BC Shipping News - July/August 2015

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BC SHIPPING Commercial Marine News for Canada’s West Coast.

Volume 5 Issue 6

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NEWS July/August 2015

Industry Insight

Shipyards

Jim McFadden, President Meridian Marine Industries Inc.

On the precipice of historic highs?

JUL

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Contents

NEWS

Cover Story

20

7 8 12

Editor’s note

By Jane McIvor

18

In brief

Industry traffic, letters and news briefs

Industry insight

Irish eyes are smiling Jim McFadden President, Meridian Marine Industries Inc. Having been in the shipbuilding industry in Vancouver since 1980, Jim McFadden has seen its highs and lows. Today, with a bustling yard on the Fraser River, Meridian Marine is reaping the benefits of a resurgence in shipbuilding and repair on the West Coast.

12

July/August 2015 Volume 5 Issue 6

39

Cargo logistics

42

Container vessels

44

Container vessels

46

Legal affairs

History lesson

Britannia Shipyard From cannery to shipyard to national treasure

By Lea Edgar

20 Shipyards

On the precipice of historic highs?

By Ray Dykes

35 Training

Motive Power Centre of Excellence Industry/academia/government partnership elevates training experience

36

Training

37

Training

B.C. Skills for Jobs Blueprint continues its support for shipbuilding and repair training

DNV GL and Seaspan Ship Management celebrate successful SAVER initiative Leasing versus ownership in the shipping industry

By Syd Heal Importation of vessels into Canada

By Joanna R. Dawson

48 Ferries

Canadian ferry operators are expanding their fleets to meet travel demands

By Serge Buy

31 Training

Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering UBC N.A.M.E. students impress industry

Single Windows and international trade agreements (Part II)

By Colin Laughlan

50

Pilot boats

Growing fleet reflects growing activity in Prince Rupert

52 Technology

Evolution of an industry High-tech repair options for ship repairs

By Dale Finnerty

31

Industrial Marine Training and Applied Research Centre IMTARC succeeding in filling demand for shipyard workers

On the cover: Point Hope Maritime (photo: BC Shipping News); above: Bracewell Marine Group (photo: Dave Roels — www.daveroels.com); right: Fast Emergency Response/Towing Vessel concept (image courtesy of UBC NAME program ); left: Jim McFadden (photo: Dave Roels — www.daveroels.com)

July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 5

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July/August 2015 Volume 5/Issue 6

BC Shipping News is as much a business journal as it is a forum for the industry. With informative, educational and entertaining articles, BCSN is a vehicle for discussion on local, national and international maritime issues.

Publisher McIvor Communications Inc. President & Editor Jane McIvor

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Serge Buy Joanna R. Dawson Ray Dykes Lea Edgar Dale Finnerty Syd Heal Colin Laughlan Jim McFadden

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6 BC Shipping News July/August 2015

Contents copyrighted 2015 McIvor Communications Inc. 300 - 1275 West 6th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada V6H 1A6 Phone: 604-893-8800/Fax: 604-708-1920 E-mail: contact@bcshippingnews.com International Standard Serial Number ISSN: 1925-4865 / Published 10 times per year.

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EDITOR’S NOTE Photos by Dave Roels, www.daveroels.com

The village is making progress

I

love it when a theme comes together so nicely. What started out as a simple request for updates on shipbuilding and repair programs to compliment Ray Dykes’ article on shipyard activity, turned into an overwhelming demonstration of how collaboration between industry, government and academia is having a positive effect on fulfilling the growing demand for shipyard workers.

Don’t get me wrong — you’ll see reports in Ray’s article where some yards are still searching for employees and the overall

sentiment is that filling the demand for workers is the Number One priority for the industry — but you’ll also see signs of significant progress.

Our training articles feature BCIT & VCC’s Motive Power Centre of Excellence, UBC’s Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering program, and the Industrial Marine and Applied Research Centre. Each are working with industry (big shout-out to MAN Diesel & Turbo Canada for their donation of a $1.3-million engine) and government (another shout-out to the

Provincial Government and its B.C. Skills for Jobs Blueprint) and are producing some impressive results.

We didn’t have enough room but there is also a lot of work being done by Camosun College, the Western Maritime Institute, North Island College, and the First Nations Employment Society, (and I’m likely missing at least one or two).

As they say, it takes a village to raise a child, and in this instance, the village is working well together. Good job.

Jane McIvor

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY — ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

The Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia (COSBC), a non-profit maritime membership association, represents the full spectrum of international and domestic shipping related interests in Western Canada including, but not limited to, international and domestic ship owners, BC Ferries, vessel agency companies, cargo interests, terminal interests, cruise lines, port authorities, pilotage, maritime lawyers, classification societies, marine surveyors, and marine support and service companies. As such, the Chamber represents more than 80% of commercial marine traffic activity on Canada’s west coast.

The association is seeking a new President on the intended retirement of the incumbent in early 2016. Our President, reporting to the Chairman and Board of Directors, must have vision, work well within a team environment, and be a progressive thinker. The successful candidate must demonstrate a facility and willingness to actively implement the

strategic vision of the Board, serve the Chamber members and at the same time build collaborative relationships with other organizations. An ability to interact with the relevant government agencies as partners in the wider marine community is equally essential. The role involves some travel, primarily within Canada.

The candidate must demonstrate knowledge of and a passion for matters maritime, as well as a keen interest in following and actively contributing to political and legislative developments, with the aim of safeguarding the interests of all constituents.

The continued success of COSBC is dependent on the close involvement of members through participation in several standing committees and ad-hoc working groups. The President is ultimately responsible for the administration of the secretariat, which in turn, provides the logistical support for COSBC and other maritime organizations.

Interested persons should send a detailed resume no later than August 28, 2015 in an envelope marked – “President – Confidential” To: The Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia c/o Bernard LLP (HPS) 1500 - 570-Granville Street Vancouver BC V6C 3P1

www.cosbc.ca July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 7

INDUSTRY TRAFFIC S.C. Heal launches Pushing the Beach

T

he story of Marine Link Transportation and its founding partners is one of incredible perseverance. Alan Meadows, a troll fisherman and then a young man living in Victoria, established a fledgling business that hit the boom in herring row exports for the Japanese market at just the right time.

His account of acting as a buyer and collector for a herring processor is almost hilarious as he carried a fortune in dollar bills on his person that sometimes reached $750,000 in paper money. Soon after this traffic started, he met Tim Campbell, another commercial fisherman from Sidney, B.C., who proved his worth to their joint venture. Meadows, the man of vision and ideas with an insatiable appetite for business development

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was matched by Campbell, the practical hands-on engineer who could fix anything and found pragmatic solutions to almost everything.

Pushing the Beach, a newly published book written by Alan H. Meadows and S.C. Heal (author of 25 marine books and frequent contributor to BC Shipping News), follows the trials and tribulations of Marine Link Transportation through the early start up years of handling herring straight off the fish boat and onto Marine Link I and through the growth of their fleet, including the story behind the Aurora Explorer and her unique conversion to a hybrid working freight barge / passenger vessel where up to 12 people could sample the working coast, a concept totally opposite to the luxury cruise liner slogans. The story of how they found the Aurora Explorer in Northern Alberta and had her delivered to Campbell River via the Mackenzie river system, Tuktoyaktuk, Cape Barrow and down through the Bering Sea and across the Gulf of Alaska is an epic in itself and is fully described along with a map of her journey.

In addition to the ever-expanding fleet, Marine Link Transportation’s land acquisitions are no less entertaining — from operating a busy terminal at Campbell River spit to the acquisition of strategic acreage with several hundred feet of waterfront at Menzies Bay from MacMillan Bloedel just before that company was acquired

by Weyerhaeuser of Tacoma, U.S. Here, they have developed their own terminal as a secure home base and provide space for others with full facilities for wharfage, warehousing and storage. Repair work is undertaken on site by Campbell River Marine Terminal’s associate business, Ripple Rock Repairs.

Written in an intimate way, warts and all, the book is not only entertaining and historical, but also expresses a great deal of wisdom and lots of hands on experience of value to both laymen and professional operators.

This large-format book (8.5 by 11 inches) contains over 200 pages plus more than 220 photos.

Pushing the Beach is available through select stores as well as BC Shipping News (cost $30.95 plus GST and $4.95 postage and handling).

Contact jane@bcshippingnews.com or 604-893-8800.

NEWS BRIEFS Alastair Marsh appointed new CEO of Lloyd’s Register

L

loyd’s Register’s Richard Sadler has taken the decision to step down as CEO at the end of 2015, after eight years in the role. The Lloyd’s Register Group Ltd. Board of Directors has announced the appointment of current CFO Alastair Marsh as his successor.

Since Richard Sadler’s appointment as CEO in 2007, he and the executive team have implemented a group strategy that has seen Lloyd’s Register (LR) diversify its service portfolio and grow to a £1bn-turnover business. This period saw the creation of the Lloyd’s Register Foundation in 2012, maximizing the group’s contribution to society, and technology leadership through LR’s Global Technology Centres in Southampton and Singapore.

After eight years in the role, Richard indicated to the Board that he would like to step down and pursue new challenges.

The Board started the process to search for and appoint a new CEO to write the next chapter of LR’s 255-year history.

Alastair Marsh joined LR as Group Financial Controller in April 2007 and was appointed as Group Finance Director in April 2008. Previously, he held a number of senior financial management positions, including CFO and Company Secretary of Superscape Group plc, and prior to that he held similar roles at Easynet Group plc, Laporte plc, and NCR Corporation.

Alastair is a graduate in Business Studies & Accounting from Edinburgh University and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

He worked with Price Waterhouse for five years on a broad range of audit and corporate finance clients, covering a wide range of industries. Alastair also sits on the Board as Executive Director and a number of Boards of subsidiary companies.

Richard and Alastair have forged a very effective partnership over the past seven years. Alastair’s deep knowledge and understanding of LR’s business, markets and clients will ensure a smooth

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INDUSTRY TRAFFIC

Robert Allan Ltd. offers No Cure/No Pay approach for better barge designs

B

arges are the box-cars of the B.C. coast, carrying in unheralded fashion all manner of cargo to every coastal community in the islands, sounds and inlets of B.C. Sadly the science of barge design has not progressed a great deal in the last 50 years since the initial building of a fleet of steel barges for log transportation, self-unloaders for the construction industry, and the newer generation of chip barges to replace the first generation of wooden and early steel chip scows. In the 1960s, Robert Allan Ltd. did a significant amount of work developing efficient barge forms and proving the merits of these through an extensive series of model tests to verify the resistance and directional stability. However, many of those barges have now reached the end of their useful lives and the question then becomes: what has been learned since to advance the state of the art in barge design? Unfortunately in many instances, it is clear the answer is “not much,” as many designs today simply emulate what has been done before, and many are not even that good!

Skegs, added to create directional stability, frequently added 25-30 per cent or more to the total resistance of the barge, a necessary evil that nonetheless adds that much incremental cost to the fuel bill for every trip made in the barge’s life.

In these days of increased awareness of energy efficiency, more attention must be paid to every possible opportunity to reduce the resistance of both new and existing barges of all types. This will significantly reduce both fuel consumption and emissions, or alternatively increase towing speeds.

Today the design tools exist to truly optimize a barge design in a very costeffective manner and offer the owner fuel savings for the entire life of a new or an updated barge. That tool is Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), and in the hands of a professional engineer/analyst is proving to be the key to a new generation of truly more efficient designs, whether ship or tug or barge. This software and the high performance computers needed to run it in any sensible time frame are not inexpensive to own and operate, but Robert Allan Ltd. has invested heavily in its CFD capability over the past few years and today has one of the most advanced

10 BC Shipping News July/August 2015

>>> Robert Allan Ltd. is offering qualified B.C. barge owners a one-time, unique opportunity to have a single barge (or barge series) analyzed...to seek a more efficient design solution. systems available in the marine field in Canada.

Using our significant inventory of barge model testing as the basis, Robert Allan Ltd. is currently embarking on a program of CFD-based independent research to establish some basic design parameters for the most efficient barge hull forms, comparing bilge configurations, bow and stern rake geometry, and skeg designs, both fixed and steerable.

In spite of the obvious advantages for new barge designs, perhaps the greatest opportunity for cost savings to B.C. barge operators lies in the application of these CFD techniques to the study of how existing barge forms might be improved. Since generally very little science has been applied to many of the barges currently in service, an analysis of even the skeg design alone could lead to a reduction in total resistance (read “operating costs”) of 10-15 per cent or even more. More extensive comparisons of rake geometry, particularly for barges built in series, may show significant long-term dividends for more major form alterations.

Robert Allan Ltd. has also verified the applications of CFD to analyzing towed directional stability so that the skeg geometry will be designed to ensure safe towing and minimal resistance.

Recent studies of barge train performance for major projects in South America have shown the beneficial potential of CFD studies. In one case, the ability of a large river barge convoy to be stopped in a limiting distance was verified in CFD, enabling our client to win a very substantial long-term ore transport contract.

Another analysis of a Robert Allan Ltd. proposed barge design in comparison to a competitor’s showed a nine per cent lower overall resistance, again winning the contract for our client. CFD analyses have been bench-marked against numerous model-scale tests, and typically

the results are within one to three per cent of the model test results, verifying the absolute accuracy of the process.

Another major benefit of CFD is the ability to quickly and economically do direct comparisons of alternatives, to reach a truly optimized design solution. Such tools have never been available before, and the potential for significant energy saving benefits in the marine field are here today.

In order to demonstrate the power of CFD in this area, Robert Allan Ltd. is offering qualified B.C. barge owners a one-time, unique opportunity to have a single barge (or barge series) analyzed in this manner to seek a more efficient design solution. If no appreciable benefits (say at least > three per cent) can be demonstrated, there will be no charge for the analysis. If there is a benefit to be gained, Robert Allan Ltd. will submit a detailed report defining the scope of changes necessary to the barge to accomplish the savings, and estimate the cost of those changes. With an agreed annual towed-mile/barge figure and a fuel cost, supplied by the owner, Robert Allan Ltd. will calculate total energy cost savings, and then define the payback period. Our fees will then be paid out of those predicted recovered costs over an agreed period.

Robert Allan Ltd. is committed to continuing to show leadership in the design of cost-efficient vessels of all types for our clients, and to improving the energy efficiency of every design we produce. The humble barge may seem an unlikely candidate for this type of high-tech analysis, but in many ways it is the ideal candidate to show significant improvements.

For more information on the application of these advanced design techniques to the ubiquitous B.C. barge, please contact Robert Allan Ltd. at design@ral.ca.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Re: June issue: MV Marathassa spill Dear Ms. McIvor I just wanted to say thank you and well done for your spot on editorial and excellent interview with Michael Lowry regarding the MV Marathassa spill found in the June issue. It is so refreshing to read a rational, well completed interview, which is organized by fact, not emotion or political agendas. I especially enjoyed the questions and responses directly dealing with comments in the media by their ‘so called’ experts.

As for the political responses, in my opinion both the Premier and Mayor of Vancouver acted inappropriately and irresponsibly, feeding a media frenzy instead of displaying positive leadership and encouragement. Hopefully, when the final report is complete, the two of them will both apologize to and acknowledge the excellent work completed by those persons involved in the response and clean up.

I sincerely hope your magazine’s reporting gets much wider dissemination,

so that many more people in B.C. can have a greater understanding of the facts of this incident, not the mainstream mediafed fiction!

Sincerely, Jonathan Rothwell Comox, B.C.

Re: June issue: Terminals update Correction: An article in your June 2015 magazine from Ray Dykes on page 25 pertaining to the Stewart Bulk Terminal.... This port was built mid-1960s to late 1960. It is more then 20 years old as stated, making it close to 47 years old. Please correct.

I live in Stewart and do know the history.

The facilities were built before Granduc Mine started. I started work in 1970 at the mine. The present owners might have purchased it 20 years ago.

I REALLY enjoy you magazine. Keep up the good work.

John Goulet Stewart, B.C.

In Memoriam

Captain Alan Shard, FNI, MN “On the ship of life, he stood his watch well.”

Captain Shard passed away peacefully on May 11, 2015, in West Vancouver, aged 92. Devoted husband to Lori, caring father to William (Melinda), Robert (Wendy), Barbara, Stephen (Wendy), Karen and proud Granddad.

Alan was a 17-year-old Lancashire lad when he joined the British Merchant Navy in 1940 as an Apprentice Deck Officer. He completed many Atlantic convoys until a U-203 torpedo hit home in 1942. He was soon back standing his watch until 1944, now on convoys to North Africa and Italy. A proud MN veteran, he went on to become a Master Mariner, serving the under the Canadian ensign until 1954, when his sextant led him to Lori. His marine career continued ashore, in Quebec and then Vancouver.

July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 11

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Irish eyes are smiling Jim McFadden

President, Meridian Marine Industries Inc.

Photo credit: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

W

hen I first visited Meridian Marine’s new facility on the Fraser River in 2013, they had only just moved in. There was a lot of empty space but you could tell the dreams of Jim McFadden and Tom Ferns were already in motion and taking shape.

Today, the shop is bustling with staff and there are signs of projects in the works throughout the entire 200,000 squarefoot facility.

Meridian Marine’s progress over the past two years is a good example of how the shipbuilding and repair industry is making a comeback in B.C. For Jim, it’s the culmination of a lifelong adventure — one that’s seen the highs and lows of shipbuilding in B.C. and one that is now reaping the benefits.

