Feature stories: Navamar—Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy in 2021
At Navamar, a shipbuilding and ship repair company from Montréal, Quebec, work continued throughout 2021 on sea-to-shore connectors in support of the new joint support ships (JSS) for the Royal Canadian Navy.
A sea-to-shore connector is a small vessel that allows personnel, equipment, and goods to move on and off the JSS when unable to dock alongside a conventional wharf or quay.
We spoke with Grigor Grigorov, a project director at Navamar, about work being done on these modular connectors, which will enable the JSS to operate in ports where the infrastructure may be unavailable.
This is a major and important project at Navamar. As a company of around 70 people, it dedicates about 20 workers to the production of the sea-to-shore connectors. The manufacturing of the first connector began in late December 2020, with the majority of the work taking place in 2021.
Navamar has built modular vessels with similar propulsion units in the past, and with this experience, saw an opportunity to be a part of the JSS project. They are now applying this knowledge to the sea-to-shore connectors. The design for the connectors themselves, however, is completely new.
Navamar worked with an engineering subcontractor, Concept Naval, from Quebec City, to develop the design in accordance with the scope of work requirements. Some of these requirements are the modular nature of the connectors, each with the weight specification of less than 6,000 kilograms.
In September 2021, the connector underwent a successful factory acceptance test and, in October, underwent successful sea acceptance trials. Sea trials are a testing phase where the connectors are operated under working conditions.
The final sea trials, where the connector will be sporting a fresh paint job in Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) colours, is expected to happen in the spring of 2022. The initial sea acceptance trials, done in the Port of Montréal, were completed without the paint.
Through contracts in support of the JSS, including the 4 sea-to-shore connectors, years of work will be carried out at companies like Navamar. The second sea-to-shore connector is currently in production, and all 4 are expected to be completed by the end of 2023. This means steady work for a large portion of Navamar’s workforce.
“As with all services, you have ups and downs, peaks and valleys,” Grigor said. “By having construction for long term, this is giving stability to the company so we can keep a good volume of workers.”
Projects like the sea-to-shore connectors also reach farther than Navamar’s Montréal facility. These projects also benefit the company’s subcontractors. For example, in addition to working with Concept Naval from Quebec City, the painting for the sea-to-shore connector is currently being done by a local Montréal painting company.
1 of the main goals of the National Shipbuilding Strategy is to stimulate the marine industry in Canada. By awarding contracts for shipbuilding work to companies across the country, workers are able to find jobs locally, instead of having to move as they may have in the past.
“I see this as a big advantage,” Grigor added. “Projects like this are helping Navamar to grow, and growing Navamar is growing the marine industry in Montréal.”