Vancouver Shipyard News

Canadian shipbuilder Seaspan Shipyards announced on Monday it has cut steel and started full-rate construction of the newest oceanographic science research vessel for the Canadian Coast Guard and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.The 88-meter Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel (OOSV) is being built under Canada's National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) at Seaspan’s multi-program Vancouver Shipyard concurrently with the first Joint Support Ship (JSS) for the Royal Canadian Navy.The OOSV will support oceanographic…

Mackay Marine said it has completed final electronics commissioning during sea trials aboard the future CCGS John Cabot. Constructed at Seaspan’s Vancouver shipyard, the new ship is the third Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel (OFSV) built for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCGS) under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy.Mackay said it was selected to be part of the team to support Thales Canada in its role as Tier-1 Partner to Seaspan Shipyards and as Electronic Systems Integrator for the construction of these vessels.

Canadian shipbuilder Seaspan Shipyards on Friday launched the final ship in a series of three Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels (OFSV) for the Canadian Coast Guard.The 63.4-meter CCGS John Cabot will next undergo sea trials before its delivery to the Coast Guard later this summer. The vessel will be based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.CCGS John Cabot and previously delivered sister ships, CCGS Sir John Franklin, now stationed in Victoria, British Columbia, and CCGS Capt Jacques Cartier…

Seaspan Shipyards has contracted Hawboldt Industries to provide deck equipment for a pair of naval supply vessels it is building for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS).Under the two contracts, which together are valued at $8 million, Hawboldt will design and build the anchoring and mooring packages and the primary cranes for the two Joint Support Ships (JSS) being built at Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyard.Seaspan began building the first JSS in June.

“We don’t usually remove the heads at mid-life on the Cummins engines,” Randy Beckler, Shore Engineer for Seaspan Marine, explained in reference to the 2003 launched Seaspan Venture’s third like-for-like repower. The repower was completed in the first week of February 2016. The Seaspan Venture, like her sister the Seaspan Tempest, had a pair of Cummins KTA38 M0 engines when new builds. These engines were changed out at over 40,000 hours. In 2016, the second set of engines had around 42,000 hours.

Seaspan hosted a groundbreaking ceremony today to announce it has officially started construction on a new head office in North Vancouver. The 7,800 square metre (84,000 square foot) corporate headquarters, scheduled for completion in late 2017, will be constructed at the foot of Pemberton Avenue on the south western spit of the property. Once complete, the building will be four storeys high and include state-of-the-art office space, meeting rooms, expanded bike storage, electric vehicle charging stations, a full-service cafeteria, as well as panoramic views of the Vancouver Harbor front. It will house 350 Seaspan staff (up from the current 130) from across its various companies.

The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, joined by Andrew Saxton, Member of Parliament for North Vancouver and John Weston, Member of Parliament for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country, announced that Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards (VSY) has started construction on the first National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS) ship, the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG)’s Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel (OFSV). It was also announced that the first ship will be named CCGS Sir John Franklin in honour of a British Royal Navy officer and explorer of the Arctic. Found in September 2014, Franklin’s ships are an important part of Canadian history given that his expeditions…

Today, Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards officially celebrated the completion of its two-year, $170M Shipyard Modernization Project ahead of schedule and under-budget. Funded entirely by Seaspan, this project has transformed Vancouver Shipyards into the most modern facility in North America that will establish a shipbuilding and ship repair centre of excellence on the West Coast, and allow for the effective and efficient delivery of Non-Combat vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy. “Today is a celebration for Seaspan, and words cannot express how proud I am of the incredible transformation of Vancouver Shipyards,” said Jonathan Whitworth – CEO, Seaspan.

After months of planning and anticipation, Seaspan’s new 300-metric-ton Gantry Crane arrived at Vancouver Shipyards. Once erected, this colossal crane will be the largest Gantry Crane in Canada, towering 80 meters high and spanning 76 meters wide, and mark a significant milestone in Vancouver Shipyard’s Modernization Project. The two-year, $200 million project, which began construction in October 2012 and is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2014, will provide a new state-of-the-art facility…

A steel boat can continue to serve for many years if properly maintained. Seaspan Marine is the largest towing company on the British Columbia coast. Utilizing the services of their sister companies Vancouver Drydock, Vancouver Shipyard and Victoria Shipyards, they do much of their own repair and maintenance work. The upgrade and maintenance of the 25.24 by 7.56-meter (82.8 x 24.8) Seaspan Cutlass was done at Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyard, which was the yard that built the tug and her sisters, including the Seaspan Cavalier in 1975. Both tugs have received similar upgrades.

Seaspan Marine entered into a technology support agreement with STX Offshore and Shipbuilding Company Ltd. This partnership will optimize Vancouver Shipyard’s planned facilities upgrades for the Federal Government’s recently awarded $8 billion Non-Combat National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS) program. STX is one of the leading shipbuilders in the world and currently produces approximately 60 vessels per year with annual steel throughput over 700,000 tonnes. STX plans to dispatch a technical staff to Vancouver Shipyards to review facility upgrades and provide recommendations for optimizing shipbuilding efficiency. “This partnership…

Spiro Risvas, Senior Vice President, WMG Shipyards announced the appointment of John McNeill to the position of Manager, Marketing and Sales, WMG Shipyards. McNeill’s former role of Vancouver Shipyard’s Manager, Commercial Accounts has been restructured into this new position, to allow him to identify opportunities and apply his talents across all three WMG shipyard operations. John will now provide sales and marketing expertise to all three WMG Shipyards (Vancouver Drydock, Vancouver…

BC Ferries announced that the keel-laying of a new 125-car intermediate size ferry took place at Vancouver Shipyards in North Vancouver. The event marked the beginning of construction on the third new vessel that the company has commissioned since 2004 and was recognized at a special ceremony involving representatives from both BC Ferries and Vancouver Shipyards. The keel is generally the first part of a ship to be constructed. The new intermediate vessel’s keel unit weighs approximately 30-tonnes, and is the first of over 100 units that will be fabricated and pre-assembled at Vancouver Shipyard’s main facility in North Vancouver over the next year. In total, 1700-tonnes of steel will be required to construct the ship.

Marine interior contractor, James P. Colie & Associates was selected for refurbishment of Crown Princess and Sky Princess. On Crown Princess, craftsmen refurbished the 10,000-sq.-ft. café on the Lido Deck and building a new children's center at Cascade General Shipyard in Portland, Oregon. A team of nearly 50 craftsmen made the necessary removals in the café and fully outfit a new window-enclosed structure. All new finishes were installed throughout the café including wallcoverings, flooring, seating, cabinetry and millwork, buffet lines, dance floor and stage. The forward entrances were expanded and modified for better traffic flow and air conditioning control. Above the café, a vertical extension of the café structure wasadded, creating a new 2,000-square-ft.

Seaspan International is having a very attractive pair of new tugs finished up at their Vancouver Shipyardd ivision. The hulls were fabricated in China and shipped across the Pacific by barge. When the two 64 by 23-ft. tugs are completed with the addition of machinery and deckhouses, they will be the result of several years design and planning that included significant input from the operations end of the towing company. Over the past 20 years, Canadian tonnage regulations have created a generation of beamy 50-footers in British Columbia. These new boats have gone beyond this limit to define a new generation of tug with a fine longer double-chined hull. The hull has a molded depth held to 10.4-ft.