BCSN: Let’s start with an overview of your career and some background on Meridian Marine Industries.

JM: I grew up living very close to the world famous Harland & Wolff Shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With five generations of shipbuilders in my family, you could say I was destined to follow in their footsteps. I immigrated to Canada just shortly after graduating high school in June 1980 and started working at Vancouver Shipyards as an apprentice plater/shipwright. I worked for them on and off for about 15 years — I say on and off because it was unsteady work in the shipbuilding industry in those days.

12 BC Shipping News July/August 2015

>>> Meridian Marine’s progress over the past two years is a good example of how the shipbuilding and repair industry is making a comeback in B.C. During those times when I was laid off, I worked in a fewer smaller yards — Mackenzie Barge, Marine Ways in Deep Cove and Progressive Marine in New Westminster.

I also worked in Victoria for Vancouver Shipyards at the Esquimalt Graving Dock on BC Ferries’ Queen of New Westminster.

Some of the major modifications included cutting the superstructure length ways and jacking it up in order to install the upper car deck, installing new sponsons, bow thrusters and a bulbous bow.

Interesting fact, Malcolm Barker joined us shortly after we started that project and that marked the beginning of Victoria Shipyards. I was also involved in building a barge for Catherwood Towing many years ago in a place called Ootsa Lake in Northern B.C. Plus, I worked at Sylte Shipyard, Westminster Marine and as a boilermaker at Jonstone Boiler & Tank for a spell.

Four generations of McFaddens have worked in the shipbuilding industry in B.C. — my grandfather Frank, my father Paul, my son Kieren and myself. My eldest son Kieren is serving his apprenticeship

as a Red Seal Steam fitter/pipe fitter. My daughter and younger son are employed

by Meridian Marine as summer students.

While I was at Vancouver Shipyards, I met and worked with Tom Ferns who served his apprenticeship with Scott Lithgow Shipbuilding and Engineering in Greenock Scotland as a plater/shipwright. Tom also worked for Blandford Offshore on oil rigs in the North Sea, Saint John Shipbuilding and Canadian Shipbuilding & Engineering in Ontario before moving to the West Coast and joining Vancouver Shipyards. In 1994, when both Tom and I were laid off during a downturn in work at VanShip, we invested in some mobile equipment and started offering repair services as Meridian Marine.

Our first job as Meridian Marine was a contract with BC Ferries to upgrade the crew quarters on the MV Queen of Saanich. For the next 19 years, we took on projects and business ventures all around the world — Greece, Spain, the Ukraine and China — and also had operations in Houston, Texas, which opened up opportunities for us to work in places like New

INDUSTRY INSIGHT Photo courtesy Meridian Marine

York, the Gulf of Mexico, South America, Grand Bahamas and Gibraltar.

In 2013, we recognized the growing opportunities in B.C.’s shipbuilding and repair sector and in May of that year, set up this permanent, physical site on the Fraser River. We have 200,000 square feet plus 500 feet of dock. Our fabrication shop is almost 95,000 square feet plus 8,000 square feet of covered dock and the yard itself is close to 4.5 acres.

BCSN: How has the permanent facility changed your operations?

I understand you still do work offshore — China for example.

JM: We still do harbour repairs — that was our bread and butter from day one and that hasn’t changed. It’s a bit of niche market for us where we can go to the client or the client can come to us. Being a small company in the midst of growing to be a medium-sized company, we have some advantages over a bigger shipyard. Tom and I came from the shop floor and we have a full understanding of all aspects of shipbuilding and repair so it doesn’t take us as long to make decisions and it really helps to understand the project and the clients’ needs.

You mentioned China, yes, we’re currently overseeing the new build projects (eight barges in total) for Ledcor. We were hired to be the on-site, full-time supervisors while the vessels are being built in China. We have our own team there who make sure everything is built to spec and class and monitor quality control. All of the barges are being built to Lloyd’s Register class and we are the liaison between class, the shipbuilder and the owner.

BCSN: What are the difficulties you have faced in trying to build your own yard from scratch?

Three generations of McFaddens: Kieren, Jim and Paul.

JM: Good question...it has been very stressful on both Tom and me. We’re building a shipyard with limited funds and have needed to budget every dollar spent — from an experienced management team, a skilled unionized workforce and technical training, to purchasing equipment, insurance, ISO and class welding requirements, security, janitorial services, etc. When you run your own business, you’re involved in literally all of the day-to-day operations. It’s very different from working in a large corporation.

BCSN: I’d like to look at trends within the shipbuilding industry, starting with the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy.

What sort of changes have you seen with the advent of the NSPS?

July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 13

Photo courtesy Meridian Marine

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

The crew...Jim (left) and Tom (second from right standing) are involved in all aspects of operations at Meridian.

>>> We can’t afford to lose out on the opportunity to grow as an industry and I think our biggest priority is to ensure there is a skilled workforce capable of handling all the work.

JM: NSPS is really just getting started now that Seaspan has completed their modernization program so we haven’t really seen an impact on the industry yet.

An important principle of the NSPS is to avoid the boom and bust cycles of the past and to grow a sustainable shipbuilding industry in Canada. It has been a long time coming but unfortunately, I would say the decision came a little bit too late for most of the experienced trades people located in this part of Canada. We can’t afford to lose out on the opportunity to grow as an industry and I think our biggest priority is to ensure there is a skilled workforce capable of handling all the work.

One trend that we’ve seen with the implementation of the NSPS is that it has brought higher wage demands from the unionized workforce. It impacts on our ability to remain competitive with other shipyards. While Meridian is not involved in any direct NSPS work, we still need to pay the same wages and benefits or risk losing employees to Seaspan and the NSPS. So that’s a challenge.

14 BC Shipping News July/August 2015

NSPS has also attracted a lot of attention from companies in Europe and elsewhere.

We’re seeing a lot of international companies looking for local partners that would allow them to get into the market here.

BCSN: What about longer-term trends within the industry — for example, with technological advances?

JM: The whole industry has changed in regards to new building processes. Years ago, we had loftsmen that were responsible for laying out all of the steel plating and structural shapes. Now, with advances in computer software programs like AutoCAD and Ship Constructor, 3D- and 2D-modelling systems are used to create a virtual picture of all of the structural shapes and plating needed. This cuts back on a lot of the manual lofting requirements.

Today, we’ll use an AutoCAD program to determine what plating and shapes we need for the project at hand. Then we send our cutting files to various local steel suppliers and they come back to us with a quote that includes all of the steel

supplied cut to size, primed and formed.

When the steel is delivered, all the layout lines are already on the steel components and our crew welds them together using class requirements. There are no more loftsmen which is a bit of a downside — if you’re manually building a vessel, you’re learning more. Now, everything is precut and assembled like a big jigsaw puzzle. The industry is losing some of those basic skills.

In earlier years, a worker would be very specific in his trade be it a pipe fitter, a shipwright, a plater, etc. Today, we have pipe fitters doing steel work and other tasks. Workers need to be more versatile in their skills to remain competitive.

BCSN: That raises a good question about training. I understand Meridian has been involved with a training program through the Industrial Marine Training and Applied Research Centre (IMTARC).

JM: That’s right. We have established an on-site training facility for the Ship Repair Entry Level Training Program (SRELT) offered by IMTARC in collaboration with the First Nations Employment Society (FNES).

The first step for students is a program called Passport to Shipbuilding and Repair which provides a basic introduction to shipyards — terminology, English, math, safety, environmental awareness, etc. Graduates from that program become eligible to enter into the SRELT program which goes even further and offers training in confined spaces, forklift operation, more safety, work experience in the yard and other skills that are required in a shipyard.

Once students have completed the SRELT program, they have a better idea of the different trades and they are in a much better position to gain employment through a full Industry Training Authority apprenticeship program for welders, pipefitters, electricians, etc. And Meridian has committed to taking on graduates from the program to provide supervision and support.

BCSN: Aside from apprentices, are you finding enough labour to satisfy your needs?

JM: Yes we are, especially with the oil and gas slow-down in Alberta. Skilled workers are coming back to B.C. But we’re very keen on getting young people into the industry as well, hence the training program. It’s very important if we’re going to sustain the industry in the long term.

BCSN: What about some of the other trends, for example, in safety and environmental standards? How have they impacted operations?

JM: We have a strong safety culture. We have gone through certification programs with Lloyd’s Register for ISO 18001 which confirms our practices in occupational health and safety management are sound.

It provides great guidance and assurance that our operations are not only safe but effective and efficient.

We’re also ISO 9001 certified (again, through Lloyd’s) which is a quality management system and again, gives assurance to our clients that our operations are sound.

As for environmental standards, yes, things have changed significantly in that area. Everything that comes into the yard is tracked and must be accounted for when discarded. It increases costs but it’s a part of business nowadays and it increases costs for everyone across the board. We’re currently going through the process for ISO 14001 which is all about certifying our environmental practices.

Not many shipyards have done this yet but we feel it’s important. And again, it will be a Lloyd’s certification so we can start to combine the annual audits for efficiency.

BCSN: This raises the question of competition. First, what sort of strategy have you set; and second, how do you think B.C. yards fare in terms of international competition?

JM: A key to our business plan is diversification. NSPS will create an excess of work for Seaspan, therefore, we see an opportunity to capitalize on the overflow that creates. We’re also looking further afield into other industry sectors like oil and gas, and mining.

That’s what we have to do now — if the NSPS collapsed tomorrow or doesn’t result in increased work for other yards, we’ve recognized opportunities in other areas that require our expertise. For example, we currently have a project to build a marina for a tailing pond in the oil sands. The dock extends beyond the shallow foreshore to give workboats on the pond better access. We’re also designing and building some pump barges for tailings ponds for mining companies.

Another project that has opened up new opportunities in alternative energy sectors is the Water Wall Turbine Inc. self-floating power plant. We’ve teamed up with WWT to build a barge to house the power plant. The barge is part of the Dent Island Tidal Power Generation project, the first of its kind in the world, and has the potential to launch a new alternative method of low-cost, clean and renewable power generation for small coastal

July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 15

INDUSTRY INSIGHT >>> Diversification is key. I’ve seen the highs and lows of this industry and it’s just a prudent move to not limit ourselves in what we can offer. communities worldwide. If successful, this project could expand exponentially.

Diversification is key. I’ve seen the highs and lows of this industry and it’s just a prudent move to not limit ourselves in what we can offer.

As far as international competition, the U.S. exchange rate is really helping. We see a lot of American queries for refits and rebuilds. For newbuilds, I’m not sure the industry here can compete with offshore yards in China or Turkey, for example, but our reputation for quality work and service puts us in good stead in local competitions.

About Meridian Marine Inc.

M

eridian Marine Inc. was founded in 1995 by Tom Ferns and James McFadden. Both experienced tradesmen, the two immigrated to Canada from the United Kingdom a decade earlier. They met while working in Vancouver, British Columbia. Their training and backgrounds in the British Isles complemented each other and they decided that together they could offer ship owners good value and sound technical knowledge and experience.

Within weeks of making this decision to join forces, BC Ferries gave them their first job. They were contracted to upgrade the crew’s quarters on the MV Queen of Saanich, a 9,000-ton, 130-metre-long, inter-coastal ferry ship with a capacity of 360 cars, 1,700 passengers and crew. To take on the project, Ferns and McFadden had to incorporate and establish a working agreement with unionized labour. The MV Queen of Saanich was the first of many projects. Meridian Marine negotiated an agreement with the Marine Workers and Boilermakers Industrial Union, who supply the skilled labour that is added to their permanent staff as required.

Meridian Marine’s core business is: • Ship Construction/Repair • Piping and Steel Fabrication • Life Saving Equipment Installation & Repair • Marine Fire Protection System Installation and Maintenance • Hydraulic Repair and Maintenance • Marine Electrical and Electronic Repair and Maintenance • Machining, Manufacturing and Testing Services High Resistant Industrial Coatings (HRIC), Meridian Marine’s associate Company, is the only authorized dealer in North America of Polyflake® Industrial coatings and has a significant market share for its corrosion control and repair product.

They also sub-contract their services for land-based projects such as: petro-chemical, industrial, and civil structures.

BCSN: Tell me about the future for Meridian Marine.

JM: In the long term, we’re planning to get a 100 x 400-foot drydock so that we can do repairs alongside and newbuilds inside our shop. And we’ll always continue with our mobile team to service vessels in the harbour.

We’re also looking at ways to tap into the LNG market. We’re starting to see LNG-fuelled vessels enter into this market — BC Ferries, Seaspan, etc. and I’d like to be in a position to offer repairs and services for those vessels. It means having qualified workers and being certified to weld pressure piping. Again, it’s the idea of diversification. BCSN

About James McFadden

S

tarting in the industry at the early age of 16, Jim brings more than 35 years of domestic and international expertise to every aspect of ship repair and related services. His professional background started while working in the new construction department at Vancouver Shipyard for more than 15 years, Jim also gained experience working at Burrard Yarrows Corp, Key Marine Industries, Star Shipyard, Sylte Shipyard, Shields Navigation and Mackenzie Barge. He has also worked in the U.S., Caribbean, Mexico, China, Europe and U.K. on various projects and business ventures.

He continuously works on expanding the boundaries of his professional qualifications and has completed programs through WorkSafe BC (for the BC Shipbuilding/Repair Supervisor Training), CWB (for Welding Supervisor), ITA (for Supervision and Sign Off Authority), DNV (for Hull Inspection and Structure), IMTARC (for Dry Dock Training) and has also taken a Lloyd’s Register-accredited LNG course recently.

Jim lives with his wife Sheila in Coquitlam and has three children — Keiren (22), Kayla (21) and Liam (19).

For more information, visit www.vancouvershiprepair.com Photo credit: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

Jim with Liam, Kieren and Kayla.

16 BC Shipping News July/August 2015

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HISTORY LESSON Photo credit: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

Britannia Shipyard

From cannery to shipyard to national treasure

By Lea Edgar

Librarian/Archivist, Vancouver Maritime Museum

O

ver 100 years of maritime history are built into the Britannia Shipyard. The heritage site is not there only to sustain some old buildings, but also to preserve and share the many memories made within them. I will not attempt to tell the stories of those whose lives revolved around the fishing industry in Steveston, for that you must visit the site itself.

Rather, I will provide an outline of this exceptional location’s past and hope to inspire a trip to one of Canada’s best national historic sites.

Steveston was truly built on the back of salmon. In 1882, the first cannery in the area, the Phoenix Cannery, was built.

Britannia followed shortly after. In fact, they were built right next to each other. In 1883, there were 14 canneries in Steveston on Cannery Row. In 1887, it grew to 23 and by 1890, there were 30 canneries on the Fraser River. Construction on the Britannia Cannery started in 1889 and it began operating in 1890. In the late 19th century, fish in the Fraser River were plentiful. The loads were often too large for the canneries to process. So much so that fish from the day before were sometimes dumped into the river to make room for the latest catch. Hundreds of thousands of fish were thrown away in this manner. The catch was plentiful and the demand for canned salmon in Europe was strong.

Britannia, like many of the canneries, started out employing a diverse workforce including Europeans, Aboriginals, Chinese

Women from various ethnic backgrounds filling cans. Circa 1940s. VMM item number 15016.

18 BC Shipping News July/August 2015

and Japanese. The Aboriginal people employed by Britannia were of the Coast Salish nations of Tsawwassen and Musqueam.

In the early years of the canneries, Aboriginal people were encouraged to take on seasonal work. In the spring, the men would leave the reservations, often with their wives and children, and move to the cannery. They had an individual contract with the cannery managers to fish. Frequently, the fishermen’s wives worked as can-fillers, net-menders, or on the boats with their husbands. In 1880, approximately 400 Aboriginal women worked in the Fraser River canneries. Sometimes, even the children, if they were of age, joined the canning lines.

A few years later, Chinese men started to work alongside the Aboriginal women on the canning lines. In the 1880s, 17,000 Chinese people came to Canada to work on the CPR railway.

The railway was completed in 1885 and the men looked for alternate work. Since the Chinese head tax was also imposed in 1885, many of the men could not afford to bring their wives and children over to Canada. In the salmon canneries, Chinese men began to dominate the canning lines. At the time, “non-whites” were employed because they were seen as more amenable to seasonal work and were also paid less than their European counterparts. European workers were hired individually by the cannery, whereas the Chinese were employed through a contractor. This contractor would gather crews together and send them to the cannery. Workers had to move to the cannery site for the season and they lived together in bunkhouses.

Japanese cannery workers came later. They came to work and send money home to their families. Young men often left their villages to work and returned home later to find a wife.

Some men returned to Japan to retire. However, the Japanese were accomplished boat builders and fishermen and some stayed to follow this pursuit. When they arrived, they didn’t know where the fish were so they would start out as boat pullers in order to learn. After the 1907 race riots, Japanese emigration was restricted to 400 per year (not including wives and children). By 1923, it was down to no more than 150 persons.

Later, fishing licences given to Japanese were also limited to try and force them out of the industry. Japanese families also took to boat building. They started out building traditional Fraser River skiffs and eventually started making modifications to the design. Two well-known Japanese boat building businesses from Britannia were the Murakami Boatworks and the Richmond Boatworks. The Murakami home and boatworks still survives. Japanese women worked seasonally in

the canneries with the Chinese men and Aboriginal women.

This cultural blend was what made up the community of the canneries.

