B.C. Tugboat 2016

TUGBOAT

Publications mail agreement #40934510

2016

Students take on accessibility challenge

DISCOVERY HARBOUR FUEL Campbell River, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

INDUSTRIAL TUG BOAT OIL CHANGE FACILITY.

LOCATED RIGHT AT THE FUEL DOCK.

TUG BOAT

BULK OILS AVAILABLE

DONE AT THE FUEL DOCK.

FULL LINE OF FILTERS ON SITE.

MAINTENANCE

DISCOVERY HARBOUR FUEL SALES 1374 ISLAND HIGHWAY, CAMPBELL RIVER, BC

T: 250-287-3456 • F: 250-287-3442

AT A VERY LOW COST. Discovery Harbour Fuel www.discoveryharbourfuel.com

REDDEN NET & ROPE:

Bringing the best of high-performance synthetic tug lines directly to you.

We have the products and services When and Where you need us. > Ready available stock of Samson mainlines, backer lines, and chafe products made with Dyneema® > Expert consultation to aid in the proper selection and design of your towing system > Onboard installation, inspection and training in proper handling Redden-Rope.com

Dyneema® is a registered trademark of Royal DSM N.V. Dyneema is DSM’s high-performance polyethylene product.

F A B R I C AT I N G D I S T R I B U T O R

#27 - 12491 Number 2 Rd, Richmond, BC V7E 2G3 Toll Free: 1-866-233-1422 604-274-1422 B.C.

Tugboat 2016

3

Published by DEL COMMUNICATIONS INC. Suite 300, 6 Roslyn Road Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada R3L 0G5 delcommunications.com

2016

President: David Langstaff Publisher: Jason Stefanik Managing Editor: Cindy Chan cindy@delcommunications.com Contributing Writers: Robert G. Allan Cindy Chan Advertising Sales Manager: Dayna Oulion Advertising Account Executives: Robert Bartmanovich Amanda Gagnon Colin James Production services provided by: S.G. Bennett Marketing Services www.sgbennett.com Art Director: Kathy Cable Layout/Design: Sheri Kidd Advertising Art: Dana Jensen Sheri Kidd 息 Copyright 2016, DEL Communications Inc. All rights reserved.The contents of this pub足lica足tion may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the publisher.

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein and the reliability of the source, the publisher足in no way guarantees nor warrants the information and is not responsible for errors, omissions or statements made by advertisers. Opinions and recommendations made by contributors or advertisers are not necessarily those of the publisher, its directors, officers or employees.

Publications mail agreement #40934510 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: DEL Communications Inc. Suite 300, 6 Roslyn Road Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada R3L 0G5 Email: david@delcommunications.com

Co n t e n t s Message from the editor ............................................................................ page 6 Students were on board with ferry accessibility challenge ........................................................... page 7

Who floats your boat? ...................................................... page 11

One investment, two new research chairs ......................................................... page 13

Can we afford to build tugboats in Canada? ...................................................... page 15

Full speed ahead ......................................................... page 17

New innovative technologies in marine industry ...................................................... page 20

Washington Chain & Supply: Getting better and better ......................................................... page 22

Printed in Canada 05/2016

Cover photo: BC Ferries

4

B.C. Tugboat 2016

INNOVATION AND DIVERSITY IN MARINE DESIGN

A TUG FOR ALL REASONS

Email

designs@ral.ca

Telephone

+1-604-736-9466

B.C. Tugboat Web 2016

www.ral.ca

5

Message from the Editor This year’s issue of B.C. Tugboat features a lot of articles on relationships.

Looking for love in all the wrong places? Maybe you haven’t considered your options beyond dry land. Hoyt Bangs, creator of Sea Captain Date (seacaptaindate.com), a dating website for but not limited to sea captains and boat lovers, discusses how the site was created, who is using it and how it’s changing the game of love.

There are also stories about professional relationships. University of Victoria students have partnered up with BC Ferries to brainstorm several methods and projects on how to improve accessibility on ferries.

Seaspan and University of British Columbia students have also teamed up to enhance the research program at the school.

I hope you enjoy this issue of B.C. Tugboat. As always, if you have any story ideas, comments or questions, please email me at cindy@delcommunications.com.

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS British Columbia Maritime Employers Association................................. 14 Capilano Maritime Design..............................6 Commodores Boats.........................................21 Discovery Harbour Fuel Sales................IFC Donaldson Ropes..............................................12 E.H. Emery Electric............................................16 International Longshore & Warehouse Union........................................ 14 Kimura Don Marine Surveyor....................21 Ledcor Marine..................................................... 18 North Island College......................................23 Redden Net & Rope Ltd................................... 3 Robert Allan Ltd..................................................5 Startech Marine Services.............................19 Wainwright Marine Services.......................12 Washington Chain & Supply, Inc........ OBC

6

B.C. Tugboat 2016

Tied for first place, the Alternative Disabled Electric Personal Transport (ADEPT) project features a vehicle transport system to be used at BC Ferries terminals.

