Photos courtesy Daigle Welsting & Marine
B.C. SHIPYARDS
Daigle Welding & Marine is enjoying a “pretty healthy” market — photos above show the new patrol boats destined for Port Metro Vancouver at various stages of construction. to repair the frigate’s hull and other structural damage, some of which was repaired at the Fleet Maintenance Facility Cape Breton at the Esquimalt Naval Base late in 2013. The year rounded out with the 1,300 passenger liner Grand Princess in for the fitting of its first sulphur scrubber mounted on its uptake as the cruise industry does its bit to reduce marine emissions. The yard continues on its in-service submarine maintenance contract using its new, purpose-built repair facility (a new threestorey Operation Centre will be completed by the end of the year) and after sea trials, HMCS Chicoutimi will be back in service in the third quarter. Now, HMCS Cornerbrook is in for what could be 30 months for an ELMP (Extended Life Maintenance Period). As well, HMCS Ottawa is in for her FELEX work and will occupy two sections of the Esquimalt Drydock through the Fall. March saw the Totem Overseas Trailer Express roll-on, roll-off truck carrier Midnight Sun in for regular maintenance and survey work including underwater painting. And in May, the 680-passenger Pacific Princess was in for an eight-day frenzy of work involving up to 800 employees and owner-contractors for an underwater hull paint, steel work, propeller hubs and davit testing. In a double-docking of two deep-sea trawlers in April, the Aaron Seafoods-owned Northern Jaeger and the Glacier Seafoods Pacific Glacier were in for similar work including rudders, underwater paint, above deck paint, and surveys. And the large Northlands barge Nana Provider was in for 25 days in June to add cell guides to allow it to carry containers as well as mixed loads on the Alaska run.
Point Hope Maritime
It was business as usual as this Victoria Inner Harbour shipyard continued to have what General Manager Hank Bekkering calls an “okay year” in 2013 and more of the same into 2014. A steady diet of Canadian Navy work and a vessel or two now and then from BC Ferries has been the order of the day for the yard which currently employs 30 full-timers, but has been as high as 120. Work in 2013 included the 1969-built ferry Tachek which left in the early New Year of 2014 after a mid-life refit including all new electrical, propulsion controls, aluminum work, new Mitsubishi engines and even a new bow thruster. The navy work included the Kingston Class Coastal Defence Vessel HMCS Nanaimo in for its five-year international ABS
surveys including underwater hull work, sea valves, minor steel repair, tank inspection and cleaning, some electrics, and painting the hull, main deck and house works. Three Victoria Shipyard-built Orca patrol training craft — the Orca, Moose and Cougar — were also given a similar five-year ABS survey.
Daigle Welding & Marine
Success with a Nanaimo harbour patrol boat in 2012 for this Campbell River new build and repair yard has helped land two more contracts, this time with Port Metro Vancouver. Daigle Welding & Marine Ltd. is completing its largest contract ever for the port and President & Owner Steve Daigle says the two patrol boats were due in service by the end of June. He’s really happy with the way the big contract has gone for the small yard. Daigle is enjoying what the boss describes as a “pretty healthy” market at the moment and as well as the PMV harbour patrol vessels, the yard is about 20 per cent into the construction of two 37-foot pilot boats for Tymac Launch. The twin diesel, John Deere-powered vessels will skip along on Hamilton 322 water jets. Not far away in the yard, a 36-foot landing craft is under construction for a Prince Rupert company; and they’re also busy building a 12-passenger crew boat (Volvo D9-500-powered, ASDN surface drive) for leasing through Daigle’s subsidiary company, EagleCraft Leasing, bringing that fleet to 12. A 30-foot aluminum pleasure cruiser is under construction for a Nanoose Bay buyer and the former MV Stikine, now retired from RCMP patrol boat service and built by Westbay, is being transformed into a gooey duck boat with new decks, power, live tanks and a new back canopy.
McTavish Welding
Campbell River and its marine links gave this small yard a record year in 2013 and owner Rick McTavish is shaking his head at how busy the past two years have been. Most of the business is from Vancouver Island and the crew of eight at McTavish has built over 20 boom boats over the past two years. Most of the work is general fabricating and steel rolling for small boats, but the team has built a dozen 68-inch propeller nozzles, done work for West Coast Tug & Barge and special marine work platforms for Metro Vancouver, and also does marine repairs. Currently, there are three boom boats on the shop floor and three more on order for Gowlland Towing, Western Forest Products and work boat provider Pacific Cachalot. July/August 2014 BC Shipping News 21