In 1892, the Britannia cannery was sold to the British-based Anglo-British Columbia (ABC) Packing Company. By 1900, salmon was British Columbia’s second most valuable export.

Steveston was praised as the salmon capital of the world. But that was all to come to a slow end. In 1913, the Hell’s Gate Slide caused by the construction of the Canadian National Railway virtually destroyed the salmon run. By 1918, Britannia finally stopped operations as a cannery. ABC then renovated it to serve the company as a ship repair and construction facility.

At Britannia, boat builders repaired and maintained the many boats that fished for the various ABC company canneries.

The Britannia Shipyard carried on until the Canadian Fishing Company purchased the property in 1968 and it ceased operation in 1972. The company left the site eight years later. In 1979, it was sold to B.C. Packers who laid off all the workers and dismantled the shipyard. Luckily, in 1990, the property was donated to the City of Richmond with support from the Britannia Heritage Shipyard Society. Finally, in 1992, it was designated a National Historic Site and is preserved to this day. For more history and stories of the people who lived and worked at this fascinating site, step back in time and take a trip to Steveston to visit this unique site.

Lea Edgar started her position as Librarian/Archivist for the Van-couver Maritime Museum in July 2013. She can be contacted at archives@vancouvermaritimemuseum.com.

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July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 19

SHIPYARDS

Photo by Dave Roels, www.daveroels.com

On the precipice of historic highs?

By Ray Dykes

T

>>> Most shipyards in B.C. have a positive view of the NSPS work to be done by Seaspan and hope for some “trickledown” opportunities. all is calm, however, as one B.C. shipyard manager calls NSPS “the biggest scam the Canadian Government ever perpetuated on the Canadian taxpayer” and wonders how Seaspan is going to share the work.

But easily, the majority of shipyard owners in the province echo the view of Bruce Kempling, Owner & President of Ocean Pacific Marine Boatyard in Campbell River, who is convinced there’ll be an NSPS trickle-down effect once the program gets going in earnest and adds: “I have nothing but good things to say

Photo courtesy Victoria Shipyards

he $170-million modernization work by Seaspan at Vancouver Shipyards is complete and the West Coast is ready for a start to the $7.3-billion, 17-vessel non-combat contract under the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS).

In fact, preliminary development work has already begun at the shipyard in North Vancouver with the completion of two initial blocks of the first of three Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels being built for the Canadian Coast Guard.

Seaspan CEO Jonathan Whitworth says full construction will begin in June.

With Seaspan now focused on the NSPS will B.C.’s other shipyards see growth as a result? Most shipyards in B.C. have a positive view of the NSPS work to be done by Seaspan and hope for some “trickle-down” opportunities. Not

The Crown Princess was in Victoria Shipyards for 11 days earlier this year to get two scrubbers installed.

20 BC Shipping News July/August 2015

about that program as Ottawa is doing exactly what they said they would do.”

Here’s our annual snapshot of how the B.C. shipbuilding and repair industry fared in the second half of 2014 and the first half of 2015.

Victoria Shipyards

As the major revenue generator for the Seaspan Group — a role it will eventually surrender to Vancouver Shipyards once the NSPS is fully underway — Victoria Shipyards’ long-time and ever so helpful Vice President & General Manager Malcolm Barker retired this spring making way for Joe O’Rourke.

As the new VP & GM, O’Rourke looks back on 2014 and sees it as a good year with Victoria Shipyards in a “very steady state.” While Vancouver Shipyards has gone through a major upgrade and modernization, the Victoria yard has also been changing to meet the needs of key naval contracts in recent years.

The $4.3-billion Halifax-class modernization/frigate life extension (FELEX) program is on its last of five vessels and should wind up in 2018. HMCS Calgary, HMCS Winnipeg, HMCS Vancouver, and, in mid-May HMCS Ottawa, have all been completed, and HMCS Regina has just begun a five-month stay at the neighbouring Esquimalt Graving Dock, plus alongside work over the next year. About 300 workers from Victoria Shipyards and co-contractor systems integration expert Lockheed Martin have been kept busy on

SHIPYARDS

Esquimalt Graving Dock

For much of 2014, the Esquimalt Graving Dock, which serves the nearby naval base and local shipyards, was 64 per cent booked. This year, the huge drydock facility is running at 51 per cent and climbing. Revenues topped $10.2 million in 2013-2014 and were slightly lower in 2014-2015 at $8.2 million.

The link pin for much of the shipyard work in the region, the Esquimalt Graving Dock spent $2.3 million sprucing itself up through capital works in the past year. This included minor infrastructure improvement projects, such as electrical system refurbishments, pumping system rehabilitation, air compressor replacement, rehabilitation of marine structures, and security-related projects. There are no current expansion plans by owners Public Works and Government Services Canada.

Point Hope Maritime

For this Victoria Inner Harbour shipyard, 2014 was another steady year, according to General Manager Hank Bekkering who added “it was business as usual.”

There was some SNC-Lavalin ABS work for the Canadian Navy, but the steady diet for the yard was of local tugs and boats. One U.S. boat came to the yard last fall and Bekkering knows that if

Photo courtesy Esquimalt Drydock Company

the FELEX work. There is also expected to be a post-FELEX continuous maintenance cycle for the yard.

And there’s more. Thanks to its FELEX success, the shipyard has the contract to do a similar mid-life modernization on two New Zealand Navy frigates, the Te Kaha and the Te Mana, set for 2017.

The yard also has a long-term, in-service maintenance contract for Canada’s four Upholder Class submarines, saying goodbye to HMCS Chicoutimi after completion last year and hello to HMCS Corner Brook this summer.

Last year’s highlights included a first for the Victoria Shipyards; a scrubber was installed on the cruise ship Pacific Princess which proved “a bit of a learning curve for the yard.”

Seaspan sent key staff to visit foreign facilities to find out more about the process in what O’Rourke says has become “a nice addition to our capabilities.”

The roll-on, roll-off cargo ship Midnight Sun from the fleet of Totem Ocean Trailer Express was in for maintenance while other routine work included vessels from the Canadian Coast Guard, BC Ferries (the Spirit of British Columbia), and a variety of fishing boats.

In 2015, the cameras went snap happy with the dry docking of the cruise ship Crown Princess for an 11-day, 400-worker going over, which included the installation of two scrubbers, taking advantage of the yard’s new capability. The Ruby Princess will call this December for a similar two-scrubber installation and other work over 11 hectic days.

The 340-foot U.S. fishing trawler American Triumph had a complex replacement of an old refrigeration unit with a new ammonia system in April-May. O’Rourke says the shipyards employed 700 people on average and has had no problem attracting workers to Victoria Shipyards, which, he says, has the highest wage structure in B.C. and a steady 2,000 hours of work in a year. “We look after our own, building and training them and have a strong apprenticeship program,” he adds. “We have very little turnover.”

Under the NSPS, Victoria Shipyards will do the trial and commissioning of all vessels built at the Vancouver Shipyards and at the peak of all work will employ about 1,000 people.

The FRPD 309 was dry docked at Esquimalt Drydock Company for some underwater work.

the Canadian dollar stays down it will be good for business. BC Ferries’ Quadra Queen was also in for two weeks last June for regular maintenance.

The navy work on the Marine Coastal Defence Vessels HMCS Nanaimo and HMCS Saskatoon last year and HMCS Edmonton so far this year included tank inspection, underwater blast and paint of the hulls, sea valves, extensive system overhauls and minor steel repairs.

The yard, which employs up to 40 full-time workers, also serviced several of the Orca class training and patrol vessels on regular maintenance work.

Esquimalt Drydock Company

“It was not a bad year,” says Esquimalt Drydock Company Superintendent & Dockmaster Norm Wickett. Situated nearby the largest graving dock in the province, the yard also has 2,000 feet of lay berthage for alongside work and an on-site crane with a capacity of 150 tons.

U.S. shipyard Dakota Creek sent its floating drydock Arctic Kibvayok in for a full blast and paint and some steel work last August; BC Ferries’ Quinsam was in for minor running repairs; Fraser River Pile & Dredge sent its FRPD 309 in for two new funnels; and about nine yacht loadings or discharges were done.

A $12-million midlife upgrade of the Queen of Capilano, which took from early January through early May, started 2015 on a high note. The work — done in drydock and alongside — included new galley decks, increasing vehicle capacity from 85 to 100 on the Bowen Island run; a new upper entrance/exit for walk-on passengers; a new evacuation system; a new rescue boat; installation of a pet area; updated stairwell and disability washroom; and an improved ship intercom and public address system.

The larger Queen of Burnaby came in for five days for a propeller change and replacement of blades on one hub. The FRPD 309 was dry docked for underwater work; a changeout of the variable pitch hub blades; steelwork on the hopper doors; and

July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 21

SHIPYARDS anchor chain and hawse pipe repairs…all while the owners did some of their own maintenance on board. The ferries Skeena Queen and Quinsam were also in for minor repairs.

So far, five yacht loadings or discharges have been done in 2015, but the yard has gone from a peak of 80 workers down to four for summer maintenance work while it chases new projects.

Nanaimo Shipyard

There’s news, but it is not happening fast enough for both the new owner and potential users of the idle Nanaimo Shipyards.

New owner Scott Valliere wants to lease out the shipyard facilities while he builds float homes on a dry-land lease from the Nanaimo Port Authority. But that will take a change under a letter patent from Ottawa which hasn’t yet arrived. Dredging will also be needed.

Meanwhile, Spiller Marine Services is seeking use of the yard and its marine lift to retrofit a 70-foot fish packer vessel for the Ocean Legacy Foundation to collect waste plastics in a cleanup of the B.C. coast. Another project would see a 50-foot vessel retrofitted for Youth With A Mission (YWAM) to take volunteer doctors and dentists down to Panama and the Eastern Caribbean.

Alec Spiller, owner and founder, and himself a marine surveyor, has run shipyards “my whole life” and is itching to get to work but has yet to negotiate a deal with the yard owner over use of the facilities, especially the marine lift. As well as the boat rebuilds, he says he has numerous barges that could be serviced at the yard.

Daigle Welding & Marine

Buoyed by a successful two-patrol-boat contract with Port Metro Vancouver early in 2014, the Daigle shipyard in Campbell River and its President & Owner, Steve Daigle, is “plugging away,” doing what they do best in the form of small passenger vessels.

Daigle says the B.C. industry is “stable and holding,” but he is not expecting any trickle down from the NSPS contracts that have many other smaller yards hopeful.

Following the PMV delivery, the yard built two 37-foot, 12-passenger pilot boats for Tymac Launch delivered in February 2015. It also sold another 12-passenger vessel, now out on a lease through its subsidiary Eagle Craft Leasing, which has a fleet of eight boats.

It is finishing up another 28-foot passenger boat, which, Daigle says, will be used more for rental than lease, and two or three other new builds are likely to bolster the Eagle Craft fleet.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2015, Daigle Welding & Marine has built 770 hulls since it opened and regularly employs about 25 workers. The yard is finishing up work on converting a former RCMP patrol craft into a gooey duck dive boat which will be taken to Vancouver for its finishing work.

Having built patrol craft for Nanaimo and Vancouver, Daigle says the yard is actively chasing another RFP in the province for a similar vessel. He’s also hoping to hear soon about building a 46-foot-long landing craft. Daigle feels the yard is ideally suited amid a growing aquaculture industry and a reviving logging trade. “There’s a lot of passenger business, and barging and towing are busy,” he adds.

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SHIPYARDS Ocean Pacific Marine Boatyard

Another Campbell River shipyard that had a “great year” in 2014, Ocean Pacific Marine began last year working on building two submarine fender barges. Capable of mooring two subs at a time at the Esquimalt naval base, the fenders were launched last August and feature a steel structure with a nylon panel that the subs cozy up to when tying up.

There was a steady stream of both small and large repair work and boats in for Transport Canada inspections. Projects included major repairs on a local yacht Knot Accountable including the building of a complete pilot house and renovating the back deck. The challenge involved laser scanning the vessel to produce design drawings and involved a new construction method using fiberglass sheets all cut by a water jet company and then assembled by Ocean Pacific. “It all came together perfectly,” says Owner & President, Bruce Kempling, “and should be done by the end of June; then we will do a major refit on the vessel.”

Kempling says the yard has been helped by a very good sockeye run, and prawns continue to be a strong industry, plus steady and strong tug boat activity as forestry gets busy again.

McTavish Welding

The major challenge at this Campbell River repair and new-build shipyard is finding good people. “We can’t find the people to fill positions,” laments McTavish Welding Owner Rick McTavish. “Young people don’t seem to have the drive anymore.

They’ll do welding courses, but that’s it.”

Despite the lack of new, teachable blood, the McTavish yard built eight sidewinder boom boats in 2014 and a 60-x-20-foot barge ramp for Pacific Cachalot Ltd., a Campbell River towing and tugboat servicing company. McTavish and his crew of six also tag team with Ocean Pacific Marine to help on structural work for berthing and barges.

kept 150 people busy for three-week periods. And in early June, the Matson navigation container ship Manulani dry docked for a full sandblast and low-friction paint of the underwater hull, a job that took 100 employees two weeks to complete.

By investing in technology, Hebson says the drydock was able to repair its first tail shaft, which was duly approved and certified. The upgrade also enhanced steel fabrication equipment and capabilities; a reconfiguration of the yard is also planned by 2016 to create more float berth space.

Vancouver Shipyards

Seaspan CEO Jonathan Whitworth was no doubt surprised to see a national newspaper suggest the NSPS “is threatening to come apart at the seams” and that delays were hounding progress in the West. Miraculously, there’s a solution offered by a shipyard that didn’t get a sniff of NSPS work — Davie Shipyard in Levis, Quebec — perhaps because it was under protection from creditors in 2011 when the shipbuilding procurement strategy was announced.

Now, Davie (under new European owners Zafiro Marine) has won the hearts of Quebec politicians who are trying to convince Ottawa to give it a share of the action. The Davie compromise or “quick fix” to make up for the lack of a working joint support vessel is to refit a tanker vessel on fast track to lease to the Canadian Navy for $35 to $65 million a year.

Seaspan’s Whitworth and others in the B.C. shipbuilding and repair industry are likely surprised the NSPS work is being politicized just as it gets underway. When Ottawa conducts its target state review in June “it will find the Vancouver yard fully

Vancouver Drydock

“Really busy, an exceptional year,” is how Vancouver Drydock Vice President & General Manager Paul Hebson describes 2014 for this part of the Seaspan Group.

And so far, 2015 is carrying on in the same fashion with 18 ships already having used the drydock and two others alongside for work. That list included ferries, oil barges, fishing boats and the cable laying ship Wave Venture based in Victoria.

“Overall, it has been fairly buoyant,” says Hebson. “We are being helped by the weaker Canadian dollar and the quality of the work our shipyard employees keeps customers coming back.”

The drydock company has averaged 175 employees, but finding good people and keeping them “is one of the challenges coming down the pike for all shipyards,” Hebson adds. “We need to address that by training our own people.”

Highlights of the work included the $7.7-million, three-quarter life upgrade of the 33-year-old Queen of Oak Bay, which kept about 200 workers busy. That project involved piping and equipment renewals; propulsion overhauls and upgrades; electrical upgrades; elevator improvements; installation of water mist application on main engine room machinery; heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades; energy efficiency upgrades including LED lighting in machinery areas; large scale steel renewal; and regulatory surveys.

Superior Energy brought in the oil industry support vessel Arctic Challenger on two separate visits for complex refits which

July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 23

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compliant and on target as it has been since completing the (modernization) work in December 2014,” says Whitworth.

In fact, Vancouver Shipyards is ready to go on the first of three Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels, says Vice President & General Manager, Tony Matergio. It’s a milestone moment, but the work actually started earlier when Seaspan obtained permission from Ottawa to build the initial two pre-construction blocks of the first vessel so it could test out the $170-million facilities upgrade and expansion completed last fall.

Matergio said the modernization project was finished “two months ahead of schedule and under budget” and the fine-tuning of the facilities has already begun. With 200 employees now working in the yard, that workforce will start to rise mid-June as the first NSPS vessel work begins in earnest and will grow to about 450 by the end of the year. At the peak of the NSPS project, he expects to top 1,000 employees when work begins on the first of two Canadian Navy joint support vessels in three years.

Looking back on 2014, Matergio says it was a good year for marine service and ship repair, including over 20 of the Seaspan fleet. And even before the Canadian dollar began to weaken, Vancouver Shipyards was attracting Puget Sound vessel owners because of its reputation for good work. Since then, the current 80-cent dollar “is even more advantageous.”

Among the third-party ship repair work was the Canadian Coast Guard Richmond-based hovercraft Penac which was in for about six weeks for a scheduled refit and structural repairs.

Alaska Marine Line tugs and barges are also regulars for standard refit work, plus one tug was also repowered.

The shipyard in North Vancouver has just finished a 78.5metre cable ferry for BC Ferries in a $15-million contract that began work last September and was launched early in June 2015. While the cable ferry is unique to the fleet and Vancouver

“Up to their eyeballs”...Arrow Marine is enjoying the good times after years of ups and downs.

Shipyards, Matergio says it was not overly complicated in hull structure or engine system. The cable ferry also came in useful in testing the upgraded facilities including the new Big Blue 300-tonne gantry crane, which was involved in at least 10 lifts on the project.