F

Left to right: Caitlyn Quach, Juan Comish, Nicholas Hall and Akik Sato-Guadreau.

Students were on board with ferry accessibility challenge

By Cindy Chan

irst-year engineering students at the University of Victoria (UVic) got to team up with BC Ferries for a class assignment that taught them about working in the real world.

B.C. Tugboat 2016

7

In summer of 2015, Peter Wild, a professor of engineering at UVic, approached BC Ferries to see if there were any projects that more than 400 first-year engineering students could take on in the upcoming semester. According to Wild, each year the faculty assigns the students a client-based project. In 2014, the client had been BC Safety Authority who referred Wild to BC Ferries.

And BC Ferries was supportive and willing to participate from the start.

“We jumped at the opportunity to be involved,” Corrine Storey, vice-president of customer services with BC Ferries, says. “We always like to support UVic and others in the communities we serve.”

Once the partnership was established, Storey says she and Wild worked together to identify an appropriate project for the students to undertake.

“To improve accessibility for our customers at our terminals is what we came up with,” Storey says.

More specifically, according to Wild, the project aimed to improve accessibility from the ticket booth to the actual ferry and, on the other side, from the ferry to the arrivals area, which Wild describes as a fair distance with varied slopes.

“For people who are mobility-challenged, it can be difficult,” Wild says.

The students were broken up into teams of four, working on solutions to improve accessibility. The projects ran from late September to late November.

Storey and three senior managers from BC Ferries visited the budding engineers regularly, attending their two-hour lab sessions and offering their experience and support.

“We volunteered our time after-hours and on weekends to make sure they had a true understanding and appreciation of the challenge,” Storey says, adding that BC Ferries also opened up their terminal facilities to the students and gave them tours.

“Whenever they were able to come out in smaller groups, we showed them the transitions for angles of ramps, how long some of the walk areas are for people, how congested it can become,” Storey lists.

While the projects were completely up to the students, Storey says she gave the students some guidelines and information in order to streamline their focus. For example, Storey says she asked the students to focus on the major terminals. One ferry will offload between 400 to 800 walk-on passengers and then load 400 to 800 passengers in a turnaround time of approximately 30 minutes.

Tied for first place, the ROMA Power Pack is a device designed to reduce time and difficulty for passengers in wheelchairs to board the ferry and features an electronic speed control motor to assist in pushing wheelchairs.

Left to right: Nasser Khanezan, Isaac Mand, Stephen Penner and Gavin Angman.

8

B.C. Tugboat 2016

“Between 800 to 1,600 people will transit these walkways in a period of 30 minutes, which gives you an idea of congestion,” Storey says, adding that the majority of the passengers will also be toting suitcases and pulling wheeled luggage. “It gives you the impression of what it’s like for a person with an accessibility challenge to try to maneuver through that.”

The other part of the challenge – besides improving accessibility – was to improve the management of wheelchairs on the ferries. Wheelchairs are placed at

Although this was a class assignment, BC Ferries is currently reviewing the submitted projects for possible implementation in the near future. And they are looking at all of the projects and not just the winners for viable solutions.

“We started looking at these seven that placed, then started looking at the 16,” Storey says. “We wanted to look at all [of the] projects, so we are evaluating all of them. Our plan is to have implementation during this calendar year of one or maybe more of these projects.”

The second-prize project featured an Autonomous Shuttle to transport customers with mobility challenges from the terminal to the ship.

Left to right: Genevieve Luyt, Natasha Stefani, Tristan Giles and Zenara Daley. the major terminals, but often, at the end of the day, the number of wheelchairs at each terminal ends up unbalanced. In other words, one terminal could have more wheelchairs than the other.

When it was time for the students to present their projects, they did not disappoint. The teams were evaluated by Wild and his team of graduate student teaching assistants, and 16 projects were shortlisted.

Wild invited Storey, BC Ferries CEO Mike Corrigan, the three senior managers who worked with the students during the project and other prominent engineers in the city to evaluate the finalists. According to Storey, there were seven winners.

“We thought we were going to do first, second and third place, but they were so great that awards were presented to seven teams,” Storey explains.

Tristan Giles, a first-year engineering student, and his team discussed an autonomous shuttle as their project. The shuttle would transport customers with mobility challenges from the terminal to the ship. This project won second place.

