Gravel Bed and Habitat Compensation
Seaspan is planning to construct a gravel bed to facilitate the launching of vessels being constructed within the Vancouver Shipyards site located at 10 Pemberton Avenue in North Vancouver. The gravel bed is an underwater surface composed of fill material and slope protection used to assist with the launch process of the newly constructed Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy vessels. Vessels will be launched by submerging a floating drydock onto the gravel bed, allowing the vessels to be maneuvered onto the drydock from the shipyard. The drydock will then be raised off the gravel bed, taking the vessels to deeper water to complete the launch process. Seaspan also proposes to install a portion of future slope protection within the gravel bed as part of a future proposed infill of the east basin at the site which forms part of the overall project. In addition to the gravel bed Seaspan is planning to construct a habitat compensation area in Burrard Inlet adjacent to the facility, in order to improve the marine habitat within the vicinity of the project. The proposed marine habitat is designed to enhance kelp and juvenile salmonid habitat at the estuary of MacKay Creek.
Vancouver Drydock Water Lot
At Seaspan’s Vancouver Drydock, we take great pride in being a link from North Vancouver’s rich maritime history to the diverse and vibrant Shipyards District waterfront community we have today – and we look forward to continuing that tradition for many years to come. As a company, our goal is to build a multi-generational business that will create sustained jobs and economic activity in our local community for decades to come. To enable this, we are consolidating our repair and maintenance services at Vancouver Drydock and focusing our shipbuilding activities at our Pemberton site. At Vancouver Drydock, this means making improvements to better use our land and the space within our water lots. We have applied to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority to extend our water lot and add two new smaller floating drydocks and a work pontoon to our existing drydock operations.
Outfitting Pier
Seaspan proposes to construct a new outfitting pier located within the Vancouver Shipyards site in North Vancouver to accommodate new vessel construction. The Project includes the removal of the existing outfitting pier; a timber structure approximately 155 m in length and 10 m in width (originally constructed in 1966 and extended in 1974) and installation of a new outfitting pier constructed with steel piles and a concrete deck approximately 272 m in length and 19.2 m in width. Construction of a new outfitting pier will be a major investment in the Vancouver Shipyards (Seaspan) and the Canadian shipbuilding industry by making local shipbuilding operations more efficient and improving upon delivery dates of new-builds which have been awarded as part of the National Shipbuilding Strategy.