So far this year, there has been a steady parade of ship repair work, which has included the January docking of the Alaskan Fish & Game research vessel Kestrel for a standard refit, blast and paint, and other mechanical work.

In March, the Queen of Diamonds cruise vessel came in for an external sandblast and paint, a job which took a week once the Vancouver Cruises charter vessel was hoisted onto dry land.

Four third-party barges were also docked for the usual blast and paint and mechanical work, including the Alaska Marine Line landing craft Sam M. Taalak.

This year has also seen several other blast and paint barge projects; 10 Seaspan vessel services; three Seabus vessels in for quick weekend maintenance work; and the Canadian Coast Guard hovercraft Siyay has just docked for a seven-month, midlife upgrade.

With so much work ahead both in and out of the NSPS, Matergio says the shipyard is also considering upgrading its current 1,200-tonne syncrolift this year to a 3,000-tonne lift.

Arrow Marine

There’s a frenetic pace being kept up at Arrow Marine on Mitchell Island and they’re “up to their eyeballs” in work. No one is complaining and Arrow Marine Vice President Brian Charles, who is also part owner of the Arrow Transportation Systems Inc. group of companies, is enjoying the good times after ups and downs over the years.

The big job of 2014 will continue through July 2015 as Arrow reconfigures the 120-foot landing craft Central Coaster for Shearwater Marine. The vessel is complying with Canadian standards for double-hulled craft hauling fuel and has had Arrow cut it in two to install a new 30-foot double-hulled section. Another 60-foot double-hulled section being built by Canron Western Constructors on Annacis Island will practically give the owners a new vessel by the time a new 20-tonne crane is installed and other repair work done.

Arrow is widening its 33-foot 330-ton Travelift and Charles expects the extra five feet width will attract new work on tractor tugs and barges.

SHIPYARDS With mobile ship repair “still our bread and butter,” Meridian has tackled projects as diverse as on-board steel repairs on a vessel enroute from New Orleans to Gibraltar in the Mediterranean.

The yard put through about 150 boats for regular maintenance and repair in 2014 and shows no signs of slackening the pace this year, even picking up some fleet maintenance work for Seaspan as it gets busier. That should be enough to keep from 25 to 50 employees busy for the next year or so.

Allied Shipbuilders

Steady as she goes could well have been the motto for this North Vancouver shipbuilder last year with routine projects dominating the order book.

In the yard, Owner & President Chuck Ko has BC Ferries’ 1972-vintage Klitsa for three weeks for docking, cleaning and external painting. The 1973-built ferry Nimpkish was docked for five weeks for its four-year refit inspection. The SMIT tug Tiger Sun was also in for regular docking and inspection. And the yard is currently converting the single-hulled petroleum cargo barge ITB Pioneer to a double-hulled petroleum cargo barge.

Ko keeps a team of about 70 busy but says there isn’t much new work out there to chase right now. Allied lost the use of the nearby Dollarton shipyard when the owners sold the facility to Polygon for residential development. Allied lost some work it would normally have won when the Dollarton facilities were sold last August.

Meridian Marine

After a transition year in 2014 following the acquisition of huge new shipyard facilities on the North Fraser in Richmond in May 2013, Meridian Marine Industries Inc. worked through a slow start last year, but saw quite a bit more activity as the year went on. And it’s busy in 2015 as the company celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Over 500 tonnes of steel has been delivered for the construction of a self-floating power plant — the first of its kind in the world — for a Dent Island Tidal Power generation project.

The unique barge-mounted power plant will generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power 500 homes. The power plant project should be ready for delivery by the end of December says Jim McFadden, Meridian’s President. (Jim is the subject of this month’s Industry Insight on page 12.)

With mobile ship repair “still our bread and butter,” Meridian has tackled projects as diverse as on-board steel repairs on a vessel enroute from New Orleans to Gibraltar in the Mediterranean.

It has also built three barges in the past year and has 44 working on the shop floor with about seven in administration.

The workload has been impressive and has included the floating fishing lodge VT No. 26 from North Island Lodge in Haida Gwaii, in for steel and wood sheathing repairs, a hull upgrade and a complete sandblast and paint. The Queen of Capilano received a new car deck fabricated by Meridian and shipped to Esquimalt Dry Dock for installation. Ledcor Marine ship barges 1402 and 1409 were in for steel repairs, and upgrades were made to the new Ledcor Damen tug Bill L Ledcor. As well, the yard converted an 80-metre long deck

The Nimpkish spent five weeks at Allied Shipbuilders for its four-year refit inspection.

barge into a container carrier and completed steel repairs on the Catalyst barge Johnstone Strait.

The mobile services were just as impressive and included steel upgrades to the ferry Howe Sound Queen and rubbing strake repairs to the Northern Expedition at BC Ferries Deas Dock. Steel repairs were made on the Catherwood Towing tug Sea Imp XII and six welders worked at Vancouver Drydock on the Golden Alaska and Arctic Challenger.

ALLIED

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Photo credit: Lisa Ireton

July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 25

SHIPYARDS Sylte Shipyard

It was only an average year in 2014 for Sylte Shipyard and its 87-year-old President & Owner, Erling Sylte, who has been in business since 1988 and in the industry since 1952. “I can’t complain,” he says, “but we just couldn’t find enough good people or we would have done more.”

Averaging 15 employees, the Maple Ridge shipyard hires two or three new ones every year so “we can teach them.”

Sylte is still positive, and is convinced “these are the good times” with lots to do “if we can get the right guys.”

As well as tug and fishing boat repair, the yard has a strong reputation for new builds. A new 65-foot tug for Gowlland Towing of Campbell River has been the major project of 2015 and, with the engines going in early June, it should be ready for launch in July or August. The tug is the fifth Sylte has built for Gowlland.

After launching the Helen J for Jones Marine of Chemainus in 2013, the yard is on a repeat order for the Vancouver Island company with a 53-foot tractor tug. Sylte is getting the materials computer cut in

Port Kells in Surrey and the boat should be finished early next year. Tymac Launch Service Ltd. had Sylte build a 35-foot tug and a repeat order for another two should start by the end of October.

Early last spring, whale watching tourist attraction Orca Spirit Adventures brought in its Pacific Explorer to redo and strengthen the boat bottom plus paint work.

Deas Fleet Maintenance

Busy is the byword at the BC Ferries Fleet Maintenance Unit, the former Deas Pacific in Richmond, and it was like that for all of 2014 with little respite this year as various vessels came in for significant upgrades.

The refit season for one of the world’s largest ferry fleets began last September with the 1965-vintage Mayne Queen in for a rebuild of its three main engines and an auxiliary engine rebuild plus a rad replacement. The Queen of Coquitlam spent the first phase of its three-quarter life upgrade at Deas and then went to Vancouver Shipyards for a dry dock portion.

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Then in October, the Kuper and Queen of Alberni were in for main engine, clutch and auxiliary engine work, followed by the Queen of Cowichan for similar. The faithful old-timer from 1964, the Queen of New Westminster, took a rest from the Swartz Bay-Tsawwassen run for on-going maintenance and repairs, as did the Queen of Oak Bay out of Horseshoe Bay in December.

One of the larger dames of the fleet, the Spirit of Vancouver Island, was docked for work on two main engines and other maintenance; the Queen of Capilano started a longer upgrade at Deas and then went on to the Esquimalt Graving Dock through May for main engine work and the addition of an upper car deck. February saw the Spirit of British Columbia in for main engine work and in March, the Queen of Surrey had main engine and clutch work completed.

In April, the Klitsa had both main engines and rad drives overhauled with the project completed at Allied. May-June saw a first with the German-built Coastal Inspiration making a scheduled call at Deas for maintenance. The Howe Sound Queen needed main engine and gearbox work, with the job finishing off at Allied.

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26 BC Shipping News July/August 2015

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SHIPYARDS Somehow, despite all of this activity, there was room to squeeze in the Northern Adventure and then its sister ship Northern Expedition for repairs and upgrades through the winter and spring.

And the list just keeps on going.

Bracewell Marine

This Richmond yard doesn’t mind admitting it had a record year in 2014 and General Manager Tim Bell says it has taken years of work to get the yard back to where it after the lulls of the 1970s and beyond.

With 50 employees on average, the yard sent seven of them to Fort Liard, NWT to reassemble the repowered pusher tug Blake Cooper, picking up extra work in Fort Simpson doing bow plating on another pusher tug.

With towing and tug boat servicing company Gisbourne Marine moving next door to the yard, Bracewell installed new nozzles on the tug Raider. Other work included putting in a new generator set and swapping out the keel cooling system in the Haida Girl for Crosby Fishing Co. Ltd.; doing a half-life refit of the Maren J for Jones Marine, including an upper CSI inspection and a variety of other work.

The California firm, McAdam Fishing, brought in tuna boats Charlotte M and Stephanie M in June for roll chocks work, and rudder prop shafts done by Osborne Propellers. The yard also converted a former drum seiner Tara Lynn into a squid boat for Anacapa Seafoods.

In 2015, Bracewell began building two new 48-foot tugs for Ledcor and both should be finished by the end of September. The fish farm packer Orca Warrior called for an engine and transmission rebuild; the U.S.-owned squid boat Anduril was in for work on its bulbous bow, roll chocks, and a fuel-efficient foil-shaped beaver tail; Jones Marine had the CT Titan tug back for engine, propeller, bearing and other work; while the Lasquiti Fisher No. 1 called in early April this year for work on roll chocks, hydraulics; paint work; and was rigged for commercial crab fishing.

Repeat customers seem to be the Bracewell success story. “They come to us because we are good at what we do,” says Bell, adding that a weaker Canadian dollar has made little difference.

Tom-Mac Shipyard

It was business as usual at the TomMac Shipyard in Richmond with the last half of 2014 bringing “another stellar performance,” says Office Manager Kevin

Campbell who admits that the yard is “always turning work away.”

The largest job of 2014 for the yard, which employs about 18, was the gooey duck tender Sanderling No. 1, and over July/August the yard remodelled the forecastle and galley.

The wooden seine boat Merry Chase was in for a 24-plank replacement on the port side of the hull; sister frames were installed; and all new planks were recaulked through last winter.

The biggest job of 2015 so far is work on the wooden tug Sea Coaster based in

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SHIPYARDS Queen Charlotte City. The boat was towed to Tom-Mac with its engine removed and the yard put in a rebuilt engine and gear; rebuilt three new fuel tanks; repaired the exterior of the wheelhouse; and rebuilt the access hatch to the engine room; recaulked and refastened the hull; installed plastic sheeting strips from the deck to the chine; rebuilt the rudder tube; reinforced the stern with steel plates; boxed the forward portion of the keel forefoot and bow stem and bow cheek plates; installed new hydraulics, tow winch, anchor winch using contractor Hypower Inc. and, with the help of Zulu Electric, gave the vessel a complete electric rewiring in a project that ran from January to mid-April.

Tom-Mac continues to service its main customers, the local Fraser River operations of Hodder Tugboat Co., Catherwood Towing Ltd., and Quadrant Towing, doing major work on the 400-horsepower Hodder King, replating both sides of the boat from the deck down to the chine and other sponson and rubber guard work.

The yard finished work late May on the 1,004-hp, twin screw tug R.N. Hodder — replacing the stern tube and stuffing boxes; equipping one shaft with a Thordon bearing and a stainless steel, boron-coated sleeve (the other shaft maintains a traditional shaft so the new one can be assessed).

Campbell says Tom-Mac manages to lift performance year over year, but lately, while there has been plenty of chatter from the tugs about finding work, the yard has noticed a “little bit of a lull,” although the boats seem to be busy.

Fraser Shipyard Industrial Centre

This small shipyard offshoot of the Esquimalt Drydock, in partnership with part-owner Elias Huddard, had a typical year

in 2014. Fraser Shipyard picked up smaller jobs and also worked with Esquimalt Drydock. With an average of 12 employees, Huddard says “everyone is optimistic about winning on-going jobs…then it dies down again.”

The interesting news is that Fraser Shipyard has purchased all of the Albion Ferry property in Maple Ridge and “we’ll see what we can do over there,” says Huddard. Plans for the new site include float and barge work and any loading or unloading using the old ferry ramp which is still in place.

ABD Enterprises

It was a “very good year” for ABD Enterprises Ltd. in North Vancouver in 2014 whose owners Al Dawson (aged 91 and going strong) and Burton Drody have worked together for 45 years.

As specialists in aluminum boats as well as steel, ABD has about 22 employees and last year completed the 105-foot aluminum fish packer Amarissa Joye for owners James Walkus Fishing Co. Ltd. of Port Hardy. It was a project that kept a crew of 16 going for 16 months.

Strictly a new build yard, ABD is working on the first of three 71-foot steel tugs for SAAM SMIT Canada Inc. at a pace of one a year with the first completing later in 2015. The boat yard has built two earlier steel tugs for Samson and Standard Towing.

Platinum Marine

This Mitchell Island full-service shipyard has a lot happening after a “very strong 2014” says its Principal, Tim Charles.

Refits and transformations of yachts are the bread and butter while yachts over 100 and up to 150 feet are the niche new build product.

Platinum is about to relaunch the Crescent Custom Yachts brand and all new builds will carry that name in future, says Charles. The yard employs over 100 and turns out a new build every 18 months.

“Everyone is flat out right now,” says Charles. “Unfortunately we have had to turn business away in recent months.”

Linked to Arrow Marine through the Charles family, Platinum is about as busy as a boat builder could hope.

West Bay SonShip

More active promotion of their yards and its services in boat shows and advertising helped West Bay SonShip Yacht Builders Ltd. in Delta to have a better year in 2014.

The yacht and pleasure boat industry still isn’t strong, according to West Bay President Wes Vermeulen, but “it is a little bit better” in 2015 so far compared to the “soft” designation he gave it a year ago. In fact, 2014 saw the delivery of a new build 72-foot motor yacht for a Calgary client in September, which usually had 50 workers scrambling over it during construction.

The weaker Canadian dollar has turned out to be a doubleedged sword in some ways. While three or four jobs have come directly because of the low dollar, the low cost of a barrel of oil has several interested buyers in Alberta reconsidering their plans as the oil and gas industry is in a tailspin.

Not to worry, with a steady workload of shipyard service and refit on motor yachts, West Bay can keep 25 employees on fulltime at its Delta yard. A 60-foot motor yacht is currently in for an exterior repaint and there’s enough repair and work in the $10,000 to $100,000 job range to keep the yard busy.

Ray Dykes is a journalist who has worked his way around the world as a writer / photographer. Ray can be reached at prplus@ shaw.ca.

28 BC Shipping News July/August 2015

July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 29

TRAINING

UBC students impress industry

O

n April 28, 2015, the inaugural cohort of the University of British Columbia’s Master of Engineering in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering program (M.Eng. NAME) presented their final ship design projects to a room full of representatives from B.C.’s marine industry. Among the 50 industry professionals in attendance at the sold-out event were representatives from Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards, Seaspan Ship Management, Robert Allan Ltd., Alion Canada, Lloyd’s Register, Vard Marine Inc., Capilano Maritime Design Ltd., Wainbee Ltd., Zodiac Hurricane, Teekay Corporation, General Dynamics NASSCO, Imtech Marine Canada, the

Royal Canadian Navy, and the Canadian Coast Guard.

The projects are the culmination of eight months of study and are intended to give students experience in the preliminary design of a special purpose ship before they move on to their internships. Students work in teams of four or five with a mentor from local industry to come up with a unique design challenge.

They must then develop the ship owner’s requirements, hull form and arrangement of all spaces inside the ship; select the machinery and propellers; and establish that the ship complies with applicable laws. The projects require that students use what they’ve learned in all their

courses — Structures, Hydrodynamics, Dynamics and Controls, Production and Industrial Engineering, Marine Engineering, and Project Management — and constitutes the final academic test to determine whether students will graduate as naval architects and marine engineers.

All three teams chose unique and challenging projects and received positive feedback on their designs from both the university and the members of industry in attendance. Summaries of each of the vessels are given below. Due to the success of the event, UBC intends to make student final design presentations a yearly joint SNAME/CIMarE event.

Fast Emergency Response/Towing Vessel for the B.C. Coast Greg Bossons, Thomas Finn, Robert Gage, Kai Weng, Ben White Mentors: Robert Allan and Mike Phillips, Robert Allan Ltd.

T

he purpose of this project was to address the public’s growing concern with the safety of shipping traffic along the West Coast of Canada.

With numerous oil and gas projects proposed for northern B.C., there could soon be a considerable increase in shipping traffic in the area. While tankers are expected to be escorted by dedicated high-powered tugs, bulk carriers, container ships, LNG carriers and other vessel types will not be similarly supported, and in the event of an emergency must be responded to by “public” assets.

A number of recent incidents which have occurred in coastal B.C. and Canada indicate that B.C. is in need of rescue towing vessels that are capable of handling a wide range of emergency scenarios in all weather and sea conditions, as well as providing a diverse set of other capabilities to ensure an effective multi-purpose ship. Accordingly, this concept vessel was designed to address these needs with the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) as the theoretical owner.

A well-defined Needs Statement was critical for the success of this project.