“Partnering with BC Ferries was a really interesting experience, especially because we got to see a side of the company other than simply as patrons on our commute,” Giles says, who added he’d like to work towards pushing the boundaries of human exploration, namely space missions, after he graduates from UVic. Natasha Stefani, who worked on the same project as Giles, also enjoyed the client-focused assignment, including collaborating with her peers.

“I enjoyed working with my assigned group,” Stefani says. “No one on our team knew each other before

B.C. Tugboat 2016

9

The project judges from BC Ferries and UVic. Left to right: Peter Wild, engineering professor; Corrine Storey, BC Ferries’ vice-president of customer services; Mike Corrigan, BC Ferries’ president and CEO; Melanie Lucia, BC Ferries’ director of catering operations; and Karen Tindall, BC Ferries’ director of customer care. this project, but through working together we became good friends. I am so blessed and extremely thankful to have be grouped with three other enthusiastic engineers. Together, we pushed each other to achieve

quality and innovation, but were also there to support and encourage one another. I think a reason why our group became a finalist was because we enjoyed working with each other.” Ü

Karen Tindall, BC Ferries’ director of customer care, awards the winning teams with their prizes.

10

B.C. Tugboat 2016

Who floats your boat?

Love is in the air – and on the sea

Y

By Cindy Chan

es, there are plenty of fish in the sea, but there are just as many contenders on a particular online dating site.

That all changed in 2011 after a commercial they had filmed went viral. Various media outlets took notice, and sought Sea Captain Date out for interviews.

Established in 2007, Sea Captain Date (seacaptaindate.com) is a niche dating website that caters to sea captains, sailors, maritime professionals and anyone who shares a deep love of the ocean and is seeking romance and companionship, according to Hoyt Bangs, who manages the site.

“At the time, the press couldn’t decide whether we were a real site or not, which was a source of much amusement for our members,” Bangs recalls, adding that membership increased steadily afterwards.

Bangs says he saw a gap in the online dating market in regards to sea captains wanting to connect with singles in coastal and port cities – thus, Sea Captain Date was born. In the beginning, the site was tailored specifically to serve the needs of licensed captains and boat owners.

Like most people, sea captains are a group of people who crave affection and connection – and their profession, which requires them to be out on the sea most of the time, doesn’t exactly allow for them to meet potential partners – whether long-term, shortterm, straight, gay, casual and so on.

“We soon learned that by limiting our premium features to legitimate captains, we were turning our backs on thousands of potential members who, although they may not be certified to pilot a vessel, nonetheless love the sea and want to take full advantage of our site to find love,” Bangs explains.

Currently, there are 8,000 registered members from all around the world. Those who join must be 18 years old and older. According to Bangs, the average user is over 50 years old and retired and has a boat. Premium memberships are available to all users – whether they are captains, boat owners, boat enthusiasts or someone who wants to meet any of the aforementioned.

“We are aiming to become the No. 1 destination for finding love on the water,” Bangs says.

Sea Captain Date treaded murky waters in its early stages. There was a lack of interest in niche dating sites at the time when eHarmony and Match.com were dominating the marketplace. Bangs says older users were also not tech-savvy enough to find free alternatives to those sites.

B.C. Tugboat 2016

11

“People who work on ships and are away from port for long stretches of time can sometimes find it difficult to maintain long-term relationships since physical distance is a very hard barrier for any relationship to overcome,” Bangs explains.

“Through conversations with our members over the years, many of whom have weathered divorce, we have found these problems are universal among seafarers and it’s not just captains who report feeling pressure to find romantic partners who can cope with their urge to be out on the water.”

Nowadays, Sea Captain Date is exploring various ways to expand its site offerings as well as incorporate smart technology.

Since its inception in 2007, older members have become more comfortable with advancements in technology, so there was no better time to improve Sea Captain Date than the present.

“The fact that many ships have Wi-Fi on board nowadays means that our users don’t have to wait to be back on dry land before logging onto seacaptaindate.com, something that wasn’t all that easy in 2007,” Bangs says. Ü

PROUD TO BE SERVING THE NORTH COAST • BARGE LOADING & OFFLOADING • MARINE SALVAGE • BARGE CHARTER • RAMP BARGE SERVICES

110 DUNCAN ROAD, PO BOX 10 PRINCE RUPERT, BC V8J 3P4 P: (250) 624-9858 F: (250) 624-5473 E: wms@citywest.ca

www.wainwrightmarine.com 12

B.C. Tugboat 2016

One investment, two new research chairs

Seaspan Shipyards and the University of British Columbia embark on partnership

By Cindy Chan

S

easpan Shipyards will be investing $2 million over the next seven years to the University of British Columbia (UBC), which will be used in part to create two new UBC research chair positions.

