? Pemberton Burrard Inlet pet NEWS photo Moll Lucente St Bey P pene WS mi es a: CRO Tet i NEWS photo Mike Wakofiold ALLEN FOWLIS, president and chief executive officer of Seaspan International Ltd. and the presi- A WORKER descends the scaffolding at the Vancouver Drydock dent of Vancouver Shipyards Co. Lid., oversees the operations of the two North Vancouver com- Co., which is run in part by Vancouver Shipyards. panies. N. SHORE WATERFRONT INDUSTRIES tug CO. dl Seaspan International began operations as Vancouver Tug Boat Co. in 1898 IN THIS instalment of a series profiling North Vancouver water- front companies, the North Shore News takes a fook at the opera- tions of Seaspan International Ltd. and Vancouver Shipyards Co. Lid. By Surj Rattan News Reporter YOU CAN see its tugs and barges working all over the world, mainly along the North American west coast from as far north as Alaska to as far south as Mexico. Seaspan International Ltd. is the largest tug and barge company in Canada. It also owns Vancouver Ship- _ yards Co. Ltd. Both = are anchored on the North Vancouver waterfront at the south foot of Pemberton Avenue. Allen Fowlis heads large companies. He wears three different. cor- porate hats: president and chief the two executive officer of Seaspan and’ the president of Vancouver Ship- yards. Fowlis said Seaspan was estab- lished in 1898 in Vancouver as the Vancouver Tug Boat Co. ‘Vancouver Shipyards, he said, opened in 1902 at the foot of Guilford Street near Stanley Park. Vancouver Tug Boat Co. pur- chased Vancouver Shipyards in 1954, ' The two companies were neighbors in Coal Harbor; Van- couver Shipyards had been doing vessel repair work fur the Van- couver Tug Boat Co. Fowlis said in the 1960s, the Vancouver Tug Boat Co. grew rapidly and acquired other com- panies in the Port of Vancouver. In the 1970s, the company merged with Island Tug and Barge to form Seaspan. Seaspan and Vancouver Ship- yards Co. moved to its North Vancouver waterfront site in 1968. Seaspan then bought two other companies: F.M. York and Sons -and Gulf of Georgia Towing. Seaspan and Vancouver Ship- yards currently have a combined workforce of approximately 1,000 employees. In 1992, Seaspan paid North Vancouver District $650,000 in municipal taxes for both Seaspan and Vancouver Shipyards. Fowlis said the two companies had a combined workforce of about 1,500 during 1991 when they were doing conversion work on ferries. Seaspan has a fleet of 45 tugs, two trainships and 240 special- purpose barges. The company routinely transports such cargo as logs, lumber, woodchips, sawdust, hog fuel, pulp and paper chemi- cals, petroleum products, salt, limerock, coal, railcars, highway equipment, construction equip- ment and general cargo. Vancouver Shipyards is also the majority owner of the huge Panamax floating drydock located hext to the former Versatile Pacific Shipyards Inc. site in North Vancouver. Through the Vancouver Drydock Co., which was formed with North Vancouver-based Allied Shipbuilders Ltd., Van- couver Shipyards is actively engaged in securing repair work for the floating drydock. . “Ship repair is mainly our (Vancouver Shipyards) work, but _ We’re also involved with new con- struction of ferries. We'd obvious- ly like more construction but with the state of the economy, it’s not happening,”’ said Fowlis. He added that the federal gov- 8.96% OHTARIO HYDRO ..... Govt. Shoit- Term rates DAY 5.40% 365 DAY 5% | 4.90% 180 DAY can DAWID BLAIR .. 844-5709 We oifer_ NO-FEE-RRSP RBICNARDSON GREENSHIELDS 500 - 1066 West Hastings Steel, Vancouver, British Columbia VOE 3X1 Ail tates ale subjecl to change without notice. . ernment should put all of its new vessel construction work out to public tender and ‘‘let the chips fall where they may."’ “The government is How To Get The Most From Your Maturing RSP A Special Seminar Featuring Retirement Planning Specialist Bruce Hirtle, C.L.U. Date: Thursday, April 29, 1993 Time: 1:30 PM Place: Seymour Golf & Country Club, 3723 Mt. Seymour Pkwy, North Vancouver To Book Your Place, Call: jennifer at 925-3131 RBC DOMINION SECURITIES MEMBER OF ROYAL BANK GROUP cutting Help open doors for ’ Diabetes f Ri settias caren in'] Please Volunteer back on the placement of orders. But there will come a time when the federal government will have to replace their aging flects,’? said Fowlis. Mortgage-Backed Securities have } been called ‘‘Canada’s best kept: f investment secret’’Globe & Mail. Consider the advantages of this § government guaranteed product: § - Highest Available Credit f Rating AAA - High Monthly Income | - Cashablce Anytime f - Tax Advantages i -~ RSP / RIF Eligible I To receive a complimentary | booklet or today’s best rate call: Mark Osachoff 661-7433 ScotiaMcLecd Trusted erresenent adace since 1821 Cail 732-4334 or 4-800-665-6526 CaMaDIAN —; aSSOCIA TION uses | CANADIENNE association | ou bust