It’s all systems go across our three shipyards during the third quarter, with one ship launch successfully completed at our Vancouver Shipyards and another on the horizon before the end of the year. And at Victoria Shipyards and Vancouver Drydock, teams are just as busy completing repair and refit work on a variety of vessels.
Vancouver Drydock
At our Vancouver Drydock in North Vancouver, the hard-working team has welcomed several visitors in the third quarter, ranging from cruise ships to tugboats.
In late August, the 650 ft. long cruise vessel The Seabourn Odyssey stopped by for our team to complete some repairs including underwater hull preparation and silicone painting, steel repairs on the starboard bow, and an overhaul of the bow thruster and stabilizers. The project was completed in time to ensure that the vessel was ready to pick up passengers for a trip from Seattle to Japan on the first of September.
Other vessels that are currently docked since early September include the MV Dublin Sea tugboat in the Panamax, the DBL 185 Barge, and the Burrard Beaver Seabus that will be docked in the Careen until mid-October for repairs on the aluminum hull and mechanical work to the rad units.
Victoria Shipyards
Our teams in Victoria are also hard at work, with several projects on the go. In September, the Carnival Radiance cruise ship made a stop at Victoria Shipyards where the team carried out hull prep and paint work, an overhaul of the thruster, and shaft seal renewal work.
Also in September, the team bade farewell to the MV Lisa container ship after completing work on the vessel’s shaft and seals. In October, the Silver Wind cruise ship is planned to arrive for hull prep and paint, hull insert repair, stabilizer repair, anchor chain renewal, and logistics support.
Vancouver Shipyards
One ship launched, another coming up! On August 19, Seaspan Shipyards employees, partners, and Coast Guard representatives gathered at our Vancouver Shipyards for the successful launch of the Canadian Coast Guard’s newest science research vessel, CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk.
The ship launch and naming ceremony was followed by a Seaspan friends and family open house event which drew in over 5,000 employees and their family members to visit Vancouver Shipyards, enjoy a delicious BBQ lunch, and share in the celebration of the ship launch.
Looking ahead to December of this year, preparations are underway for the launch of the first Joint Support Ship (JSS1), the future HMCS Protecteur. The main crane was recently loaded onto the vessel, and our teams have also been hard at work painting the underwater hull, with about sixty percent of the process completed so far.
On JSS2, outfitting is progressing at a rapid pace, with lessons learned from JSS1 increasing overall efficiency on the build, something which is particularly evident on blocks like the densely outfitted pump room. Coming up in mid-October, the load out of the main engines is scheduled to go ahead as progress on the future HMCS Preserver continues to advance steadily.