aspects of a refit or refurbishment. A collaborative approach extends from working with cruise lines during initial designs right through to actual execution of the work with the ultimate goal of saving time and cost on the project.
Victoria Shipyards also provides a 24/7/365 emergency repair and spare-part service. A cruise ship heading to Vancouver can call in and request a part and the yard will manufacture it in its shops and take it on board before the ship departs, helping with installation if necessary and jumping off at the next destination to avoid delay.
Vancouver Drydock recently repaired keel damage on the Seven Seas Navigator, involving the removal of 280 tonnes of ballast and the addition of some 270 tonnes of steelwork. “We have the wonderful ability to transfer know-how and personnel to help with cruise ship work,” says Barker. “Work on the Navigator got excellent reviews from the client and it’s great that Vancouver Drydock is able to execute cruise ship work alongside Victoria Shipyards when necessary.”
The yards have regular work looking after BC Ferries’ large fleet, which includes pedestrian and car ferries with capacities from 20 to more than 400 vehicles. The ferries go through the yards to gain class regulation certification twice every five years.
All the Seaspan yards are to benefit from extensive investment over the next few years, backed up by the group winning a Canadian Government contract to build non-combat vessels. Victoria Shipyards is about to benefit from $100m government investment in the EGD that will benefit all its clients. This will include a complete refurbishment of the 800-foot south jetty and improvements to the dock itself, including a higher capacity electricity supply. A new 35-tonne fast speed crane is already enhancing productivity and additional workshops and offices are soon to be incorporated in a new three-storey building.
“We are unique and unusual,” says Barker. “We build and repair naval vessels, both surface and submarine, and provide a ‘can do’ attitude to supporting our vast array of commercial clients. Each product line has a different culture, but we are flexible and our 1,100 employees have the skillsets.”