According to the joint news release, the money will be used over the next seven years “to support innovative teaching and research in the naval architecture and marine engineering programs at the UBC faculty of applied science”.

The school is currently hiring one chair in naval architecture and one chair in marine engineering.

They are hoping to complete the hiring process this summer, but according to Jon Mikkelsen, director of naval architecture and marine engineering at UBC, the search truly doesn’t end until they find the right candidates.

The job search began in January, and the closing date to apply was slated to be April 1 or until the position is filled.

“We will certainly accept applicants after that date if that’s the case,” Mikkelsen says.

He also adds that UBC is recruiting talent worldwide, not just from British Columbia.

“We’re looking for the best people and we’re going to

establish a research program around those people,” Mikkelsen explains.

The dean of the faculty of applied science at UBC, Marc Parlange, echoes the sentiment.

“For sure, the person would be interested in naval architecture and marine engineering, but they may come with a background in another area – fluid mechanics, materials and so forth – that would support the growth of this domain,” Parlange states.

The decision to hire two research chairs with Seaspan’s investment came from an advisory committee made up of members from Seaspan, BC Ferries, Robert Allan Ltd. and others – making it a joint initiative between industry and university.

Tim Page, vice-president of government relations at Seaspan, says the $2-million investment is part of the organization’s obligations under the Government of Canada’s National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS) to support and grow the ship building and ship repair industry.

“It will help to support the long-term growth opportunities that we believe are coming to the west coast and across Canada,” Page says.

“Having a university-level course in naval architecture here on the west coast is the realization of a long-

B.C. Tugboat 2016

13

SAFETY MANAGEMENT OR JUST GOOD MANAGEMENT? Corporate leaders set policy, goals and objectives to control costs, manage schedule and manage quality. A Safety Management System does the same thing to prevent accidents and injuries.

Let COR’s SMS help you validate your safety management system, reduce accidents and save on WSBC premiums.

CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION

term goal of local industry leaders. At present, only Memorial University in Newfoundland offers a degree course in this subject in Canada, and now having a masters’ level program here in Vancouver complements that extremely well.

Students from the UBC NAME program have already been extremely well-received by local industry, finding meaningful and rewarding employment in the various consulting firms locally and in the shipyards,” Robert Allan, executive chairman of the board for Robert Allan Ltd., says.

Chris McKesson, an instructor of naval architecture at UBC, says he and Mikkelsen are professors in the teaching stream, meaning they are 100-per cent dedicated to the education of the student. Therefore, he believes having two research chairs will be beneficial as they will divide their time between teaching students and pursuing academic research.

“We’re interested to see what we’ll get applying for those positions. What is the research? What is the future of ship building?” McKesson muses.

CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION

Find out how to become COR certified! www.bcmeacor.com

For information on UBC, visit ubc.ca.

For information on Seaspan, visit seaspan.com.

ORGANIZE WITH… THE INTERNATIONAL LONGSHORE & WAREHOUSE UNION CANADA

LOCAL 400 LOCAL 500 LOCAL 502 LOCAL 505 LOCAL 508 LOCAL 514 LOCAL 517 LOCAL 519 LOCAL 520 LOCAL 522 LOCAL 523 RWU-BC RWDSU GSU GWU

We represent more than just your B.C. Ports. We include office, maintenance, warehouse, waste recycling, retail, wholesale, grain services staff and more!

Call to see if we can help your group!

AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL For more information on organizing with ILWU contact the office at 604-254-8141 or email officers@ilwu.ca IT’S WISE TO ORGANIZE!

14

B.C. Tugboat 2016

Ü

Can we afford to build tugboats in Canada?

By Robert G. Allan

C

“

anada's shipbuilding industry sounds alarm over DND plan to potentially lease foreign-built tugboats" headlined the Ottawa Citizen on Feb. 16, 2016. For the past several months, a Request for Information has circulated from Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), requesting proposals from private industry to price the provision of tug services for the Department of National Defence (DND). This would be a significant departure from the tradition of the Navy owning and operating its own tugs. It is noteworthy that the U.S. Navy, after contracting out its tug services for at least the past 15 years or so, is now moving to build its own tug fleet again.

Last year, PWGSC also canvassed shipyards in Canada for estimates of the cost to construct various types of new tugs – all of this hopefully with the aim of establishing viable budgets for the cost to acquire and operate a new fleet of tugs to support the new DND Joint Support Ships and other new warships to be built under the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy

B.C. Tugboat 2016

15

(NSPS). As the Ottawa Citizen article noted, the original declared intent of the NSPS was that smaller auxiliary vessels, such as tugs, would be built in those smaller Canadian shipyards which were not beneficiaries of the lucrative NSPS shipbuilding contracts.

