Building the Canadian Coast GuardB次元官网网址檚 next polar icebreaker at Seaspan Shipyards in Vancouver is a high-profile project, but further growth of B.C.B次元官网网址檚 industry includes repairs, maintenance and innovation such as battery-powered vessels, B.C. Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon says.

Kahlon announced an industry Wednesday, tasked with growing an industrial marine sector that already employs more than 22,000 people in B.C., developing new technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping, and address labour shortages that are increasingly affecting many areas that depend on skilled workers.

The advisory committee includes Mark Collins, CEO of B.C. Ferries, Brenda Eaton, chair of the B.C. Ferries board of directors and Jamie Marshall, B.C. FerriesB次元官网网址� vice president of shipbuilding and innovation. But that doesnB次元官网网址檛 mean the province will return to building large ferries that have most recently come from Romania or Poland, Kahlon says.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e going to get the advice from the professionals weB次元官网网址檝e put on this committee,B次元官网网址� Kahlon said in an interview Sept. 22. B次元官网网址淲hat I know is that we are doing a lot of business in the refit and repair side of things. WeB次元官网网址檙e doing a lot in the maintenance.B次元官网网址�

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The advisory committee also includes Ian McIver, president of Seaspan Marine Transportation, Riccardo Regoso, general manager of Point Hope Maritime Services in Victoria, as well as naval architect Robert Allan, an expert in tanker escort tugboats.

Allan said the federal governmentB次元官网网址檚 2020 decision to build the Coast GuardB次元官网网址檚 next polar icebreaker in B.C. has B次元官网网址渞einvigorated large shipbuilding on the West CoastB次元官网网址� and positioned the province to become competitive in innovation and ship maintenance.

B.C. Ferries has recently converted or new-built vessels to use liquefied natural gas rather than diesel or bunker fuel, a semi-refined heavy oil that dominates world shipping. But Kahlon says the industry is looking beyond to electric and hydrogen power to eliminate carbon fuels.

He cited Richmond-based Corvus Energy, which builds marine battery systems. In August, Corvus to supply the battery system for the eWolf, an 82-foot all-electric tugboat to be built in Alabama and go to work at the Port of San Diego.

tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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