Bardex wins contract for new 27,000-tonne Irving Shipbuilding shiplift

With a capacity of over 27,000 tonnes,the 165-meter Bardex OmniLift shiplift will include fifty-six 575-tonne chain jack lift stations. [Image: Bardex]

Canada’s Irving Shipbuilding Inc. has awarded Bardex Corporation a contract for a 165-meter shiplift with a capacity of over 27,000 tonnes. The Bardex OmniLift shiplift will include fifty-six 575-tonne chain jack lift stations and, according to Bardex, will be the largest shiplift in North America and South America.

The system will support Irving’s River-class destroyer shipbuilding program, awarded under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy.

“It’s a pleasure to welcome Bardex onto the River-class destroyer program,” said Charles Clow, director of River-class destroyer infrastructure at Irving Shipbuilding. “A reliable, long-term shiplift asset is vital to the success of the River-class program and partnering with the world class Bardex Corporation to implement this project is the first step. We now look forward to working closely with Bardex and their chain jack technology moving forward.”

“We’re honored to have been selected to support this mission-critical piece of marine infrastructure,” said Bardex CEO and president Thomas Miller. “Our chain jack technology has a decades-long proven track record for boosting fleet readiness. As we rebrand our lift systems with the OmniLift name, we’re on a mission to rewrite how the world thinks about shiplifts and dry docks. Our collaboration with Irving and our local agent, NOSO, is the next chapter of delivering a technology unlike anything else on the market.”