There was no document directly outlining the requirements for such a vessel and therefore extensive discussion with key stakeholders was necessary. Initial discussions took place with Captain Stephen Brown from the Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia, Rear Admiral Roger

Girouard, Assistant Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard, and tug expert and team mentor Robert Allan of Robert Allan Ltd. The design team performed calculations to determine requirements not thoroughly discussed during these conversations. After extensive discussion, it was determined that the main mission was to achieve a bollard pull of 100 metric tonnes with a top speed of 18 knots while

maintaining sufficient stability for all rescue towing operations. The secondary missions included capabilities for buoy handling, search and rescue, pollution control and other general Coast Guard duties. The concept vessel was designed in accordance with Lloyd’s Register Rules for the Classification of Ships.

In order to explore all design possibilities, both monohull and catamaran hull

Concept vessel for the Canadian Coast Guard — a Fast Emergency Response/Towing Vessel.

July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 31

TRAINING

From left to right: Ben White, Thomas Finn, Robert Gage, Robert Allan, Mike Phillips, Greg Bossons, Kai Weng

forms were considered. A weighted decision matrix was used to analyze the benefits and drawbacks of both hull forms for a variety of criteria. Within these criteria, towing capability (bollard pull), stability, seakeeping in high sea states, and top speed were the highest weighted. Other considerations included working deck area, cost, maintenance, and containerized mission capability. The conclusion of this process indicated that the catamaran hull form would outperform the monohull for the given mission profile, and as a result, the design team moved forward with this concept.

A wide array of requirements drove the design to the final dimensions selected.

After consulting with the Canadian Coast Guard, it was determined that a displacement type hull would be best suited

to both the area of operation and mission profile. This speed criterion drove the design team to select the waterline length that produced a Froude number below 0.4. This requirement was chosen because Froude numbers above 0.4 produce a substantial increase in required effective power. The hull form was modelled after the Delft 372 series hull form as it provided a fine and slender hull to achieve reasonably low resistance, help seakeeping performance, and provide the required space for propulsors.

The catamaran hull form provides a highly stable platform for both towing and auxiliary missions. It also yields a large working deck to perform navigational aids work or store containerized mission packages. While tugs with conventional hull forms have a large discrepancy in

the power required for bollard pull vs. top speed, the catamaran was designed such that the power required for both the 18-knot top speed and 100-tonne bollard pull are approximately equal. The final arrangement consists of a deckhouse and bridge structure forward with the working deck aft. The propulsion system consists of twin propellers in high-efficiency nozzles for improved performance across all speed ranges. The propellers were powered with conventional shafted diesel drives coupled to combining gearboxes with two engines per shaft in a father-son arrangement for flexibility and fuel economy between various different operating modes.

Although unconventional, the final concept design met or exceeded all the defined mission requirements. The catamaran design allows for a stable and efficient design while fulfilling all of the requirements. Overall, the design was deemed highly feasible and cost-effective.

The team would like to thank Robert Allan (Robert Allan Ltd.), Mike Phillips (Robert Allan Ltd.), Jon Mikkelsen (UBC), Chris McKesson (UBC), Coskun Islam (UBC), Captain Stephen Brown (Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia), Rear Admiral Roger Girouard (Canadian Coast Guard), Dan McGreer (Vard), Tony Vollmers (Vard), Mark Redmond (Alion Science and Technology), and Ben Thompson (Lloyd’s Register).

The RV Anaris — Arctic Hydrographic Research Vessel Luis Achurra, Yasin Hridoy, Kevin Rahardjo, Ze Wang Mentor: Dan McGreer, Vard Marine Inc.

T

he RV Anaris is 261 feet long and has a maximum beam of 59 feet. At a displacement of 4,888 long tons, she draws 18 feet, nine inches of water.

Designed for operations in ice-infested waters, the vessel has a sloping icebreaker bow and a hull that is several feet wider at the bow than in the stern to reduce ice resistance. She is served by a crew of 19 personnel. Additionally, the RV Anaris has a diesel-electric powertrain in which the main diesel generators produce power for electric motors coupled to the propellers. She is powered by two 2,400-hp and two 1600-hp Wartsila engines. The RV Anaris is to be fitted with podded propellers that are either of the Rolls Royce Mermaid ICE/HICE or the ABB

32 BC Shipping News July/August 2015

Concept vessel — an Arctic Hydrographic Research Vessel.

TRAINING

From left to right: Yasin Hridoy, Ze Wang, Dan McGreer, Luis Achurra, Kevin Rahardjo

Azipod VI Series. The Z-drive thrusters are “pulling,” meaning that the propellers are facing towards the direction the vessel is moving to improve the hydrodynamic efficiency. In addition, they are “can-mounted,” meaning that the thrusters can be disconnected and lifted off for maintenance without docking the vessel. She is also fitted with a bow thruster to assist manoeuvring at low speeds. The maximum speed of the RV Anaris in calm water is 14 knots and she can break first-year sea ice up to 3.3 feet thick at a constant speed of two knots.

The RV Anaris has an operational endurance of 60 days and can sail 16,000 nautical miles at 11 knots.

In terms of the mission profiles of the vessel, the RV Anaris was designed as a hydrographic research vessel that is capable of integrated and interdisciplinary research

mainly in the Arctic areas from the shallow coastal bays and estuaries out to the continental shelf and open ocean waters of the northern region of the world. However, the vessel’s design has an integral standard of worldwide operation capabilities. In short, the main mission profiles of the vessel include: • Hydrographic surveying and chartings of the Arctic sea bed with the assistance of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) / drones • Seismic surveying of the seabed and the underlying geology • Researchers’ training capabilities In terms of the concept of operations, the vessel was designed to perform a complete hydrographic study of the northern Arctic passage in the Canadian region. The vessel makes the Port of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada her

home port and uses it as her main supply/refuelling station. The main hydrographic mission of the vessel will only allow for it to operate in the most Arctic regions from June 15 to November 20, based on an Arctic zone designated system, and Arctic class vessel type (Polar Class (PC) 5, in this case). Once the operational window for hydrographic research is over, the vessel may be used on more southern areas.

In short, the main feature that makes the RV Anaris unique in comparison to other hydrographic research vessels is the fact that the RV Anaris has an integrated facility for AUVs/drones.

As stated previously, the use of AUVs/ drones makes the hydrographic mission much easier and more efficient to complete, considering the short time frame provided by the Polar Class designation. Better data acquisition capability and high endurance of the AUVs/ drones makes the production of nautical charts much more efficient. Of course, besides the AUVs/drones, just like any other hydrographic research vessel, the RV Anaris is also equipped with hydrographic sonars and acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP).

The team would like to thank Jon Mikkelsen (UBC), Chris McKesson (UBC), Dan McGreer (Vard), and Michael Parsons (UMich, UBC), as well as Samudra Marine Indonesia and SNAME, for their time, suggestions, and support throughout the duration of the project.

Universal Design Sailing School Vessel Kevin Doty, Gareth Hughes, Justin Mak, Gord Murphy Mentor: Ron Holland, Ron Holland Design

S

ailing for all, can this be done?

Universal Design is a body of ideas and techniques for producing environments inherently accessible to those with and without physical disabilities, and the elderly. A Sailing School Vessel is a vessel operated for the purpose of sailing education, powered primarily by sail. Passengers become participants of educational activities involving the operation of the ship during a 10-day voyage, with instruction provided by a highly trained crew. Currently, many of these vessels do not accommodate the universal needs of all users.

The goal of this Universal Design Sailing School Vessel was to provide an enjoyable and educational sailing experience

From left to right: Kevin Doty, Justin Mak, Gord Murphy, Gareth Hughes. Absent: Ron Holland

July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 33

TRAINING

Concept vessel — Universal Design Sailing School Vessel.

>>> This design marries the fun and educational sailing ability of a tall ship’s square rigging to the space, functions and stable hull form of a catamaran. for anyone, regardless of age or ability, on the high seas.

Convention dictates that a sailing school vessel is architecturally similar to a traditional tall ship: a monohull with square sail rigging and multiple decks that separate the living and working spaces of a vessel. The decks have tight spaces designed to fit as many crew and passengers as possible. These vessels have a main mess area for meals and gatherings. Lead ballast provides stability and hydrodynamic forces to counteract the rig on top.

Universal Design, on the other hand, entails mobility and functions for living space, and that anyone with physical disabilities may be able to move around comfortably. For example, today, many buildings in British Columbia are

required to have an exterior wheelchairaccessible ramp or lift. The conventional sailing school vessel and the concept of universal design are in many ways incompatible, and therefore combining universal design and a sailing school vessel inherently causes design issues.

If mobility is an issue how can this be resolved for a vessel that will most likely need multiple decks? How will people with disabilities and mobility difficulties move independently on a vessel that experiences roll and pitch motions on the ocean? How does a ship heeled over up to 15 degrees due to the wind pressure on the sails allow one to move around easily?

There are, however, sailing type vessels other than a monohull, and the design team saw a need to open the idea of a square rigged sailing school vessel to

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other hull types. In particular, the catamaran design form opened many possibilities in terms of combining universal design features with a sailing school vessel. It allows for a single deck structure for participant accommodations, mess, and galley, and removes the need for universal access to multiple decks. A larger deck area also allows more space to work on sails and access to the top of the deck structure where the bridge and viewing deck is accessed with ramps. The twin hulls are solely for crew cabins, machinery and tanks. While most participants will not need to go into the hulls during the voyage, lifts can still provide universal design accessibility. Catamarans have excellent initial stability and can provide an extremely stable platform for those with mobility issues.

This design marries the fun and educational sailing ability of a tall ship’s square rigging to the space, functions and stable hull form of a catamaran. The vessel is capable of carrying over 42 passengers and crew comfortably. Wheelchair-accessible ramps provide access to the bridge and roof of the deck structure. The configuration is of a sailing barquentine rig, as this provides as much tall-ship-sailing experience as possible for participants. With over 3,000 square metres of sail area, the vessel can reach 14 knots in a wind speed of 10 knots and the modern free-standing square rigs can rotate much more than a traditional square rig, allowing for better upwind sailing. The crow’s nest is capable of lowering to deck level to allow a wheelchair to roll on, while a platform on the bowsprit allows a wheelchair-bound person to gain access to the jib sails.

Sailing catamarans have been used by Polynesians to cross the Pacific Ocean for thousands of years, and, like monohull sailing ships today, new technology has pushed the size of catamarans to a larger scale. A square rigged catamaran has never been done before, but in the context of universal design and a sailing school vessel, the catamaran is a solution designed with the user in mind.

The team would like to thank Ron Holland (Ron Holland Design), Jon Mikkelson and Chris McKesson (UBC), Captain Bill Curry and Jans Olijve (America’s Freedom Sailor), Linda Mamer (Provincial Outreach Program for Individuals with Deafblindness), Andrea Husdon and Belinda McKinnon (Vancouver School Board), and Michelle Gentis (Team Joshua Foundation), as their thoughtfulness, encouragement and enthusiasm were crucial drivers for this design project.

TRAINING Industry/academia/government partnership elevates training experience

T

he Motive Power Centre of Excellence is proof of the old adage, “It takes a village to raise a child.”

The collaboration between industry, academia and government has resulted in a world-class learning centre where students reap the benefits of experienced instructors in a modern facility that houses some of the most technologically advanced learning tools available. The partnership provides a good example of the success that can be achieved when the efforts of many are harnessed to a common goal.

The Centre is a win for everyone involved. For the Province of BC, it fulfills a part of the B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint commitment to educate and train a highly skilled workforce; for BC Institute of Technology (BCIT) and the Vancouver Community College (VCC), it solves the problem of outdated and cramped space and provides the means with which to teach the next generation; for industry — such as MAN Diesel and Turbo — it ensures a trained workforce for years to come; and for students, it is the assurance of a career for life.

The Motive Power Centre of Excellence, with a footprint of 13,192 square metres located on Annacis Island, offers training for heavy-duty mechanics, transport trailer mechanics, diesel mechanics, commercial transport mechanics, railway conductors, and forklift operators.

With $13.5 million provided by the Ministry of Advanced Education (plus a one-time grant of $4.5 million to cover relocation furniture, fixtures and equipment expenses for BCIT and VCC), the $24.5-million facility has also received great support from industry who have donated products like engines. Most notable among the industry donations is the MAN 48/60 medium speed turbo diesel engine from MAN Diesel and Turbo Canada at an estimated value of $1.3 million plus shipping costs.

The two-floor campus comes complete with administrative and instructor offices, boardrooms for industry use, student amenities such as a gym, showers and lockers, and a variety of subject-specific labs with all of the training aids required to provide hands-on experience.

“The concept was to get away from the typical classroom experience,” said Russell Oye, in charge of curriculum and program development for marine mechanical technician as well as an instructor at the campus. “Every room contains the latest teaching tools — for example, smart boards and document cameras in the labs that make it easier for students to become familiar with engine components; or individual learning pods like

those within the welding area designed for students to learn by doing.”

During a tour of the facility, Oye took BC Shipping News passed the tool shop (which is now computerized to track all loaned equipment and also provide any safety information associated with the tool), through the engine run-up lab (which, in addition to adhering to all emission control practices, teaches students about the latest emission standards), and into the

Russell Oye stands next to the MAN 48/60 medium speed turbo diesel engine — an extremely generous donation from MAN Diesel and Turbo Canada.

July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 35

TRAINING Noise Room (with a one-thousand dynamometer installed plus plans to install an additional two-thousand one).

The tour continued through the re-build area, filled with engine and transmission projects; then the clean room (free of environmental pollutants such as dust, airborne microbes or chemical vapours); and the cold room (to simulate Arctic conditions with temperatures as low as -40o Celsius).

Moving past the welding facility, an area exclusively for instructors, and an heavy duty area, we at last come to the crowning jewel of the campus — the 119-ton MAN 48/60 medium speed turbo diesel engine. The massive piece of equipment — so large that the glass walls were built around it rather than the other way round — stands 5.25 metres high with a width of 3.25 metres and a length of 9.8 metres. The seven-cylinder turbocharged engine is capable of generating 8,050kW with 11,200 hp but, while fully functional, the terms of the agreement with MAN Diesel dictate that the engine will not be activated.

It was Oye who wrote a proposal (albeit for a smaller sized engine) and, through Martin Leduc, submitted it to Risely D’souza and Kamen Stoykov who forwarded it onto the head office of MAN Diesel and Turbo Canada. They liked the idea and forwarded it on to MAN’s international head office in Germany who liked the idea so much, they offered a much bigger engine.

“Richard Weifelspuett, then associate dean of the BCIT Marine Campus and the BCIT Foundation worked to get it over here,”

said Oye. “MAN donated the $1.3 million dollar engine as well as the costs to move it from Augsberg, Germany over to British Columbia.”

As a training tool, the engine provides an excellent platform for hands-on instruction related to advanced diesel engine fuel and lubrication systems, turbo-chargers, control systems, diesel engine mechanical components and the planning and performing of machinery maintenance schedules. Other manufacturers — for example, Volvo Penta, Mercury, Yamaha, Cummins, Detroit Diesel/MTU, and Finning Canada — have all donated products that give students hands-on training.

The engines are used to assist in the Marine Mechanical Training program, a curriculum that Oye developed in collaboration with Boating BC, an industry association for suppliers to recreational boating.

Oye and team are currently developing the curriculum for the heavy duty program at BCIT Motive Power. This is part of the restructure of the Industry Training Authority as part of the federal government’s efforts to harmonize training across provinces. “The idea is that a student can start his/her training in B.C., and then move anywhere in Canada and continue their training there without losing any credit for previous training,” said Oye. “It means re-writing the curriculum but the end goal will be a much better system for students and, ultimately, for the companies who hire them.” BCSN

B.C. Skills for Jobs Blueprint continues its support for shipbuilding and repair training

36 BC Shipping News July/August 2015

Photo courtesy Government of British Columbia

A

s part of B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint, Premier Christy Clark recently announced $305,000 for shipbuilding and ship repair training programs for students at Camosun College and the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

“Shipbuilding and ship repair is worth billions of dollars in British Columbia and will continue to need trained workers in the coming years,” said Premier Clark. “Through the Skills for Jobs Blueprint, our government is matching training to indemand jobs such as those at the shipyards in Victoria and Vancouver so graduates are connected with opportunities close to home.”

Premier Clark made the announcement at Point Hope Maritime in Victoria, the oldest shipyard in British Columbia.

Approximately $10 billion in new investment is expected to be made in the shipbuilding and ship repair sector by 2020.

The provincial government launched B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint in April 2014 to re-engineer education and better support training for in-demand jobs. The Blueprint uses data to drive decisions and shift training and education to better match labour market needs and priorities.

“B.C.’s Blueprint is giving British Columbians the skills that employers are looking for, whether the job site is a housing construction site or a drydock,” said Advanced Education Minister Andrew Wilkinson. “Programs like the Marine Fitter program at BCIT and the Ship Repair program at Camosun College provide students with practical, hands-on training.”

In 2012, the B.C. shipbuilding and ship repair sector supported a total of 4,627 direct and indirect jobs. Estimates suggest that by 2020 more than 4,000 direct and indirect jobs will become available.

Premier Clark stands with workers at Point Hope Maritime in Victoria to announce additional investments in training for B.C.’s shipyards.

BCIT is receiving $150,000 to support two intakes of the marine fitter program benefiting approximately 32 students.

Camosun College is receiving $155,000 and will offer two cohorts for a maximum of 28 student spaces for an entry-level shipbuilding and ship-repair program in partnership with the Industrial Marine Training and Applied Research Centre.

Of the one million job openings expected by 2020, more than 78 per cent will require post-secondary education, and 44 per cent will be in skilled trades and technical occupations.

