Our History
Seaspan and the Washington Group of Companies
In 1964, Dennis Washington started the Washington Construction Company with a loan and a leased bulldozer. The company was contracted to repair roads for the U.S. Forest Service. After winning major highway contracts in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Washington Construction next applied its earth moving capability to mine construction and operation and continued to grow with federal, state, and local highway construction projects.
A period of company divestments and acquisitions followed until 1992, when Mr. Washington diversified into marine transportation with the purchase of Canadian tugboat company, C.H. Cates and Sons. The next acquisition occurred in 1994 with purchase of Seaspan International Ltd., one of the largest tug and barge companies in Canada, which included shipyards operations.
In 1998, a commercial ferry service to Vancouver Island was acquired, operating today as Seaspan Ferries Corporation.
In 1999, Seaspan Container Lines was formed and initially ordered construction of a fleet of 23 container ships. Via a successful IPO in 2006 this became Seaspan Corporation (NYSE:SSW).
In 2011, the several privately held Canadian marine companies, including towing, shipyards, and ferries operations, focused marketing under the Seaspan brand. Also in 2011, Seaspan won a significant federal contract to build non-combat vessels at its shipyards, boosting expansion in shipbuilding.
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1886 – 1988
1886 – 1988
CH Cates & Sons
- 1886 Charles Henry Cates arrives in Vancouver and begins his first business operations
- 1921 CH Cates and Sons Limited is officially incorporated and established at the foot of Lonsdale Avenue
- 1988 CH Cates and Sons Limited acquires Seaforth Towing
Photo courtesy of Monova: Archives of North Vancouver.
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1898 – 1924
1898 – 1924
Vancouver Tug
- 1898 Vancouver Tug formed by Harry A. Jones
- 1919 Harry A. Jones sold Vancouver Tug and passed away four years later
- 1924 Vancouver Tug business revived by Harold Jones (Harry Jone’s son). Business re-named
Photo courtesy of Monova: Archives of North Vancouver.
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1924 – 1960
1924 – 1960
Island Tug and Barge
- 1924 Island Tug & Barge formed by Harold B. Elworthy
- 1926 Elworthy acquired Gardner Towing
- 1937 Elworthy purchased a 1500 horsepower US Coastguard cutter named Snohomish, equipped it for towing and salvage and made it the company flagship
- 1954 Island Tug & Barge acquired a vessel named Sudbury, which for more than a decade was BC’s most famous tug
- 1956 Island Tug acquired Young & Gore
- 1958 Island Tug acquired Victoria Tug
- 1960 McAllister Towing, of Montreal, purchased Island Tug and then Griffiths Steamship Company in 1961
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1954 – 1969
1954 – 1969
Vancouver Tug Boat Company
- 1920s To cut costs and further integrate its operations, Vancouver Tug purchased Vancouver Shipyards (originally incorporated in 1902)
- 1956 Harold Jones passed away leaving Vancouver Tug to Beverly McCarvill O’Toole. During that time Arthur Lind and Captain James Stewart guided the company into amajor expansion and rebuilding program
- 1962 Vancouver Tug acquired Vancouver Barge Transportation
- 1963 Vancouver Tug acquired Pacific Tanker
- 1965 Vancouver Tug acquired Western Tug & Barge
- 1966 Vancouver Tug launches the pride of their fleet – a 3500 horsepower, 136 foot tug named the Harold A. Jones
- 1967 Vancouver Tug and Vancouver Shipyards purchased by Dillingham Corporation and vacated locations at the foot of Denman Street, in Vancouver, to move across Burrard Inlet to a 40 acre waterfront site at the foot of Pemberton Avenue, in North Vancouver
Photo courtesy of Monova: Archives of North Vancouver.
