April 16, 2025
From new additions that will help drive increased business to old friends stopping by for regular maintenance, there was no shortage of work at any of Seaspan’s three shipyards in the first few months of 2025. And no shortage of exciting news either, starting with Seaspan Shipyards being named one of BC’S Top Employers for 2025, and ending with Seaspan receiving the contract to build Canada’s newest heavy Polar Icebreaker, the first to be built in Canada in over 60 years!
And, just in case you needed a reminder about what exactly we do at Seaspan Shipyards, take a quick look at our revamped corporate video to get a quick overview of our capabilities.
Vancouver Drydock
Following last year’s historic Vessel Life Extension (VLE) of CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier, we started 2025 at Vancouver Drydock with another (albeit smaller) Coast Guard project, completing maintenance and repairs on the Atlantic Eagle’s thrusters and pipes, as well as brightening it up with a fresh coat of paint before sending the vessel on its way. This project kicked off a flurry of activity at our North Van drydock, including the maintenance work on a number of ferries, including BC Ferries’ Queen of Oak Bay. But the real star of the show in Q1 at Vancouver Drydock was our new, third drydock which completed its first job in March – upgrades and maintenance on Centreline’s Petro Mariner barge.
Victoria Shipyards
In Victoria, we said hello to a friendly face when TOTE’s Midnight Sun was docked between January-February, continuing a long-standing, continuous working relationship between TOTE and Victoria Shipyards which spans nearly 20 years.
BC Ferries made an appearance at Victoria Shipyards too, as multiple vessels made stops including the Queen of New Westminster, which underwent extensive repairs to its propeller shaft and rudder system after being out of service for over 6 months. Work also continues on HMCS Victoria, one of the Royal Canadian Navy’s Victoria-Class submarines, as well as on HMCS Winnipeg and on HMCS Calgary, two Halifax-class frigates which are undergoing comprehensive vessel-life extensions at Victoria Shipyards. Work is nearing completion on HMCS Calgary, and preparations are underway for its delivery back to the Navy in the Spring. HMCS Winnipeg will enter drydock once HMCS Calgary departs.
In February, we were also pleased to announce the winner of the 2024 Mike Ash Apprentice of the Year award to Nathan Wood, a shipfitter at Victoria Shipyards.
Vancouver Shipyards
Back in North Vancouver, there was a flurry of activity at Vancouver Shipyards in Q1. We started off the year on a high, following the launch of HMCS Protecteur in December. But there is still a considerable amount of work to complete before the ship’s sea trials and delivery. We’ve made quite a bit of progress since putting the ship in the water, including the activation of the first of two 440v main switchboards on HMCS Protecteur, a major milestone in the Joint Support Ship’s commissioning schedule. Work will continue throughout the year on this ship – but if you want to take a quick walk-through of HMCS Protecteur, Canadian Defence Review stopped by to take a tour of the ship with Callum Vause, JSS Delivery Director. Watch the interview here. Work is also continuing at a rapid pace on JSS2, more than 80% of the ship’s blocks are now in construction, and, last month, the vessel’s pump room was capped, marking the first major equipment space to be consolidated.
Stay tuned to our social media channels and subscribe to the Seaspan Signal for updates related to all three shipyards, and to stay up to date on all the exciting projects we have underway, including the construction of the new Polar Icebreaker.