There are at least the following options available to the government for acquiring these four new tugs: a. D ND-owned and operated – built in Canada; b. D ND-owned and operated – purchased at best value on international market; c. P rivately owned and operated – built in Canada; and d. P rivately owned and operated – purchased at best value on international market.

Each of these options has its own relative merits, with varying degrees of cost, quality and long-term benefit to Canada. The reality is that today there is but a small handful of shipyards in Canada which have the experience and expertise to build today’s highly sophisticated

and complex tugboats. They would have to compete with those few shipyards in the global industry such as in Turkey and southeast Asia which produce upwards of 15 to 20 tugs a year. Although their labour costs are lower than in Canada, that is not their primary advantage. With consistent workflow, these shipyards gain significant pricing advantages from international machinery suppliers; their labour forces are skilled and well-practised in the specific unique tasks associated with building tugs; and they have already invested in the machinery and systems to enhance their overall productivity and quality.

They are totally geared for series production of various types of tugs.

Some build nothing else.

Recent experience indicates that tugs built in Canada will cost 50 per cent or more above the “world market” price. Tugs built in Turkey would be less expensive (even with the 25 per cent import duty) but that will not benefit this country in terms of creating skillsets and challenging jobs for the next generation of Canadian shipbuilders.

emeryelectric.com

250-383-6961 office@emeryelectric.com

Full Service Electrical Contractors for Industrial, Commercial & Marine Applications.

16

B.C. Tugboat 2016

The choice will ultimately be between keeping the near term costs to the taxpayer as low as possible or investing in the present and future of Canadian shipbuilding.

That decision has already been made for larger ships falling under the NSPS, with a much more significant economic impact.

However, if every ship required in Canada were actually built here (including all ferries, all government vessels and various private vessels), there is enough work annually to keep at least a few modest-sized shipyards on both coasts operating ad infinitum. The math is simple: if the total Canadian small-to-mediumsized vessel fleet is 300 vessels, each with an average useful lifespan of 30 to 40 years, then at least 10 boats per year must be built, every year, just to maintain fleet size. With such a continuum of work, these yards would be able to increase their productivity and skillsets. But with the high wages in this country, it is unlikely that they could ever compete in the global market. The current state of the Canadian dollar certainly aids competitiveness in the short term, but that is not a basis for a long-term business case. Would supporting the objective of a strong domestic industry constitute a “subsidy” or is it simply investing in maintaining and improving one’s “home”?

It will be extremely interesting to see which course the government decides to follow on this most critical of issues. Ü

Full speed ahead

W

hen the Vancouver-based Ledcor Group first expanded its operations into the marine transportation sector nearly four years ago, its fleet was comprised of six tugboats and 12 chip barges which were utilized to deliver wood fibre to Howe Sound Pulp and Paper (HSPP).

Today, the original fleet has nearly doubled in size, and Ledcor Marine has rapidly grown into one of the largest marine operations in southwest British Columbia. With a current fleet of seven tugboats and 23 barges, Ledcor Marine now provides transport and towing services for a number of other natural resource and industrial clients such as Lehigh Hanson, LaFarge and Mainland Sand & Gravel.

While the new fleet additions have enabled Ledcor Marine to further expand its service offerings and seize a diverse range of cargo opportunities, the division has remained steadfast in continuing to grow its business while adhering to Ledcor’s core values of quality, sustainability and, most importantly, safety.

The recently arrived barges, which were designed

by Capilano Maritime Services, are built to Lloyd’s Register Class standards and feature higher sides, enabling high-volume transport of a variety of materials. In addition, the fleet’s new tugboats, as well as the recently acquired Bill L Ledcor, are equipped with Caterpillar C-18 Acert diesel engines

In 2015, the division welcomed the arrival of eight new heavy cargo barges as well as a 1,200-horsepower tugboat, christened the Bill L Ledcor, from China. The barges, which range from 63 to 80 metres long, are equipped with a deck strength of more than 15 tonnes per square metre, and can transport a wide variety of cargoes including bulk commodities, containers, equipment modules and construction materials such as pipe. In addition to the Bill L Ledcor, two more tugboats are currently being constructed by Bracewell Marine Group in Richmond, B.C. and are scheduled to be delivered to Ledcor Marine in 2016.

B.C. Tugboat 2016

17

which are International Maritime Organization (IMO) Tier 2 compliant and the most fuel-efficient engines in the sector. The fleet investments have allowed Ledcor Marine to maximize fuel economy, transferring materials quickly yet economically for their clients.