TRAINING

IMTARC succeeding in filling demand for shipyard workers

T

he Industrial Marine Training and Applied Research Centre (IMTARC) was created to function as a Centre of Excellence in British Columbia in coordinating and facilitating workforce development, applied research, and supplier development to support the growth, productivity, and competitiveness of the shipbuilding and repair sector. IMTARC got its start through one-time funding from the federal government, industry and the Province of British Columbia and now operates as a not-for-profit organization that has to sustain its operations through earned revenue in the services it provides. The 4,000-square-foot training centre is co-located with the industry in Esquimalt Harbour, a focal point for ship repair, modernization and conversion in Western Canada.

On an ongoing basis, IMTARC identifies industry requirements and then aggregates demand to enable cost-effective and efficient service delivery to its customers using a brokered training model.

Commencing operations in February 2013, IMTARC has facilitated and implemented training for over 10,700 students in the conduct of over 530 courses.

IMTARC does not compete with post-secondary institutions in skilled trades and other occupational training but rather provides a wide range of additional training and education required by industry.

While the ‘bricks and mortar’ schoolhouse is located alongside the Esquimalt Graving Dock on south Vancouver Island, IMTARC has delivered substantial training activity in the Lower Mainland and uses an operating model that can deliver training throughout the province.

Previous articles in BC Shipping New profiled IMTARC products including an in-depth look at new curriculum required by industry, developed by IMTARC through the Labour Market Partnership Agreement with funding from the BC Government. This included the creation of a Shipbuilding and Repair Entry Level Training Course for new entrants to the sector that provides essential skills, industry orientation and exposure to marine trades. IMTARC also developed: a Marine Terminology Course; Industrial Marine Estimating Courses for ship repair

>>> On an ongoing basis, IMTARC identifies industry requirements and then aggregates demand to enable costeffective and efficient service delivery... (public & private) activities; an Industrial Marine Planning & Scheduling Course for ship construction and ship repair activities; and, specialized Leadership Skills Courses (conflict resolution, interpersonal communications, coaching and mentoring) targeted at the shipbuilding and ship repair industry.

In the last year, three areas of note have come into focus for IMTARC. These are: aboriginal entry level training with the intent of transitioning into employment in the shipbuilding and ship repair industry; training focused on the use and handling of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG); and a supplier development program.

Aboriginal Entry Level Training

It is a well-known fact that there are proportionally far greater numbers of aboriginal youth between the ages of 18 and 24 than in the remainder of the Canadian population. That, combined with the fact that aboriginal members of working age tend to remain close to

their communities and that these communities reside adjacent to most of BC’s shipbuilding and ship repair activity, makes the attraction of aboriginal workers into the industry a strategic imperative. Operating in the traditional territory of the Coast Salish and actually being located on the land of the Songhees Nation, IMTARC is very much involved in working with aboriginal communities to transition their members into employment within the sector.

An eight-week ‘Passport to Shipbuilding’ (PSB) course, developed by IMTARC in partnership with the First Nations Employment Society, and the three-month Ship Repair Entry Level Training (SRELT) course have proven particularly effective in bringing aboriginal workers into the industry. The PSB course acts as the primer and introductory step into the SRELT course, which in turn prepares its participants to transition directly into a shipyard as a labourer, trades helper or first level apprentice.

July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 37

TRAINING Both courses deliver on the goal of addressing an industry need for certified and competent personnel at a basic and general level. Students are introduced to the marine industry in a safe and controlled environment in which to learn and develop a detailed understanding of the opportunities which exist in this sector.

Students gain a clear understanding of attitudes around work place safety, qualifications and certifications, and experience in a variety of tasks and occupations within the marine industry. They learn about essential skills required for specific jobs and they get to understand employer needs and expectations.

With funding received from the BC Ministry of Advanced Education, Camosun College and BCIT have both conducted SRELT courses with aboriginal participants. Earlier this year, IMTARC, working closely with Meridian Marine Industries in Richmond, located the ‘school house’ in the actual shipyard and had students moving back and forth between the classroom and actual work projects in the yard. In combination with a prior PSB course, seven of the 13 graduating aboriginal members gained follow-on employment with the shipyard. Meridian Marine also hired a further four aboriginal graduates from the SRELT course at BCIT. Proving that this model could work wherever there is a proximity to a working shipyard, IMTARC conducted an eightweek PSB course in Victoria; this time working with the Esquimalt Drydock Company. Again, in combination with a subsequent SRELT course, this approach led to direct employment for some of the students.

IMTARC also provides an Aboriginal Workplace Readiness Program; a twoweek program that orients participants to the work environment where they observe various roles and jobs as well as receiving a hands-on course that features presentations from employers, safety and environmental officers, unions, mentors, supervisors and Human Resource managers. Students continue to learn about, and adjust to, the work place culture. The course is delivered with various objectives, beginning with an increase in knowledge of work-place skills needed to succeed, all the way to establishment of professional contacts for future mentorship and employment opportunities and includes completion of applications to desired companies and/or educational providers. Participants spend the morning in the classroom and the afternoon

38 BC Shipping News July/August 2015

at the work site. IMTARC has run several of these courses including students from Songhees, Esquimalt, Musqueam and Tsawout Nations.

Liquefied Natural Gas Training

As the BC Ferries Corporation has realized, there are significant cost savings to be achieved by switching from expensive ultra-low sulphur content diesel fuel as marine short sea shipping operators grapple with stricter rules coming into effect for designated emission control areas in 2015 under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from ships (MARPOL), which covers exhaust air emissions of Sulphur Oxides (SOx), Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and particulate matter for ships plying the waters off the coasts of Canada and the United States.

Given the increasing importance of LNG as a marine fuel, IMTARC partnered with Lloyd’s Register in providing a course on the topic. The popularity of this course has led to IMTARC working to provide a greater selection of courses around LNG, with the focus not necessarily being just in the marine sector but looking to serve the LNG sector. In this context, IMTARC has partnered with Cryopeak LNG Solutions and the Gas Technology Institute (GTI), an organization based in the United States leading research, development and training around LNG. IMTARC is also working with a number of other organizations including classification societies and original equipment manufacturers to expand its suite of available courses in the LNG field. The following LNG training is being offered through IMTARC: LNG Occupational Health & Safety Course — This one-day course has been created in partnership with Cryopeak with the first course being offered at IMTARC by the end of June 2015. It is unique in that it provides not only classroom instruction but also has a field component for students to get a direct interaction with the properties of LNG. Designed to work like at WHMIS certification, the course comes complete with an assessment that will satisfy the requirements of safety and regulatory guidance.

Understanding LNG Terminals and Terminal Operations Course — This three-day in-classroom course is taught at IMTARC in partnership with GTI. Participants learn about LNG terminal planning, construction, operations, storage, and shipping from LNG experts with decades of experience. The course

includes LNG tanker design, LNG shipping costs, tanker and terminal safety, LNG Shipyards, the LNG tanker fleet, LNG shipping demand, cargo containment systems, propulsion, shipboard line cool down, ship and terminal interface including, vessel and terminal security, stability, ship-to-shore communication and custody transfer. The first course of its kind in B.C. was held at IMTARC in April 2015 and was attended by a broad crosssection of private industry and public entity (Transport Canada) participants from across Canada.

LNG as a Marine Fuel Course — A two-day course has been held more than half a dozen times at IMTARC in the past year and is delivered in partnership with Lloyd’s Register. A one-day course is also offered through IMTARC with GTI. IMTARC is also planning on offering a Lloyd’s Register course on LNG Ships and Operations.

IMTARC On-Line LNG Courses —These courses are offered in partnership with GTI and include: LNG Plant Safety; How an LNG Plant operates; LNG Plant Operator Training; and LNG Shipping and Cargo Handling.

BC Supplier Development Program

IMTARC is also working with the BC Government to support supplier development in the province through the creation of an enabling and mentoring framework for B.C. businesses that have innovative products/services and who need to improve their business in order to become increasingly competitive and gain access to the supply chains of large Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), Prime Contractors and Tier 1 System Integrators. The BC Supplier Development Program (BC SDP) is designed to help B.C. businesses in targeted sectors of the economy recognize the value of being globally competitive, and to facilitate, with accessible and affordable knowledge and support, the transformation to a globally competitive company, for those businesses willing and able to commit to change and invest in themselves. Industrial marine, aerospace, energy (including utilities), and manufacturing will be the sectors that the BC SDP will initially target.

IMTARC continues to evolve to support industry. More information on IMTARC services can be found at www. imtarc.com or by contacting us at 778-265-5005.

CARGO LOGISTICS Part II

Single Windows and international trade agreements

By Colin Laughlan

Director of Communications, Logico Carbon Solutions Inc.

A

remarkable though relatively unheralded event in the advancement of global trade occurred at the end of 2013. For the first time in the history of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a unanimous decision was reached by its 160 member states, establishing the comprehensive multilateral Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA).

The significance of this historic achievement is comparable to the 1947 creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) out of which the WTO grew in 1995.

After more than a decade of negotiations, the TFA, dubbed the Bali Package for the site of WTO’s Ninth Ministerial Conference in December 2013, is an impressive wish list for trade liberalization. Its 22 articles aim to lower global trade barriers and costs through the simplification and harmonization of trade documentation and a host of other measures including advance rulings on tariffs, pre-arrival clearance, customs co-operation, and clear trade rules. For the practical implementation of these measures, it promotes harmonization for collecting, communicating, and processing the data required for moving goods across international borders. Not least among its objectives is the development of Information Technology to flow these data as expeditiously as possible, specifically pointing to the value and importance of Single Windows.

Single Windows in international trade

Article 10 of the TFA commits members to “endeavour to establish or maintain a single window, enabling traders to submit documentation and/or data requirements for importation, exportation, or transit of goods through a single entry point to the participating authorities or agencies.”

>>> After more than a decade of negotiations, the TFA...is an impressive wish list for trade liberalization.

As we saw in our discussion in the May issue of BCSN (page 35), Canada’s Single Window Initiative is now designed to handle importer data and Canada’s exporting community eagerly awaits news on what the federal government has planned for them. “Today, Canada has an automated inbound process,” said Ruth Snowden, Executive Director of the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFFA), “but we don’t have mandatory export reporting. Since 2009, CIFFA has advocated — quite strongly — that the Government of Canada develop mandatory regulatory

and underlying infrastructures [for exporters].

“We should have it,” said Snowden.

“That would put Canada on a more level playing field with regards to the facilitation of our exports with the U.S., for example, who does have a mandatory electronic exporting system.”

The WTO’s TFA will become legally binding once it is ratified by two-thirds of its now 161 members. The original deadline for acceptance had been July 2015 but that was contentiously scuttled in a surprise move by India last year. With no subsequent deadline set, the task at hand

maritime and commercial law on canada’s west coast Nevin Fishman Mark W. Hilton Katherine A. Arnold James Vander Woude

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July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 39

CARGO LOGISTICS now relies solely on the current political will of WTO member states. Speaking in February this year, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo, urged member countries to “ratify the Agreement so that it comes into force as soon as possible.”

Said Azevêdo: “The earlier you ratify the Agreement, the stronger the message you send to the international community about your desire to integrate into the trading system — and your openness to trade and investment.”

What is equally surprising is that many countries, including Canada, have not yet ratified the Agreement.

In a public statement in November last year, Canada’s Minister of International Trade, the Honourable Ed Fast, extolled the Agreement: “I welcome this important milestone,” said Fast, “and urge all WTO members to maintain the momentum and move forward quickly... to ensure that the TFA is brought into force in an expeditious manner.”

In late April 2015, a Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (FATD) spokesperson could only tell BCSN:

>>> When the TFA is implemented by WTO members, its beneficial impact on the world’s economy could be staggering.

“The Government of Canada has reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to undertake the steps necessary to ratify and implement the Agreement.”

WTO Director of Information and External Relations Ken Rockwell, informed BCSN at the end of April “To date, four WTO members have notified the WTO that they have accepted the Trade Facilitation Agreement — the United States, Hong Kong (China), Singapore, and Mauritius.

“We don’t have any information on when others, including Canada, will submit their notification of acceptance, although it should be noted that Canada has always been a strong supporter of the Agreement,” said Rockwell.

When the TFA is implemented by WTO members, its beneficial impact on the world’s economy could be staggering.

Full implementation would reduce trade costs by up to 15 per cent, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The vaunted Peterson Institute for International Economics suggests that implementation could boost world exports by over $1 trillion, with the world’s economy growing by $960 billion and the creation of 21 million jobs.

Canada’s closest trading partner would like to see Canada among others get on board quickly. U.S. Consulate (Vancouver, B.C.) spokesperson Jeanne Briganti said, “There is broad recognition as demonstrated by the support for concluding the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement that reducing the barriers that

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CARGO LOGISTICS impose high trade costs and long delays on traders results in increased trade, greater export diversification, enhanced foreign investment, and improved competitiveness. The United States encourages all WTO members to ratify the Agreement as soon as possible.”

The ratification process allows countries to accept the Agreement under the conditions of one of three categories.

Category A countries agree to implement their selected provisions upon the TFA’s entry into force. Category B will have a transition period after entry into force. Category C are entitled to technical assistance and capacity building from countries with developed economies to facilitate transition.

Developed countries will therefore incur financial and technical assistance obligations when they sign on. An interesting pattern emerges, however, regarding national plans for Single Windows.

Some 50 WTO members have now submitted notifications indicating which provisions of the Agreement they will implement immediately upon entry into force (Category A commitments). Among these countries, those excluding the Single Window from their commitments include Botswana, China, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Indonesia, Jordan, Morocco, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and Vietnam, It’s worth noting that quite a few less economically developed countries have already informed the WTO that they also will not implement the Single Window immediately.

Countries are not required to adopt Single Windows to flow their trade data as legal requirements can be still be met with more fragmented systems. As we saw in our Canadian Single Window discussion in the May issue, there are also some business concerns about the Single Window model. But Single Windows can enhance trade between countries that interconnect with them. An OECD report in 2013 observed that “bilateral trade flows between countries depend not only on trading bilaterally between them, but also on the importance of those costs relative to the ones linked to trading with the rest of the world.”

OECD’s survey of 107 WTO member countries concluded that “Single windows are a very important trade facilitation measure, the characteristics and implementation of which can vary considerably among countries. It would seem that most of the countries in the sample are in the process of implementation of some type of single window, or have a scheduled an intervention in this area.”

Canada’s many bilateral trade agreements

Since NAFTA in 1994, Canada has entered into 10 separate trade agreements (Israel 1997; Chile 1997; Costa Rica 2002; European Free Trade Agreement 2009; Peru 2009; Colombia 2011; Jordan 2012; Panama 2013; Honduras 2014; Korea 2015); has commenced negotiations for another nine (Singapore 2007; Dominican Republic 2009; Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador 2010; Morocco 2012; Caribbean Community 2014; Japan 2014; India 2015; Ukraine 2015; and the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015); has concluded the not-yet-in-force CanadaEuropean Union Comprehensive Trade Agreement 2014); and has begun exploratory talks for three more (Turkey 2010; Mercosur: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay 2011; and Thailand 2012).

From the multilateral trade perspective of the WTO, such bilateral trade and regional economic agreements are acceptable

>>> “...the continued proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements and Preferential Trade Agreements may increase the cost of doing business...” if they eventually integrate into a multilateral system. However, they represent the potential for further fracturing a global trade system, and technological linkages are often developed as part of the agreements. The Canada-Peru Agreement, for example, states the two countries agree to “work towards developing or maintaining a single window.”

WTO historian Nora Neufeld wrote earlier this year that “an overall comparison of trade facilitation provisions in [Regional Trade Agreements] and those contained in the WTO’s [Trade Facilitation] agreement reveals a complex picture. One finds both commonalities and differences.” Neufeld’s conclusion was that the WTO’s Agreement was the stronger because of its provisions for technical assistance, capacity building, and strong enforcement, which have a “widespread absence” in other agreements. Nonetheless, further complications could ultimately arise for businesses caught in narrow agreements if world trade evolves too slowly.

According to the International Chamber of Commerce, “the continued proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements and Preferential Trade Agreements may increase the cost of doing business, especially in a world where trade increasingly takes place through global value chains.” This can make it “especially difficult for small- and medium-sized businesses to participate in international trade since they often lack the capacity to adapt to each new set of conditions posed by these agreements.”

A final observation about another type of Single Window is worth making. Regional Single Windows have the power to bolster entire regional trading blocs, as can be seen in the highly sophisticated model proposed by the ASEAN Economic Community. WTO’s Azevêdo announced near the end of May that Malaysia, the current ASEAN chair, was about to ratify the TFA, and encouraged Malaysia’s leadership in expanding Information Technology. The ASEAN Single Window is scheduled for testing in the last quarter of this year, It will integrate the national Single Windows of the 10 member countries into a comprehensive, automated trade system containing not only Customs trade data but commercial documents and supplychain transactional information as well — in what Neufeld described as the “most far-reaching commitment” found in trade agreements to date. Fortunately, in the interests of world trade, the ASEAN Single Window, which was funded largely by the U.S. government, is designed for interoperability with non-ASEAN countries as well. (See ASEAN Single Window at: http://asw.asean.org/about-asw).

While Canada has some technological catching up to do, the benefits of implementing a complete Single Window will be far reaching.

Colin Laughlan is Director of Communications for Logico Carbon Solutions Inc., a Delta B.C.-based company that develops technology solutions for optimizing freight transportation. Colin can be reached at colin.laughlan@gologico.com.

