VIDEO: How to paint a monumental mural on a bulker

MARCH 23, 2017 — The accommodations block of the Trillium Class bulker CSL St-Laurent now boasts a gigantic original work of art on its forward facade.

The mural celebrates the 150th anniversary of Canada and the the 375th of the City of Montreal, where the CSL Group is headquartered.

The company has just released a video documenting how the 196.2 sq.m original work-of-art was created.

Over the course of three weeks in February-March 2017, four urban Montreal artists worked together to create the mural. The artwork —The Sea Keeper/Gardien des eaux — was conceived by Montreal urban artist Beyung and created with artists FONKi, Ankh One, and Benny Wilding of the A’shop art collective.

Painting an original work-of-art of this scale on a ship was a first for the artists, a first for CSL and a first for a Canadian commercial vessel.

CSL chose CSL St-Laurent to host the tribute to Montreal and Canada because her name honours the St. Lawrence River, and her state-of-the-art technology and seamanship represent the new generation of high-performing, environmentally-responsible cargo vessels.

Built in 2014, CSL St-Laurent is a 36,363 DWT state-of-the-art bulk carrier. The vessel’s arrival in the Port of Montreal in February 2015 marked the final step in CSL’s Trillium Class newbuild program that produced a total of 11 state-of-the-art self-unloaders and bulk carriers for CSL’s Canadian and Americas fleets.

On March 20th, 2017, CSL St-Laurent adorned with The Sea Keeper was the first ship to transit the St. Lambert lock, marking the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

The CSL Group is the largest owner and operator of self-unloading ships in the world.