Feature stories: Newdock—Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy in 2021
In March 2021, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) awarded a contract on behalf of the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) to St. John’s Dockyard (Newdock), in St. John’s, Newfoundland for the vessel life extension work on Canadian Coast Guard Ship Cape Roger and Cygnus, ships that perform offshore patrol in support of fisheries surveillance, and are also available for search and rescue and environmental response operations on the east coast.
The contract helps create or sustain up to 40 jobs.
Work on these vessels includes:
- regulatory inspections
- installation of a new crane on each of the 2 vessels
- hull blasting and coating
- electrical replacement and refurbishments
- overhauling various components
- replacement of:
- piping
- hull plating
- deck steel
Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Cape Roger arrived at Newdock in May 2021, and at the beginning of the refit, a main engine overhaul was completed. The biggest item remaining is work on the piping in the engine room.
We spoke to Jeff Ivany, Project Manager overseeing the vessel life extension work for CCGS Cape Roger and CCGS Cygnus.
For the dockyard, this is the first vessel life extension contract where 2 vessels are coming in back-to-back. The work itself is nothing Newdock hasn’t seen before, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some surprises along the way. For CCGS Cape Roger, an extensive amount of steelwork was required and, since the vessel itself is smaller, the work areas and room for pipe fitting were tighter.
“When you open up an old boat you don’t know what you’ll get,” Jeff said.
Adaptability and the ability to problem solve are critical skills in the shipbuilding world. These are the things that Jeff enjoys about the industry. “It’s not a monotonous job, there’s different challenges every day. It’s fast paced, and time goes really quick.”
Jeff also touched on the cyclical nature of work at shipyards. There are ups and downs with resources and workers. Contracts like the vessel life extension work on CCGS Cape Roger and CCGS Cygnus allow Newdock to keep a consistent workforce.
“These longer refits allow us to keep more steady personnel,” Jeff said. “Overall, it’s a positive for the yard.”
Moreover, contracts like this help to build departments. At Newdock, the work on CCGS Roger and CCGS Cygnus has enabled the piping department, which usually runs at around 10 workers, to hire additional personnel, putting the department at over 20 workers for this contract.
There is some local subcontracting required for this project. For example, Jenkins Power, a local sheet metal supplier, does work on the window and door frames. In addition, the St. John’s community benefits from this type of contract. The projects all require supplies and consumables, from welding rods to gloves, that they purchase from local suppliers.
“There’s an economic benefit for local suppliers and local subcontractors,” Jeff added.
For the next steps, the CCGS Cape Roger will be undocked in preparation for the vessel being made ready to accept its crew. CCGS Cygnus will follow shortly after, expected to arrive in the spring of 2022, and the team at Newdock will continue this important work to finish up the contract.
In 2021 alone, Newdock worked on a total of 57 projects in the yard. While not all were National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) related, the projects for the CCG were a big part of that.