OOSV Switchboard Milestone: Bringing the Ship to Life

June 4, 2024

Early last week, Seaspan celebrated a significant milestone for the Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel (OOSV) program – the activation of the vessel’s power supply.

Members of our electrical and commissioning teams joined Canadian Coast Guard representatives to watch as Electrician Apprentice, Kathleen Natrall, pressed a button to energize the 600-volt main switchboard. Kathleen has worked at Seaspan since April 2022 and participated in the OOSV’s Keel Laying Ceremony back in November of 2022, helping to lay the coin alongside pipefitter Dennis Parker.

“There was a significant amount of collaboration across teams to make this happen,” said Jag Dhariwal, OOSV Program Director. “It’s an exciting moment to be a part of, and an important milestone in the program marking our readiness for the Set to Work and Commissioning phase.”

OOSV’s electrical team is made up of 142 skilled tradespeople, spread out across both day and afternoon shifts. In total, they have installed over 270 kilometres of cable onboard the vessel thus far – which is the distance from Vancouver to Whistler and back!

Now that the vessel has been brought to life, there are just a handful of installations and milestones remaining before the launch date, which is set for later this summer.