July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 41

CONTAINER VESSELS DNV GL and Seaspan celebrate successful SAVER initiative

The Hanjin Ami, one of the SAVER vessels from Seaspan Ship Management Ltd. The vessel is 337 metres in length with a breadth of 48.2 metres and a draft of 15.2 metres.

S

easpan Ship Management and DNVGL staff took a moment to celebrate the success of Seaspan’s SAVER project in mid-April. SAVER — “Seaspan Action on Vessel Energy Reduction” — is a concept that was introduced by Seaspan to address client needs and market trends for greater fuel efficiency and higher environmental standards. The celebration represents over four years’ worth of research and collaborative work between DNV GL, Seaspan, the Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group and Seaspan’s clients. “The SAVER concept is an initiative developed to ensure we are meeting our clients’ needs,” said Peter Jackson, Seaspan’s Director of Projects & Technology. “It brings together new technologies and new concepts in ship design that will have a significant influence on the container shipping market going forward.”

DNV GL’s Pål Wold joined the project in 2009 and worked with Seaspan and the Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group to provide classification services throughout the entire process. DNV GL’s Quantum study — the next-generation container ship designed to transport more cargo with reduced fuel consumption — was drawn upon to assist in the team’s efforts. “The results have been

42 BC Shipping News July/August 2015

>>> “It brings together new technologies and new concepts in ship design that will have a significant influence on the container shipping market going forward.” very successful,” said Nick Roper, Vice President Business Development, DNV GL. “We’re seeing lower emissions, lower fuel consumption and more efficient loading capabilities.”

Since the project began, Seaspan has taken delivery of 13 10,000 TEU new builds over the past year and a half with another 12 under construction (with an option for seven more) and scheduled

Standing in front of a model of the Hanjin Buddha, one of the first SAVER vessels delivered: Paal Johansen (Americas Region Director, DNV GL), Peter Jackson (Director, Projects & Technology, Seaspan Ship Management Ltd.), Peter Curtis (Chief Operating Officer, Seaspan Ship Management Ltd.), andKnut Ørbeck-Nilssen (President, DNV GL Maritime).

CONTAINER VESSELS to be delivered by the end of 2016. The SAVER concept has also been used for Seaspan’s 14,000 TEU vessels of which three new builds have been delivered and 12 more are on order. “And we’re ready for 18,000 and 20,000 TEU anytime,” said Jackson.

The distinguishing feature of the SAVER design is the optimized hull form.

MARIN and Marine Design and Research Institute of China (MARIC) developed the hull lines to facilitate very low fuel consumption in the operational speed range but at the same time be able to retain an acceptable top speed. “The common practice for Seaspan’s clients is to manage operating costs through slow steaming — especially when fuel costs were much higher,” said Pål Wold, DNV GL’s representative. “In contrast to typical designs that focus on operations at the highest possible speeds, Seaspan recognized the trend in slow steaming and focused on a design better fitted to that practice.”

Seaspan Ship Management was the first to take on this type of thinking and translate that into the design of a vessel. After extensive research into overall fleet performance and understanding charterers’ needs, Wold described how CFD profiling conducted in Norway, followed by full-scale model testing, confirmed that a slimmer hull would allow for the vessels to be optimized for a speed range of 18 to 22 knots, reducing fuel consumption significantly compared to vessels of similar size. Wold further noted that the slimmer hull reduces construction costs.

As one of the most energy-efficient and cost-effective vessel designs on the market today, SAVER vessels are not only focused on the current practice of vessels operators but also the EEDI (Energy Efficient Design Index) regulations in force today. In addition to optimized hull lines, the team also implemented improvements to features such as the propeller (designed

by Japanese manufacturer Nakashima), the rudder (a twisted leading-edge design from German company Becker Marine Systems), coatings and lashing bridges, as well as “inside” features like frequency-controlled sea water pumps, frequency controlled engine room fans for the MAN engines and generators and energy efficient course keeping technology to steady the vessel’s through the water.

Nick Roper (Vice President, Business Development, DNV GL) welcomed guests to a reception in mid-April that celebrated over four years of collaboration on the SAVER concept as Paal Johansen and Rob Grool (then President, Fleet Management, Seaspan) look on.

>>> Seaspan Ship Management was the first to take on this type of thinking and translate that into the design of a vessel.

July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 43

LOGISTICS CONTAINERCARGO VESSELS

Leasing versus ownership in the shipping industry

By Syd Heal

L

>>> It always seems to be Maersk that turns up the heat in raising a new higher capacity-size ship in terms of boxes carried. purchase option in favour of the oil company to acquire the vessel at the end of the term. Over time, the oil companies have retreated from ownership so that in most cases the oil company now relies on the leasing or charter market for tankers for 100 per cent of their needs.

As an investor in shipping stocks, I long ago concluded that the container ship liner companies, huge as they invariably can be, are not for me as a small investor of the type that typifies millions around the world. Collectively, we join with major institutional investors and, no doubt we all identify our individual objectives in a

Image courtesy Maersk

easing v. Ownership is sometimes the source of problems of correct identification and understanding among the general public, including many in the investment field who shy away from the subject for want of a basic understanding. First, leasing is not new although it more commonly has been called long-term time chartering in the shipping industry. It was first adopted on a big scale by the international oil companies, who, in addition to owning big fleets of tankers, also topped up their needs by taking top-class tankers from private owners on term charters sufficiently long in duration to amortize the owner’s mortgage obligations. As more sophisticated relationships developed between owners (lessors) and charterers (lessees) many of these privately owned tankers were built to the oil companies’ specifications, sometimes with a

Maersk’s Triple E (standing for Efficiency, Economy of scale and Environment) with a capacity of 18,000 TEU, was quickly surpassed as the largest container ship by CSCL and then by Mitsui-OSK.

44 BC Shipping News July/August 2015

personal way and sink or swim in the process of pursuing them. The small investor is not always respected and there must be moments when we have been cursed for our involvement, but as a group, we hold huge capital sums in stocks. We are the constant targets of promoters, analysts, and a whole slew of experts offering every kind of advice known to mankind.

My personal choice among shipping investments are always those that classify as container ship leasing companies or charter ship owners in the tanker and bulk carrier fields with a strong longterm charter-out policy and a steady dividend record. Aside from the fact that the liner companies are mostly quoted on foreign exchanges, it’s pretty hard to find clarity among them, except for A.P. Moller-Maersk, the clear leader with a greater influence on the state of the market than any other liner company. It always seems to be Maersk that turns up the heat in raising a new higher capacitysize ship in terms of boxes carried. Every time a new ship size is selected, it usually involves a big shipyard order which is enough to over-supply the market, but this then leads to counter action by Maersk’s smaller competitors who place similar orders and because of that, there appears to be a constant size competition going on.

The 15,000 TEU “E” class of Maersk was soon raised to 17,777 TEU by CMA CGM, the French container liner, so this provoked a new class of 18,000 TEU ships

by Maersk which were soon raised to 18,400 TEU by China Shipping Container

CONTAINER VESSELS Line and exceeded again by Japan’s Mitsui-OSK at 20,150 TEU, in a new series of ships on order from Samsung.

Seaspan started off by successfully promoting their own design of 4,250 TEU ships in 2001-2002 and selling a number of ship contracts off the same design, even as it expanded its own fleet at a furious rate. This design was followed by the highly successful 10,000 TEU and 14,000 TEU SAVER designs. These are now regarded as medium-size ships, as the liner companies keep pushing the upper limits in larger ships. The big ships certainly throw off economies of scale which automatically translate into either lower cost or a greater profit per container. Initially, the liner companies make the investment in these huge new ships while the leasing companies watch their performance very closely, but in order to assist financing the big super ships, smaller ships, possibly in the 8,000 to 13,000 TEU classes are sold with a long-term contract to newcomers who are a new class of lessor.

The ripple effect that follows the entry of these super ships sees rates driven down on the carriage of individual boxes, ships sailing at less than capacity, slow steaming, ships laid up and older units sent to the scrap yard or sold to inexperienced buyers. Some would describe this as the sort of healthy renewal that has gone on since man first went to sea. Maybe, but equally, the liner companies’ shares are not for widows and orphans and should not be bought to sock away for your kid’s future. It seems that in the fight for survival all sorts of ameliorating arrangements have to be arrived at through joint services that are termed alliances. Pretty well every liner company is in such an alliance on some if not all of its routes including Maersk, with the exception only of the Israeli company ZIM. Some of the smaller liner companies are in mergers or takeovers with Orient Overseas (OOCL), Hong Kong, rumoured to be in discussions with Neptune Orient of Singapore, and CSAV of Chile having been absorbed into Hapag Lloyd.

The leasing companies, on the other hand, of which our locally based Seaspan Corporation, with 111 ships under management or firmly committed from its Vancouver office, is now clearly the world leader among the long-term lessors and is a far more attractive investment for small investors with steady growth that throws off an increasing yield. Seaspan orders ships directly from a shipyard that are either to their own design, or contain a great many elements of their design, and invariably the order is back-to-backed with an appropriate full-term charter of up to 12 years. For this purpose, they have their own fully staffed design department in charge of qualified naval architects, plus managers who supervise all elements of construction and maintenance including dry docking and periodic class surveys. Additionally, it maintains its own crew training facilities for officers and crews in Mumbai, India, and the Philippines.

Seaspan is thus able to offer a leasing contract with full ship management and crewing through its own facilities and thus always has a pool of deck officers, engineers and crew available who are thoroughly schooled and are part of the Seaspan culture. I think Seaspan’s ability to provide a full service contract — where the liner company simply has to schedule and load and deliver its boxes — is probably unique in ship management and chartering services. Seaspan’s two nearest competitors are the Greek companies Danaos and Costamare and it seems certain that for competitive reasons they probably offer a similar contract with manning by their own trained crews. Danaos has school facilities near St. Petersberg.

A substantially new development has been the fairly rapid growth of an intermediate group of ship lessors. These are Ship Finance International (a Fredriksen-controlled company

with 17 container ships from 1,700 to 8,700 TEU); Navios Group with two fleets — Navios Europe with five smaller ships handed down from Nordea Bank of Germany and Navios Partners with seven ships from 6,800 to 13,100 TEU; Capital Product Partners and Diana Container Ships make up a quartet that are all either component parts of well-financed and strongly managed tanker or dry cargo fleets, or are spinoffs in the one instance of Diana Container Ships in its relationship to a large Greek bulk carrier fleet of the same name.

Diana made the near fatal mistake of starting off with a group of elderly Panamax-size ships, tempted possibly by useful shortterm employment contracts of about three years and in the end paying too much for them. Faced with either an expensive late life survey or sending the ships to the scrapyard with a heavy write down of their residual investment, the management chose the scrapyard route. Since then, Diana seems to be righting itself with a policy emphasizing more modern ships with a longer life, but the trick is in finding them as about the only reason why a major liner company would divest itself of modern tonnage would be to convert capital assets into cash to meet its own capital requirements with the new super ships.

In the case of Ship Finance, Navios Partners and Capital Product Partners, all have pre-existing fleets and have chosen to carry their container ship investments as simply another category of vessel that helps diversify their fleets and increases the strength of their position. Angeliki Frangou, CEO of Navios Maritime Partners, for example, has stated this company’s position more than adequately by acknowledging that the earnings of their seven long-term chartered-out container ships provide an effective guaranty of continuing their generous dividend policy which otherwise could not be sustained given the ultralow rates prevailing in the dry cargo sector which has been its main activity since establishment.

Ms. Frangou is on the hunt for larger container ships with long-term potential and the position appears to be much the same at Ship Finance and Capital Product. All three companies have built their strength on long-term chartering, usually to strong counter parties, and if they cannot find suitable younger tonnage, they all have a strong record of building new tonnage in other categories. In fact, Ship Finance has already moved in this direction, having delivered four new 8,700 TEU-size ships on long-term lease to Hamburg Sud. Syd Heal, a veteran of the marine industry and a prolific writer and publisher of marine books, can be contacted at richbook@ telus.net.

July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 45

LEGAL AFFAIRS

Importation of vessels into Canada

By Joanna R. Dawson

A Vancouver Lawyer with Bernard LLP

I

n view of the regular and inquisitive practice of Canada Border Services Agency, Fisheries Officers and provincial sales tax collectors visiting marinas and moorages, looking for vessels of interest and vessels which may be subject to tax, it is very likely that a foreignflagged vessel will gather much more attention rather than less. A vessel owner should be aware of and consider the many regulations when considering whether to import a vessel into Canada.

The legislation regarding importation and use of foreign-flagged vessels in Canada is complicated. Moreover, there are different rules for Canadians and non-Canadian residents and the intended use of the vessel, whether for pleasure or commercial, is also relevant.

All goods entering Canada, even those imported temporarily, are subject to duties and taxes on their full value unless there is specific legislation in place that

46 BC Shipping News July/August 2015

>>> All goods entering Canada...are subject to duties and taxes on their full value unless there is specific legislation... [to]...relieve the importer of this obligation. will entirely or partially relieve the importer of this obligation. In addition, federal and provincial taxes may also be applicable depending on whether the vessel is imported or “delivered” in the Province.

The Customs Tariff provisions deal with the rates of duty for vessels entering Canada and there are special conditions under which goods such as vessels may qualify for duty-free entry as well as special circumstances where temporarily imported goods are entitled to full or partial relief of duty. For example, Tariff item 9801.30.00 outlines the conditions under which foreign-based vehicles and

containers used in the international commercial transportation of passengers or goods can be temporarily imported into Canada without payment of duties. This Tariff provides that vessels “engaged in international commercial transportation” with a Canadian base of operation will be duty free. The need to engage in international commercial transportation removes a private yacht used for pleasure purposes from this Tariff item. Note that vessels under this Tariff item must also comply with the requirements of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 and the Coasting Trade Act, more fully discussed below.

Tariff item 9803.00.00 explains the conditions under which non-residents may temporarily import their “conveyances” for non-commercial use by that person in Canada. One must proceed with caution to ensure that the vessel is indeed a conveyance within the definition of that tariff. This Tariff item also provides for qualified duty-free entry. The item is further clarified by the Non-resident’s Temporary Importation of Baggage and Conveyances Regulations under the Tariff. The Regulations describe a “visitor” as a person who is not a resident, nor a temporary resident, of Canada and who enters Canada for a period not exceeding 12 months.

Section 5 of the Temporary Importation of Baggage and Conveyances Regulations allows the conveyance (the Vessel) imported by a visitor to remain in Canada until the earlier of the expiration of the date the visitor declared as intending to

LEGAL AFFAIRS leave Canada and 12 months after the date of importation. Use by Canadian residents must never be permitted to occur. As the term “use” is not defined in the Tariff, there is debate as to what “use” encompasses. Even having a Canadian resident on board could risk the loss of this benefit. Moreover, if a Canadian resident temporarily imports a foreign conveyance, the rules are extremely onerous: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d2/d2-4-1eng.pdf. Great caution must be taken to avoid importation being deemed if the Canadian resident is in control of the conveyance, briefly, or jointly with another, starting after the Vessel cleared into Canada. For example, the helm is subsequently passed to a Canadian resident, once the vessel clears in. Even where a skipper is aboard, who is non-resident of Canada, and has only hands-on control, this could trigger an inquiry by a CBSA officer as to who has actual control of the vessel.

If the vessel is not exported before the expiry date identified on the customs form, and no extension is sought or granted, it will be deemed to be imported and subject to duty and applicable taxes.

Commercial vessels are distinguished as being those vessels that are primarily operating for profit, and normally with paying passengers. The definition of “passenger” in the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 excludes a guest on board the vessel, if the vessel is used exclusively for pleasure and the guest is carried on it without remuneration or any object of profit. Generally, any vessel that does not meet the definition of a pleasure vessel is a non-pleasure vessel and comes under Transport Canada’s commercial vessel regime.

In determining which vessels are in pleasure use, Transport Canada will look at the relationship between the owner and the people on board. If any of them are paying money for their carriage on the vessel, then they will be deemed to be passengers and the vessel will come within Transport Canada’s commercial regime. If the owner is receiving any form of remuneration from persons for the use of the vessel, even if not directly from the persons carried, then they will be passengers. No vessel carrying a passenger is a pleasure craft.

If the vessel will be engaged in commercial activities, then there would be issues of cabotage or coasting. The vessel will be subject to onerous regulatory provisions relating to commercial passenger carriage activity or relating to the inspection or regulation of passenger ships and will be treated differently by Transport Canada and CBSA. The Coasting Trade Act regulates the operation of vessels in Canada’s coasting trade and prohibits any foreign vessel or nonduty-paid vessel from engaging in coasting in Canadian waters, including Canada’s Continental Shelf Zone, or 200-mile limit, whichever is greater. The essence of the legislation is a prohibition on coasting, as the carriage of passengers, inter alia, from one place in Canada to another place in Canada or back to the same starting place, unless the vessel with the passenger on board makes a call at a port outside of Canada. The definition allows a person during the voyage to disembark in Canada during what is called an “in-transit” call as long as the person rejoins the vessel and makes the voyage to the foreign port.

