British Columbia is missing the boat on advancing its home-grown shipbuilding sector, says the province’s industry giant.
BC Ferries has launched its bidding process to replace seven major vessels in two phases, but Seaspan says the process leaves little room for B.C.’s maritime sector.
The company says bidders won’t receive incentives to include B.C. or Canadian content, making it impossible to compete with other low-wage countries.
“What it needs is a strategic decision, which can only be made by the B.C. government … to decide to build in B.C. and then reap all the economic benefits and innovation benefits and supply chain benefits and other strategic benefits that arise from building here in B.C.,” said Seaspan spokesperson Dave Hargreaves.
BC Ferries said the bidding process is open to all prequalified shipyards, and that it is premature to speculate where the vessels will be built.
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However, it noted that cost will be an important factor in the calculation.
“Our customers have been clear — affordability and reliability are their top concerns,” BC Ferries executive director of communications Dave Groot said in a statement.
“We are committed to selecting a proposal that reflects all of these priorities, factoring in cost, environmental impact, timelines, and performance. We encourage all prequalified shipyards to submit their most competitive proposals.”
Hargreaves said there is no question building in B.C. will be more expensive.
But he said those higher labour costs reflect thousands of long-term, well-paying jobs. Those workers, he added, pay income and sales taxes that will go back into government coffers in B.C. instead of those of another country.
Building in B.C. would also mean economic benefits through local procurement and to the Canadian supply chain.
Hargreaves pointed to Quebec, which uses tax incentives, loans and grants to support its shipbuilding industry.
“The last time Quebec bought ferries they just decided they were going to be built in Quebec,” he said.
BC Ferries said as an essential service, it must balance costs with the need to replace vessels without increasing fares “simply for the sake of building locally.”
The company said it remains committed to the local maritime sector, and allocates about $60 million annually for fleet maintenance in B.C.
Earlier this month, the company said it had completed designs for the new class of vessels, which will replace four retiring Queen-class ferries.
The new vessels will be larger, quieter and produce less greenhouse gas emissions.
The first phase of construction aims to launch five vessels between 2029 and 2031, with two later vessels built in a second phase.
Hargreaves said Seaspan remains interested in bidding on construction of the two second-phase vessels.
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