Vancouver Drydock opens new state-of-the-art operations center

New operations center will serve as a hub for Vancouver Drydock employees. [Photo: Seaspan]

Seaspan’s Vancouver Drydock in North Vancouver, B.C,, this week celebrated the grand opening of its new 21,000 square foot operations center – a state-of-the-art, two-story facility that will support the increased capability at Vancouver Drydock to support the marine industry on the West Coast.

The new operations center will serve as a hub for Vancouver Drydock employees, creating a centralized location for administration, safety and operations personnel. The space will provide new offices for operations staff, as well as a new lunchroom and locker room, and is designed to accommodate over 300 trades employees over two shifts.

The new center is part of a project also includes substantial civil and electrical site upgrades to accommodate the building and make improvements around the site. Seaspan has made significant investment in infrastructure at its drydocking facility that also includes the recent acquisition of a third floating dry dock.

These upgrades will support Vancouver Drydock’s growing ship repair and maintenance operations,which will see the workforce add approximately 100 new, well-paying jobs in the North Vancouver community.

“By investing in Vancouver Drydock, we’re doing more than just maintaining our status as a leader for ship repair and maintenance here in the Pacific Northwest — we’re also growing our business, and creating new, highly skilled local jobs,” said John McCarthy, CEO of Seaspan Shipyards. “This new operations center and the addition of our new, third dry dock represent necessary investments in infrastructure and people that will help us meet the demand of our thriving ship repair industry.”

“The grand opening of our new operations center marks an exciting chapter for Seaspan’s Vancouver Drydock,” said Paul Hebson, vice president & general manager. “This building represents a better and more efficient work environment for our team and is another step forward to ensure that we are positioned to support the growing West Coast marine industry. Whether it is our local SeaBus, BC Ferries, a fishing vessel, or an emergency repair for a vessel in distress – we play a vital role in BC’s marine ecosystem.”