To reduce their environmental footprint and further improve efficiency, the division implemented an onboard recycling program to minimize waste. A fuel conservation program was successfully introduced in which flow scan meters were installed in all of the tugboats to monitor fuel consumption and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Furthermore, the division is trialling the Green Marine environmental program with plans to obtain an IS014001 certification in the near future.

Safety remains the highest priority for Ledcor Marine, which provides a host of in-house training programs for its mariners in order to mitigate risk and provide for safe operations. Programs include hazardous material awareness, first aid, accident investigation and incident command structure. Candidates hired into the division from Ledcor’s marine scholarship program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) are required to undergo and pass the formal training protocol before beginning their careers with Ledcor.

Despite being a relatively new entrant in B.C.’s waterways, Ledcor has quickly expanded its fleet and service offerings to become one of the province’s largest marine operations. With its modern new fleet, and a dedication to quality, sustainability and safety, Ledcor Marine is well-positioned to remain a competitive provider of shipping services in the local marine industry for years to come.

About Ledcor The Ledcor Group of Companies is one of North America’s most diversified construction companies, serving the building, oil and gas, infrastructure, mining, power and communications sectors. We also own operations in property investment, forestry, aviation and marine transportation services. Ledcor employs more than 7,000 people across 20 offices.

Since 1947, we have been growing with our clients and partners. Forward. Together. Find out how at www.ledcor.com.

THE LEDCOR GROUP OF COMPANIES. MOVING FORWARD TO MEET OUR CUSTOMER’S NEEDS.

WWW.LEDCOR.COM

18

B.C. Tugboat 2016

Ü

STARTECH MARINE SERVICES INC. #145 – 415 West Esplanade North Vancouver BC Canada V4N 3S4 P: E:

(604) 988-1158

info@startechmarine.ca

www.startechmarine.ca SUPPLY – INSTALL - REPAIR Startech Marine Services Inc. provides on-board technical supply and services of Marine Electronics, communication and Navigational equipment for various types of Vessels.

DEEP SEA

PLEASURE

WORK BOAT

OUR SERVICES

AIS Man Over Board

ALL MAKES & MODELS

• Up to 25 miles range • Water activated • Smallest in it's category

• Marine Electronics • Maintenance & Repair • NMEA 2000 networking • Computer Hardware/Software • CCTV Security Camera • Underwater Lights installation • EPIRB testing & Certificate • AIS installation & test • Sat-phone - Iridium airtime • Nobeltec Navigation software • Wifi installation for boat house • Cellular booster installation • Old SAT-TV upgrade to HD • Transducer Test on board

Marine Navigation Systems

Satellite TV SAT Phone - CCTV

Autopilot

• Remote monitoring setup

New innovative technologies in marine industry The SeaMOB is an innovative personal locator beacon using an AIS platform for search and rescue transmission.

Ultrasonic antifouling Startech Marine Services recently supplied and installed a new system called the ultrasonic antifouling system on a power boat at Mosquito Creek Marina. This system consists of an electronics assembly and transducers which are driven with high-frequency signal bursts ranging from 19 Khz up to 42 Khz. The principles of ultrasonic antifouling have been known for a long time. The effect was discovered 80 years ago by French scientist Paul Langevin. In recent times, it has been found that high ultrasonic power and cavitation is not required to kill algae. Instead, ultrasonic frequencies can cause

20

B.C. Tugboat 2016

resonance effects within algal cell structures, and relatively low powers are still enough to cause cell death. So if the boat’s hull can be vibrated over a range of ultrasonic frequencies, algae will not be able to attach to it and other marine growth will similarly be discouraged. The ultrasonic vibration of the hull disrupts the cell structure of algae, stopping algal growth adhering to the hull. Because there is no algal food source on the hull, larger marine organisms have no reason to attach themselves to the hull – no food, no lodgers.

Everyone knows that owning and maintaining a boat is expensive – the bigger the boat, the more expensive it is. Many will be familiar with trailer sailboats and power boats. These are relatively cheap to run and since they are not left in the water, they should never have problems with marine growth.

However, once you have a boat on a swing mooring or tied up to a berth in salt water, marine growth is endemic. The warmer the water, the more severe the problem.

The vast majority of larger boats are moored in warm, salty waters,

so marine growth is a big problem.

In years past, the solution was to coat the hull in an arsenic-based antifouling compound, but these were highly toxic to all marine life and have now been banned.

This means that the antifouling compounds used now, while still toxic to marine growth, are far less effective.

The problem is even more severe for boats that are moored in canal developments. There, because the water is much warmer and there is little water movement, marine growth can be so rapid that antifouling needs to done as often as every six months. If a boat is not being used, marine growth can still rapidly take hold and there can be significant growth after only a few months.