The primary intent of the Coasting Trade Act is to protect the interests of operators of Canadian-registered vessels while allowing access to foreign vessels when suitable Canadianregistered vessels are not available. Under the Act, the Minister cannot issue a coasting trade licence authorizing a foreign vessel or a non-duty-paid vessel to conduct a commercial activity in Canadian waters unless the Canadian Transportation Agency

Generally, any vessel that does not meet the definition of a pleasure vessel is a nonpleasure vessel... (the “CTA”) has determined that no suitable Canadian vessel or non-duty-paid vessel, where applicable, is available to perform the activity described in the application. If the coasting trade licence application is for the transportation of passengers, the Coasting Trade Act requires the CTA to also determine whether an identical or similar, adequate marine service is offered.

The Coasting Trade Act also contains a prohibition against any vessel engaging in “any other marine activity of a commercial nature in Canadian waters.” While this expression is not defined, Transport Canada and CTA policies published from time to time assert that bareboat chartering of a vessel should not be included in the definition of marine activity of a commercial nature if its purpose and use by the charterer is still for pleasure. However, and despite such policies, CBSA would still make a case-by-case determination, based on the facts to determine if the activity is commercial.

It is therefore prudent that Canadians and non-residents alike seek advice from their legal advisors before importing a vessel into Canada in order to be compliant in regards to all relevant duties and taxes.

Joanna R. Dawson is a lawyer with Bernard LLP. She can be reached at Dawson@bernardllp.ca.

Lisa Ireton Photography

Industrial Architectural Urban Landscapes

Contact lisamireton@gmail.com 604-862-9253 View Photos: lisaireton.wordpress.com 500px.com/lisamireton July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 47

FERRIES Canadian ferry operators are expanding their fleets to meet travel demands

By Serge Buy

CEO, Canadian Ferry Operators Association

E

very year, Canadian ferry operators transport over 55 million passengers and nearly 19 million vehicles. We help bring people to work, deliver goods to the marketplace and bring tourists to their destinations. Ferry transportation is a vital part of Canada’s transportation infrastructure and an important part of our heritage.

Canada’s ferry operators are growing, getting more environmentally friendly and we are on the cutting edge of new technology. Over the next five years, ferry operators in Canada will be spending over $1.3 billion on new vessels, retrofitting existing vessels and adding new technology to their fleets.

This is going to require a lot of partnerships with shipbuilders, technology companies and more and it will create many opportunities for suppliers across Canada and around the world.

Already, Société des Traversiers du Québec (STQ), BC Ferries and Seaspan have initiated several major procurements to improve their fleets.

STQ has received the first Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) powered ferry in North America from Fincantieri Shipyard in Italy. The MV F.-A.-Gauthier will be entering service later this summer to transport passengers and vehicles along the Matane - Baie-Comeau - Godbout ferry route. It will help lead the way as many ferry operators start to transition to LNG in the coming years.

STQ has also ordered two 92-metre LNG-powered ferries (classed by Lloyd’s Register) from Davie Shipyards in Levis, Québec. These will be the first two LNG powered ferries to be built in North America. Both vessels are expected to enter the STQ fleet in 2015. Not only are these new vessels modernizing the fleets, but they are reducing operating costs and lowering the environmental impact of ferry transportation.

48 BC Shipping News July/August 2015

>>> Over the next five years, ferry operators in Canada will be spending over $1.3 billion on new vessels, retrofitting existing vessels and adding new technology to their fleets.

Ferries are a vital element of the transportation network in Canada, but perhaps more so in British Columbia than anywhere else. Mike Corrigan, CEO of BC Ferries, when speaking about the decision to add new LNG vessels to their fleet, stated that, “We call this a game-changer for BC Ferries, as after labour our biggest operating cost is diesel fuel. We believe LNG is the fuel of the future.”

In January 2015, Remontowa Shipyards in Poland hosted the steel cutting ceremony for the first of three vessels for BC Ferries. This is part of a $165-million contract for three LNG vessels (classed

by Lloyd’s Register) to replace 50-year old ferries. The first of these intermediate class ferries will be arriving in August 2016, each will be able to transport 145 vehicles and up to 600 passengers.

On an annual basis, BC Ferries consumes approximately 120 million litres of fuel. Even with the price of oil falling, LNG provides a considerable price advantage at 30 per cent less than marine diesel.

It is estimated that BC Ferries will save $9.2 million per year in fuel costs just from the upgrading of two vessels (Spirit of Vancouver Island and Spirit of British Columbia). Both of these vessels are scheduled to be upgraded by 2018.

Seaspan Ferries has also procured two dual-fuelled (diesel and LNG) ferries from Sedef Shipyard in Turkey. These vessels, classed by Bureau Veritas, will be entering service in 2016. One of the interesting parts about this procurement was the partnership agreement that Seaspan entered into with FortisBC, an LNG supplier that contributed $5 million to the purchase of these ferries.

The new Seaspan ferries are also demonstrating the leadership of ferry operators in seeking out new technologies. In addition to operating with LNG and diesel, these vessels will also use an energy storage system that will work as a spinning reserve and power harbour manoeuvres. Both vessels will navigate the Georgia Strait between Vancouver and Vancouver Island when they enter operation in 2016.

With over 180 ferry routes across Canada, ferry operators will continue investing in their fleets. There has never been a better time than now for suppliers to get involved with the ferry sector.

The Canadian Ferry Operators Association will be hosting our Annual Conference in Vancouver from September 13 to 15 at the Marriott Pinnacle. This year’s theme is “Cutting Edge: New Technologies in the Ferry Sector,” due to the demand that CFOA members have for improving their fleets. Ferries are also looking for new ways on improving on-board service and other amenities using new technology.

From online booking systems to on-board wifi, ferry operators are looking for new technologies to improve their fleets.

This is an excellent opportunity for operators and suppliers to network and develop business relationships. There are opportunities for suppliers to showcase their products, address conference delegates and meet key contacts from the major ferry operators in Canada.

To register for the 2015 conference or for more information about the work being done by the Canadian Ferry Operators Association, visit our website at www.cfoa.ca/conference.

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July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 49 2015-05-07 3:35 PM

PILOT BOATS Growing fleet reflects growing activity in Prince Rupert

P

erfectly situated to take advantage of the increased activity in the Prince Rupert and North Coast area, West Coast Launch (WCL) launched two new 40-foot custom-built pilot boats earlier this year. The high-speed aluminum vessels have been added to WCL’s five other vessels to service a wide range of customers including first nation villages, LNG sites and freighters bound for the terminals throughout the North Coast.

Established in 1988, West Coast Launch started out as a small family business operating marine transportation and water taxi services in the Prince Rupert area. It is now considered one of the largest water transportation companies on the North Coast. Adding both vessels and services over the years, WCL also runs Prince Rupert Adventure Tours and has partnered with Nasscoast Marine Services — they now operate the largest tour company in Prince Rupert

to offer whale watching and grizzly bear tours during the summer season. And in addition to being the certified launch for the Pacific Pilotage Authority on the North Coast, WCL also provides charters, airport shuttle service and loading and transportation for ships, stores and crew.

Responding to market needs and the recognized increase in activity that is coming with new developments in Prince Rupert, Kitimat and surrounding areas, WCL’s two new vessels — the Lelu and the Kitson — were designed to handle all types of weather with superior manoeuverability at top speeds, features that are key for piloting services. Working with boat builders Kvichak Marine in Seattle, Jastram Technologies and HamiltonJet, WCL’s Vice President, Jared Davis noted that: “We chose to use Hamilton 322 waterjets to meet those needs and more.

In addition to the high degree of manoeuverability at both high and low speeds, waterjets offer excellent fuel efficiency,

greater control and a longer lifetime with less maintenance or risk of damage compared to a conventional propeller system.”

Davis noted that the waterjets, coupled with two Volvo D11 510 bhp engines, ZF’s 305 transmission and Kobelt’s controls, meet all of WCL’s expectations for performance and life-cycle expectations.

Other features, such as passenger comfort, were also part of the consideration.

“Over and above the performance criteria, we wanted to ensure a comfortable ride for passengers,” he said. In addition to the “smoothness” of the ride that is provided by the waterjets, Davis also noted that advanced seat designs from Freedman Seating and Bentley’s Manufacturing adds to passenger comfort.

Each with a 12-passenger capacity and six square metres of cargo space, the two new vessels now bring WCL’s overall passenger capacity to just over 200 and cargo space capacity to 65 square metres.

Kobelt controls with Furuno sounder and NavNet 3D display radar.

West Coast Launch’s newest vessels, the Lelu and the Kitson • Service type: pilot/launch • Cooling Type: Heat exchanger cooling • Builder/designer: Kvichak Marine • Electrical Voltage: 24 VDC • Hull: Aluminum, 36.5’ LOA planing monohull • Exhaust Type: Wet exhaust, through transom • Tonnage: 13.89 GT • Top speed: 40 knots • Engines: Two Volvo D11 EVEC-E (510 bhp @ • NavNet 3D Display Radar and Sounder by Furuno 2,250 rpm) • Flip Seats by Freedman Seating • Propulsion: Hamilton 322 waterjets • Atkins and Hoyle 800 lbs SWL Davit Crane on • Gear Model / Transmission: ZF305-3 Port Side • Control Type: Kobelt Mechanical shift and throttle • Helm seat by Bentley’s 50 BC Shipping News July/August 2015

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July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 51

CARGO LOGISTICS TECHNOLOGY Evolution of an industry

High-tech repair options for ship repairs

By Dale Finnerty

Industrial Surface Technologies Inc.

W

hile thermal coating has been a common remedy for many years for repairs of heavy equipment in industries such as mining, logging and construction, one local B.C. company has brought the technology to the marine industry and is catching the attention of those ship owners looking to extend the life of repairs on tail shafts, liners, housings, drive components and many other metal alloy components in their vessels.

...once plagued by problems, new advances

Thermal coating is a process in which metallic and non-metallic materials are deposited in a molten or semi-molten form on a prepared component surface to optimize its characteristics and to protect against wear, corrosion and to restore or enhance a worn or damaged surface to its original state.

Thermal spray coatings have been around for a very long time. The first systems developed were referred to as Flame Spray, generally using coal gas, hydrogen or acetylene with oxygen. Spray guns were designed to melt powder alloys and propel them to the surface of the component being repaired.

It wasn’t long before development of the Arc Spray process took over as the best means of delivering the coating alloy. A big advantage of the Arc Spray system is the very low heat application of about 65oC. The system uses alloy wire which, at the point of contact in the gun, becomes molten and is then propelled at high pressure onto the surface of the component. These early spray coating repair processes were developed in Germany and then in America. Development had started as early as 1900 but wasn’t until about the late 1920s and early 1930s that the technology advanced quickly.

One of the first widespread and extensive uses of thermal coating was during the Second World War when it was realized that worn parts could be restored quickly and at a fraction of the cost of manufacturing a new part. Worn parts could also be restored to their original state much faster than the manufacturing process.

problems in applying coatings in earlier days — temperatures, alloy quality and bonding ability to name a few. Consequently there were failures and bad experiences that gave the industry a bad rap. Today, the equipment and application methods are quite amazing when done properly. In fact, 40 per cent of the global thermal spray market is based on the aerospace (turbine) market, where the consequences of reliability is measured in human life. They would not be using thermal spray coatings if there was any risk of failure.

Industrial Surface Technologies Inc. uses three types of thermal coating systems: H.V.O.F (High Velocity Oxygen Fuel), Twin Wire Arc Spray and Flame Spray. The first two systems make up the majority of IST’s coating business while the Flame Spray is a specialized application geared more toward producing extremely hard-wear surfaces on manufactured products such as liners and sleeves.

HVOF is a system that provides high-density, extremely wearresistant coatings. This system is more versatile for metallic and carbide coatings and provides extreme resistance to wear parameters like erosion, corrosion, abrasion, sliding, fretting, heat and thermal resistance.

What is thermal coating?

and continual improvements in equipment, product quality, and training have completely revamped the process.

New technologies eliminate old problems

Many industries soon embraced this new technology, and while the concept and basic design of thermal coating systems started back in the 1920s, today’s systems and technological advances are now used throughout the world in dozens of industries — aerospace, power generation, marine, medical implants, oil & gas, heavy equipment repair, mining, pulp & paper mills just to name a few.

While the old technology of thermal coating was once plagued by problems, new advances and continual improvements in equipment, product quality, and training have completely revamped the process. There were many factors that caused

52 BC Shipping News July/August 2015

The old days — problems with temperatures, alloy quality and bonding made early thermal coatings an unattractive solution to most repairs.

TECHNOLOGY The Twin Wire Arc Spray system at IST has been the work horse for the restoration of worn and damaged components.

The system uses wire alloys fed through a gun which electrically melts the alloys at contact and then, by high air pressure, blasts these molten particles at a prepared surface. IST has achieved coating bond strengths exceeding 10,000 PSI. This guards against problems of debonding that the old technologies experienced in earlier systems.

Some advantages of the Arc Spray system is its low temperature during application. Application temperatures are keep below 65oC. This ensures there are no issues of distorting or metallurgical changes to the substrate. Another advantage is the ability to produce large build ups when required on components that are severely damaged. IST has achieved build ups on tail shaft liners, etc. of more than .250/ side or half-inch total on the shaft diameter. Repairs can be achieved from small armatures shafts of only three-quarterinch diameter up to large tail shafts 18 or more inches in diameter. There are over 120 alloys available to IST that can match most any type of component alloy. Repairs can be done on any ferrous and non-ferrous metal including ductile/cast iron and in addition, internal repairs on housings to restore bearing fits are common.

Lower Mainland location

These are exciting times for IST. While its Campbell River operation continues to attract new clients and projects, IST

Advances in thermal coating processes means repairs to components like tail shafts can be done quicker than re-manufacturing and will extend the life of the repair.

has branched out to be able to offer thermal coating repair services to the Lower Mainland’s marine shipyard repair industry. Working in conjunction with Seaspan, IST’s thermal coating systems have been set up at the North Vancouver drydock’s machine shop. Between IST’s services and Seaspan’s machining capabilities, the marine industry in the Pacific Coastal region now has access to thermal coating technologies. Already, work has been done on a number of tail shaft repairs, including one for a private, 439-foot yacht (the MY Serene), and most recently, for BC Ferries’ Queen of Oak Bay and the yacht St. Eval. Thermal coating repairs can be done for components of all sizes on vessels of all types, from small

boom boats to ferries and cruise ships to ocean-going commercial vessels.

Another important aspect of IST’s growth in the shipyard industry has been its efforts to obtain certification from Lloyd’s Register Canada (Lloyd’s of London), giving customers confidence in their ability to provide quality-assured thermal coating repairs.

For more information about IST’s thermal coating process, visit www.istech.ca.

Dale Finnerty has been with IST for over 25 years as a sales consultant. He also manages the sales promotion and marketing and has been actively promoting the Thermal Coating service to the shipyard industry in B.C. with Owner/President Ken Bueckert.

Contact can be made at sales@istech.ca

Located at Vancouver Waterfront and Roberts Bank

www.flyingangel.ca July/August 2015 BC Shipping News 53

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Aarc West Mechanical Insulation / Aarc West Industrial Coatings.......... 27 ABS Americas.................................. 15 Adonis............................................... 8 Allied Shipbuilders.......................... 25 Arrow Marine Services.................... 24 BC Maritime Employers Association / BC Waterfront Games..................... IBC Bernard LLP..................................... 39 Bracewell Marine Group.................. 27 Canada’s Pacific Gateways (Prince Rupert Port Authority)........ 19 Canadian Ferry Operators Association 2015 Conference........... 49 Canadian Lifeboat Insitution........... 19 Capilano Maritime Design Ltd......... 14 Chamber of Shipping of B.C. Executive Search............................... 7 Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia.............................. 43 ClassNK........................................... 11 CLIA-North West & Canada.............. 54 Corix Water Products....................... 22 Dave Roels Photography................. 28 Donaldson Ropes............................ 23 Furuno.............................................. 9 Greenwood Maritime Solutions......... 8

Harlow Marine International........... 54 Industrial Surface Technologies....... 22 Interferry........................................ 51 International Sailors Society Canada................................ 53 Jastram Engineering Ltd./ Jastram Technologies Ltd................ BC John Horton, Marine Artist.............. 19 King Bros. Limited............................. 8 Lisa Ireton Photography.................. 47 Lloyd’s Register................................. 7 Lonnie Wishart Photography........... 54 Mercy Ships..................................... 46 Meridian Marine Industries............. 37 Mission to Seafarers........................ 53 Nanaimo Port Authority.................. 40 Osborne Propellers.......................... 27 Redden Net & Rope......................... 26 Robert Allan Ltd.............................. 30 Seaspan Shipyards..........................IFC Sylte Shipyard................................. 26 Tactical Marine Solutions Ltd.......... 45 Tervita............................................. 34 Turmot Inc....................................... 29 Vancouver Maritime Museum........... 4 Viega................................................. 3 W&O............................................... 17

FOR SALE

MV Coastal Runner

Aluminum Passenger Ferry Listing # CV266 / $195,000 OBO Built in 2008 by Sylte Shipyard, Maple Ridge, B.C. • Seating capacity: 65 people plus 3 crew • LOA: 65 feet / Beam: 12 feet • Tonnage: 43 gross tons • Speed: 23 Knots approx. (reported) • Power: Daewoo Diesel – 480hp

Remarks: This vessel is reported in very good condition. This is an exclusive listing with Harlow Marine. For an immediate inspection please call our office at 604-530-2657. MOTIVATED SELLER.

54 BC Shipping News July/August 2015