Ocean Group offers the newest, greenest, and most powerful tugboat fleet in the Port of Vancouver

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, Ocean Group is a key provider of integrated marine services in Canada and a leader in the Canadian marine industry. Over the years, it has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to offer the most powerful, state-of-the art and green tugboat fleet. From a fleet of 38 tugboats, nine of them operate throughout the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. Five of these escort-rated tugs were built less than four years ago, providing the latest and safest navigation technology.

One of the greatest features of these new builds is that they are all IMO Tier III. This has a significant impact on air pollution and exhaust sound insulation as they are designed for the crew’s best comfort. Each vessel equipped with an IMO Tier III propulsion system can reduce NOx emissions by up to 90 per cent compared to a Tier II. Ocean Group’s tugboats comply with BV Construction Standards of COMF-NOISE 3 and COMF-VIB 3 regulations. We are currently working with an applied research centre (Innovation Maritime) specialized in the maritime industry and ship’s builder/designer to minimize underwater noise. Ocean Group is proud to participate in the Port of Vancouver’s ECHO program to reduce the impact of underwater noise on whales and is also committed to Green Marine (as founding member since 2008) and the Pacific Salmon Foundation (B.C.).

Ocean Group’s commitment to environmental sustainability goes far beyond the quality of its marine operations. It goes through the quality and rigour of its management systems, as well as through its R&D efforts to improve the performance of its operations and equipment.

Among other things, Ocean Group manages and minimizes its ecological footprint through its real-time energy efficiency management system OpFleet (OpDAQ) and Triton (Damen), which processes and analyzes data relating to engine performance and informs on fuel consumption, emissions, operations profiling, crew behaviour, and more.

Ocean Group is closely working with NationFUEL to pursue the economic benefits of fuel business with Indigenous communities. By choosing renewable fuel sources and supporting local partners, Ocean Group is positioning itself as a leader in sustainable marine solutions.

Ocean Group contributes to the development of a fuel additive with Sinto to increase diesel cetane rating for better combustion at low load and overall engine performance. This fuel additive is used in all of Ocean’s fleet and has reduced consumption and contributed to decreasing significantly GHG emissions per hour of operation over the last seven years.

Ocean Group considers it very important to be involved and proactive in the communities where it provides services. Ocean Group is committed to establishing trusting relationships with First Nations groups that will benefit everyone in the long term. These relationships are based on the values of inclusion, transparency, respect, and responsibility.

Musqueam Indian Band and Ocean Group recently signed a collaborative framework agreement on marine sector opportunities within the Musqueam territory. This includes capacity development initiatives leading to career opportunities for Musqueam community members both on the water and ashore.

Ocean Group, along with the British Columbia Institute of Technology has completed one Bridge Watch Advanced program for Musqueam members with another intake set for later in 2023. Ocean Group is proud to have Musqueam graduates working aboard its harbour/ river fleet safeguarding their waters. In addition, Ocean Group is a proud member of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.

Through its values and actions, Ocean Group is resolutely committed to sustainable development, environmental protection, and local communities. Ü