Antifouling coatings are “ablative”, which means that they depend for their operation on the boat moving through the water to literally wear off the surface and thereby expose fresh (and toxic) antifouling compound. Antifouling needs to be done at least once a year, but in some cases it needs to be done more frequently if the boat is seldom used or moored in a canal. If you do this work on your own boat, it is tedious, dirty and expensive (even hauling the boat out of water is expensive). If you pay someone else to do it, it is much more expensive. All boat owners would love to avoid this cost.

Now there is ultrasonic antifouling for boats. This electronic method means the end of chemical antifouling and a big reduction in cost for boat owners. It involves installing a high-powered piezoelectric transducer inside the boat’s hull. Ultrasonic energy keeps marine growth at bay. A control circuit is housed in an IP65 ABS box. It produces the high-voltage pulsed waveform that's used to drive the ultrasonic transducer.

Startech Marine Services (www.

startechmarine.ca) provides supply and installation of ultrasonic antifouling for all sizes and types of vessels in Canada.

SeaMOB As anyone involved in search and rescue (SAR) operations can attest, the difference between life and death can come down to a matter of seconds. When a new technology presents itself as offering a faster way to locate a man overboard (MOB), it’s worth taking a closer look.

position data is transmitted.

Until very recently, data was either transmitted to a satellite network (for example, EPIRBs or SPOTs) or over ground but using exclusive frequencies. Both of these approaches need dedicated, custom-built receivers (or base units). This can create large time gaps in SAR operations. The availability of the vast network of AIS transceivers expands the chances that mariners in the area — and perhaps closer than SAR responders – to locate the distress quickly, saving precious time in the rescue effort.

ignored when working to increase SAR effectiveness.

The SeaMOB is manufactured in Germany by Weatherdock AG, branded in Canada and available through Startech Marine Services.

For more information, visit www.seamob-ais.com or www.startechmarine.ca.

Startech Marine Services recently supplied its innovative EasyOne (trademark of Weatherdock AG) product to Seaspan Ship Management. A couple of hundred units are now in use by different vessels including pleasure craft, fishing vessels and work boats.

Startech Marine Services can supply and ship this product to different types of vessels in Canada or around the globe. Ü

The SeaMOB, an innovative personal locator beacon, is an Given the priority placed on safety AIS-based (automatic identification of life at sea, the SeaMOB is system) search and rescue one example of a technological transponder that relays the advancement that shouldn’t be position of a MOB, life raft or lifeboat in distress to all AIS receivers within range. Given that all commercial vessels — and an increasing number of M A R I N E S U R V E Y pleasure craft — now carry AIS Appraisals for Insurance & Loans transceivers, the SeaMOB was for Damage & Condition developed to take advantage of this huge common reception network to 4333 Virginia Rd increase the likelihood of a vessel Port Alberni, BC V9Y 5V7 in the area picking up the distress dkmsdf@shaw.ca signal. With a built-in GPS, the Bus: (250) 723-4496 SeaMOB transmits an emergency Res: (250) 724.2892 AIS-SART sentence which triggers BC Trade Qualification #9068 an alarm on all AIS-enabled chart International Institute of Marine Surveying plotters and PCs and provides the latitude and longitude of the & Loans Surveys for Damage & Condition activated unit. The GPS receiver on berni, BC the V9Y 5V7 dkmsdf@shaw.ca SeaMOB is one of the fastestBus: (2501723today’s market#9068 — typically BC Tradeon Qualification International Institute YOUR FULL having a TTFF (time to first fix) of 30 seconds. When activated, SHIPYARD! the VHF-AIS transmitter on the SeaMOB repeats eight times per ALUMINUM, WOOD, minute as well as the position and STEEL AND FIBERGLASS the unique (and globally recognized) MECHANICAL MMSI identification number along REPAIRS & REBUILDS with a conspicuous alerting signal REPAIR FOR to all AIS receivers within range.

Don Kimura

REPAIR

Transmission technology The main difference in the approach taken by the manufacturers of SeaMOB is in the platform over which the

O R

Surveys

 

COMMERCIAL & PLEASURE VESSELS 75 AND 220 TON LIFTS

NEED A SHAFT PULLED? PIPEFITTING? ALUMINUM CONSTRUCTION OR MODIFICATIONS? KEEP YOUR BOAT WORKING! FREE ESTIMATES

Located at Shelter Island 6911 Graybar Road, Richmond, BC V6W 1H3 p: 604.247.2628 | e: bo@commodoresboats.com

www.commodoresboats.com

B.C. Tugboat 2016

21

Washington Chain & Supply: Getting better and better

W

ashington Chain & Supply, Inc. (WCS) began in 1954 as a result of the availability of wartime surplus materials. Through continuous growth and the expansion into supplying new domestic and foreign products to the marine, offshore, logging, fishing and construction industries, by the early 1970s WCS had grown in its original location to fully occupy three acres, including more than 90,000 square feet of office, manufacturing and warehousing in south Seattle, now referred to as the SODO district.

