Transportation and Transit
VANCOUVER - Seaspan Marine Corporation has two new bright red tugs (designed in Vancouver) already working in Vancouver Harbour. They are big and powerful, but they can turn on a dime.
Every day they make sure the ships of Canada’s Pacific Gateway come and go in Vancouver’s harbour, sporting a better than 99 per cent safety record. They support the growing trade of Canada’s Pacific Gateway and make jobs for B.C. families - helping our economy grow.
Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Blair Lekstrom toured the Seaspan Raven at the Seaspan Marine dock in Vancouver. Seaspan Marine Corporation’s CEO Jonathan Whitworth gave Minister Lekstrom, other invited guests and media a tour of the Seaspan Raven showing off its state of the art features.
Minister Lekstrom and the guests then watched the “Raven” demonstrate its working capacity, 360 degree spins and fire-fighting abilities.
Why It Matters:
Seaspan’s investment is more evidence of growing trade through Canada’s Pacific Gateway and growing business confidence in the future of that trade. The tugs will:
- Improve safety for all ship escorts in PMV. There is an immediate need for more modern and powerful tugs to assist the growing number of vessels arriving at PMV terminals.
- Add extra capabilities to a key port in Canada's Pacific Gateway to provide ship escort services as more ships come and go at the port.
Quick Facts:
- Port Metro Vancouver is Canada’s largest and busiest, trading more than $75 billion in goods with more than 160 trading economies annually and generating an estimated $10.5 billion in GDP.
- It has 28 deep-sea marine cargo terminals, two international cruise terminals and several domestic intermodal short sea shipping terminals. Its five business sectors are automobiles, break-bulk, bulk, containers and cruise.
- Canada’s Pacific Gateway is a world-class transportation network. Its integrated, seamless supply chain includes airports, seaports, railways, roadways and border crossings, connecting Canada and the North American market to Asia and the world.
- Government and industry partners have come together to fulfill the long-term vision of British Columbia as the preferred gateway for Asia Pacific trade, with the most competitive port system on the west coast of the Americas.
- This partnership oversees the Pacific Gateway’s $22 billion expansion of port, rail, road and airport facilities, bringing together infrastructure, labour, and service reliability under the direction of the Pacific Gateway Alliance.
Learn More at:
Minister Blair Lekstrom talks about the importance of Seaspan’s investment for Port Metro Vancouver, Canada’s Pacific Gateway and jobs for B.C. families. (youtu.be)
Jonathan Whitworth talks about the new Seaspan tug's manoeuvrability and firefighting capabilities. (vancouversun.com)
http://www.seaspan.com/
For a photo of Seaspan MV Raven showing its firefighting abilities (flickr.com)
Media Contacts:
Jeff Knight
Public Affairs Bureau
Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
250 356-7707
Jeff.Knight@gov.bc.ca (youtube.com)
