Seaspan Shipyards has completed a new outfitting pier at its Vancouver facility, designed to support large naval and coast guard vessels under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS). Stantec provided planning, engineering, and construction support on the project.
The steel and concrete pier measures 892’x63’ and replaces a timber pier built in 1966. A shipyard press release said the new pier features modern utilities, heavy load capacity, and environmental safeguards, and was built to accommodate outfitting and maintenance requirements, including integrated tower cranes, civil utilities, vehicle traffic, service towers, and specialized equipment.
The structure also includes crane pockets for flexible outfitting arrangements and multiple shore power configurations to support different ship types, and is designed to withstand sea level rise, extreme storm surges, and seismic events in one of Canada’s most active earthquake zones, Seaspan said.
The pier is currently in use, supporting outfitting work on the Royal Canadian Navy’s Joint Support Ship HMCS Protecteur, the largest vessel in the fleet.
Julianne Nezgoda, director of facilities at Seaspan Shipyards, said the project underscores long-term investment in Canada’s West Coast shipbuilding base.
“The new outfitting pier at Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards reflects our continued investment in the future and longevity of shipbuilding in British Columbia. With the new pier already in use, Seaspan continues to show it has the facilities and infrastructure to design, build and deliver ships effectively and efficiently on Canada’s West Coast, ensuring the RCN and Coast Guard have the ships they need to protect Canada’s security and sovereignty,” Nezgoda said.
Seaspan was named the Canadian government’s non-combat shipbuilder in 2011 under the NSS. Since then, the company has launched five ships and is currently building the Canadian Coast Guard’s new heavy polar icebreaker.
“This is a major milestone for shipbuilding in Western Canada, and for Vancouver Shipyards,” said Kip Skabar, Canada Ports and Marine sector leader at Stantec. “We are seeing increased waterfront infrastructure needs on the east, west, and north coasts of Canada, and as one of the few full-service waterfront engineering firms in the nation, we are well positioned to support this growth.”
Among Stantec’s recent work are major projects such as the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 expansion at the Port of Vancouver, LNG Canada in Kitimat, and the B Jetty Replacement at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt.
