Vancouver Shipyards Co. books barge contracts

Canada’s Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd. reports two new construction contracts. The first project is to build a double hulled oil barge, followed immediately by three 1200 unit chip barges for Seaspan. Construction of the oil barge will start in January 2011, and the combined new construction will run into 2012.

Both Vancouver Shipyards and Seaspan are members of the Washington Marine Group.

Thd new build projects are a continuation of Seaspan’s reinvestment in fleet renewal. They will providefull time work for over 100 skilled trades at the peak of construction.

The oil barge, a 32,000-barrel class B type, will measure 83 m in length, and feature a double hulled design to meet all current environmental and regulatory requirements. The barge will also be equipped with spill tanks, main deck guard system and a vapor recovery vent system to reduce the release of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere during the loading and unloading of cargo.

Construction will start in January 2011, with completion in late November 2011.

The three new chip barges are similar in design to the twelve barges built at Vancouver Shipyards since 2000. They will measure 61 m in length, 15 m in breadth and 4 m in depth.

Construction will start in July 2011, with completion in the Spring of 2012.

“We are extremely pleased to announce the new construction contracts for VSY, and equally pleased to provide continuity in the shipyard workforce through 2011 and into 2012. The new construction projects will also allow us to ramp up our skilled trades and project management team prior to the award next summer of the Federal Government’s National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS), of which we hope to win one of the two Federal programs,” said Jonathan Whitworth, CEO – Washington Marine Group. “Vancouver Shipyards will have the opportunity to hone its already efficient and well developed new construction skills just in time for the NSPS program. We are proud to build these new Seaspan barges at our sister company, Vancouver Shipyards, and it is our hope and desire to keep our shipyards busy with new construction programs well into the future.”