Feature 3 | NORTH AMERICA Steady as she goes for Victoria Shipyards


Victoria Shipyards has continued to handle a diverse range of repair projects, including work on commercial vessels and Canada’s naval surface and underwater fleets.


while also being tasked with being the main repair services provider on the West Coast, supporting the Canadian Navy for the next 10 years. Notable commercial vessel projects in 2010


T


included work on NCL’s Norwegian Star. Te vessel was originally scheduled to serve the Vancouver Olympics, but since the contract was cancelled due to a lack of hotel sales and the Norwegian Star had no scheduled cruises for that period, the Victoria yard was asked to do a drydock refit and refurbishment. According to Malcolm Barker, vice


president and general manager: “Normally we would be working on a job of this kind six months prior to vessel arrival; however, on this particular refit we had only three weeks notice. But, with our usual ‘can do’ attitude we were able to meet all the demanding requirements of the project and the vessel was delivered back to the owner at the required time.” Tis year some major new projects will get


underway at Victoria Shipyards, including the commencement of the Victoria In-Service Support Program (VISSC). Tis is a 15-year program, which entails taking in Canada’s submarines (4 in total), putting them


Victoria Shipyards handles ferry repair and refit work for BC Ferries as well as a mix of other commercial and naval projects.


though extended docking work periods, and installing sophisticated new equipment. Another major program is the Frigate Life


Extensions (FELEX). Tis is comprised of five mid-life upgrades on the west coast fleet and includes standard drydocking with upgrades throughout the vessel. Each vessel will be in refit for approximately 18 months and the program is scheduled to be completed in 2016. To support this work some significant


investments have been made in back-up facilities, including buildings to execute the submarine program under cover. A new custom-built office building supporting FELEX will house the integrated project management team of around 100 persons,


he past year has seen Victoria


Shipyards continue to pursue its traditional commercial markets


while substantial machinery upgrades have also taken place. Furthermore, Victoria Shipyards has purchased the assets and buildings of


another local company,


Canadian Maritime Engineering (CME), to support the forthcoming Navy programs. In a separate initiative, Victoria Shipyards


has also invested heavily in new underwater hull blasting equipment, with a 55,000 PSI UHP rating. Tis is not only environmentally beneficial, but is more economical, the company points out. The yard is now part of the renamed


Seaspan Marine Corporation, as the former corporate identity of Washington Marine Group has now been retired. Te Washington family continues to own Seaspan and its holdings, which include Seaspan Ferries Corporation, Vancouver Drydock Company, Vancouver Shipyards, and Victoria Shipyards. Te Vancouver Drydock facilities include


two floating drydocks, a heavy machine shop with two 40tonne overhead traveling cranes and lathes capable of handling shaſts up to 18m. Using the Esquimalt Graving Dock, owned and operated by Public Works and Government Services of Canada, Victoria Shipyards can drydock and repair vessels up to 100,000dwt. Te yard can perform a wide range of repairs up to and including complete vessel conversions. SCRT


San Francisco dock repairs Carnival Splendor


Te port of San Francisco’s drydock has handled its biggest repair contract for many years.


San Francisco Drydock for extensive repairs, expected to run into millions of dollars. The vessel spent around four weeks at the yard, operated by


C 34 arnival Splendor, which


suffered a major engine fire last November, has been docked at


BAe Systems, before re-entering service towards the end of February. Originally the vessel was berthed in


San Diego, but as repair work progressed and damaged components tested, additional issues were discovered. Tis required the vessel to be transferred into


the largest drydock in the area at San Francisco, which was the only one on the West Coast able to take a ship of this size. Tis is believed to have been the biggest


maritime engineering project for over 40 years to take place in San Francisco and the value of the work was reportedly over


Shiprepair and Conversion Technology 1st Quarter 2011


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