Seaspan Marine Corp. announced Monday it has entered into a technology support agreement with STX Offshore and Shipbuilding Company Ltd. to optimize the shipbuilder’s planned facilities upgrades.
In response to the recently awarded $8 billion contract from the federal government as part of its Non-Combat National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS) program, Seaspan is planning $200 million in upgrades at its Victoria and Vancouver facilities.
STX will dispatch technical staff to Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards to review facility upgrades and provide recommendations for optimizing shipbuilding efficiency.
Sungsoo Shin, deputy president of STX, said, “We are delighted to build long-term partnerships with Seaspan Shipyards and anticipate this technology support will lead to the enhancement of competitiveness of Seaspan Shipyards and ultimately contribute to the Canadian shipbuilding industry.”
The technology support, provided by STX, will initially focus on optimizing shop layouts, material-flow and production methods and processes.
Brian Carter, president of Seaspan Shipyards, said, “The efficiency improvements STX finds will be reflected in final facility designs providing significant long-term benefits to both the Government of Canada and future commercial customers. The improvements will also make Vancouver shipyards more efficient and better able to compete internationally retaining shipbuilding jobs in B.C.”