WCS engineered and installed two tension testing units with a capability of 2,000,000 pounds. It can provide ILO, ABS and Lloyd’s testing certificates that have proved to be invaluable to the customers over the years. Included on-site is a complete machine and fabrication shop along with several certified welders and a complete wire rope rigging facility and warehouse.

22

B.C. Tugboat 2016

In the early 1970s while working with the marine industry, WCS developed a domestic product line beginning with high-strength towing shackles and tow plates that were created under the Marquip™ name. This was followed up with a line of chain-connecting links to military standards, which we are now beginning to produce with ABS certification. Continuing with the maritime focus, WCS developed a line of release hooks and capstans used in towing and mooring. These hooks were built on the premise of reliability and ease of maintenance and are made in single, double, triple and quadruple configurations with single-load ranges from 25 to 150 tons. They are well-represented on docks and moorings in the southwest, northeast and gulf coasts, and a load monitoring system was recently installed on a system in South America. The test facility has a 600-ton capacity unit with a 100-foot test bed, and a 1,000-ton capacity unit for fittings for both proof and break testing applications.

Detachable-Link

Pelican Hook

US Navy Stockless

Towplate

Based on customer requests and increasingly stringent industry standards, WCS has a line of portable load cells available for rent. The load cells range from 25 to 250 tons.

WCS is now completing development in the Marquip™ line of forged, heavy lift, alloy shackles, that are INFOCHIP® RFID-equipped.

Sizes range from two feet (55-ton working load limit) to four feet (175-ton working load limit).

ABS certification is available.

Double Bitts

WCS has grown to be one of the pre-eminent suppliers of anchors, anchor chains, shackles, mooring equipment, ropes, blocks and slings in North America, maintaining one of the largest ready inventories on the continent with sales throughout the continent and into South America, Asia and Australia with a 24-hour service line. Roughly eight per cent of recent sales have been outside of North America.

So often situations occur that are not answered from a book or chart. The average tenure with WCS of the 11 sales and engineering personnel is more than 18 years each, providing a depth of knowledge unequalled in the industry. The 16 union personnel have been with WCS an average of more than 10 years each while the administrative staff averages just shy of 10 years. Knowledge of the product and familiarity of the industry and customers have created many relationships that have endured decades, and will continue to as WCS strives to meet and solve the varied needs its customer base. Ü

Weldon Cleat

Contact us

1-800-715-0914 (ext. 7750)

?

??

?

?

agnes.sharkie@nic.bc.ca

?

WHY CHOOSE? ?

NORTH ISLAND

?

?

COLLEGE?

?

www.nic.bc.ca/marine • • • •

Education you can trust Qualified, professional instructors State-of-the-art ship simulators Customized workforce training

Courses for Mariners including: Master Limited (60 GT), Small Vessel Operator Proficiency (SVOP), MED A1, A2 & A3, ROC-MC and ROC-M. North Island College courses are authorized and approved by Transport Canada, Industry Canada and the Canadian Power and Sail Squadron.

Visit a North Island College Campus near you: Campbell River | Courtenay | Port Alberni | Port Hardy | Ucluelet

B.C. Tugboat 2016

23

Washington Chain & Supply, Inc. Washington Chain & Supply, Inc. (WCS) has been serving the marine, industrial, and offshore industries for more than 35 years. WCS maintains one of the largest inventories of domestic and foreign, new and used anchors, anchor chains, and fittings in the United States.

WCS ships throughout the United States and has seen rapid growth in our International sales. WCS can deliver anywhere in the world from our main location, from one of several stocking locations in the United States, or direct from our network of reliable overseas suppliers.

SAVE MONEY - CALL US FIRST Choose from one of the largest inventories of marine equipment in the U.S.

WCS can supply ABSCG, DNV and LLOYDS proof test certifications and has pull-testing facilities capable of handling 2,000,000 pounds.

WCS stocks many types and sizes of chain, anchors & fittings to meet your needs, whether new and used, forged and welded, domestic or foreign. Give us your requirements and we’ll find the answers to your chain and other needs.

P O Box 3645, Seattle, WA 98124.3645 Phone: 206.623.8500 | Toll Free 800.851.3429 | Fax 206.621.9834

www.wachain.com