Seaspan’s Victoria Shipyards celebrates 20th anniversary

On Monday, April 28 Seaspan’s Victoria Shipyards Co. Ltd. (VSL), the West Coast’s leading ship building and ship repair businesses officially commemorated its 20th anniversary of operations at the Esquimalt Graving Dock (EGD) with an all-employee celebration, Seaspan said in a press release.

“Twenty years not only marks a significant milestone for the Company, but is an incredible accomplishment for our world-class workers, who have been the driving force behind our growth,” said Malcolm Barker, Vice-President and General Manager, Victoria Shipyards. “Today’s announcement is more than a celebration, it is a success story. Just two decades ago, the business began with one 20-foot container; now we are one of Greater Victoria’s largest companies, one of its proudest community partners, and have built a track record of delivering industry-leading innovation and expertise.”

Originally founded in 1994, VSL has steadily developed a culture of safety, care and efficiency, while rapidly expanding its business to capture a wide-ranging and complex global customer-base which includes; ferries, cruise ships, cargo ships, deep sea fishing vessels, frigates and submarines.

Operating from the Government of Canada-owned EGD, the largest solid-bottom commercial drydock on the West Coast of the Americas, VSL has built and delivered two highly successful classes of Federal vessels: thirty 47-foot patrol boats for the Canadian Coast Guard and eight Orca Class Patrol Boats for the Royal Canadian Navy.

VSL currently employs more than 850 people, including a skilled workforce that is forecast to grow to 1000 tradespeople in 2014. In addition to investing in equipment, people and processes for the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS), creating jobs for Canadians through work with the Frigate Life Extension (FELEX) program and Victoria In-Service Support Contract (VISSC) programs, VSL has an extensive apprenticeship training program underway and has created numerous partnerships with Vancouver Island-based educational institutions.

“The ship building and ship repair business has dramatically changed over the past 20 years, but despite a substantial increase in global growth and market competition, the transformation of Victoria Shipyards has been profound and we have continually adapted,” said Malcolm.
“Our Core Values have remained at the heart of everything we’ve done for our employees, communities and the environment around us, and I couldn’t be prouder of the role we’ve played as a pioneer in the resurrection of this essential B.C. industry.”