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3 - Wednesday, May !8,

1988 - North Shore News

COMPANY’ Ss 2ND LARGE NON- SHIPBUILDING PROJECT

Versatil

e

NORTH VANCOUVER'S Versatile Pacific Shipyards
Inc. has landed another multi-million dollar non- ship-

building project. /

The company was awarded a
$10.2 million contract late last
week to design and build a
dockloading system for Alaska.

An_ estimated 100 Versatile
workers will be employed during

construction of the system, which -

’ will be used to load zinc and lead

concentrates’ from Cominco
Alaska Inc.’s Red Dog Mine.

In March, Cominco awarded a

. 20-year contract to Vancouver

VERSATILE president David
 Aisop ... planning another con-
" tract bid. 1a

. Wharves Ltd.,. ariother North
Vancouver..company, to unload
_, Spproximately 400,000 tonnes of
lead-zine . ‘ concentrate annually
-from the mine.

'Mersatile ~ president David

Alsop said his company will aiso .
bid on the contract for the special. ®
- ore unloading machinery that ‘wilt:

bes necded ” by, Vancouver

Wharves chief operating officer,
said the new equipment should be
completed and installed by mid-
1990.

But he said it was ; difficult to
estimate at this time the worth of
the contract for construction of
the equipment because plans for
the unloading operation were still
in the engineering stage.

The Versate contract. repre-
sents. the second substantial

non-shipbuilding job. the com-
pany’s North Vancouver ship-
yard has won this year.

In March, the Port of Tacoma
awarded Versatile an $11.4 mil-
lion contract to construct two
container cranes.

Alsop said the contracts repre-

lands $10.2 M contract

sent the fruition of seeds sown in
non-shipbuilding diversification

’ by the company over the last two

years.
Versatile as a whole, he said, is’
increasingly pursuing industrial
contracts because of the interna:
tional decline in shipbuilding.

no FURTHER DELAYS | EXPECTED FOR $97 M VESSEL.
icebreaker delivery set for July /

| THE MUCH-delayed delivery date for the $97- million
Henry Larsen icebreaker will be sometime in July, as

promised, despite the. technical

problems that have

plagued the ship since it was first launched last January
and recent controversy over its propulsion system.

Versatile Pacific Shipyards Inc/
president David Alsop: said
Thursday the 327-foot Type 1200
Polar Class 4 icebreaker, which is

;- currently -docked at the North
’ Vancouver . shipyard,

will /be
delivered to the Canadian Coast
Guard -following vessel | dock
trials in the second weck of June
and sea trials at the end of June.
Delivery date for the Henry
Larsen, which was originally
scheduled for July 1987; has
twice been delayed by technical
problems: the vesscl’s shafting
system was damaged in late June

-1987 during pre-sea. trial tests; -

three’ months later, Versatile

discovered defects in the Henry:

* Larsen’s: four bower transform-

CFS. -

. The icebreaker has been tied to
a Versatile dock ever since.

Financial liability for! the new

3 transformers, which were sud-

“contracted , to Federal! Pioneer
Ltd. of Toronto by. (Canadian
‘General Electric Co. Lid., Alsop

said, ‘is stil a subject. of discus- |

a sion.”’ vo |

through marine

wt oy
terminals and :

. 93,661 by road.

‘Of the dangerous solids iden-:
fied, gasoline is one of the major

ones to come through the North”

_ Shore, along .with caustic soda,

"> ’couver > every:, eh and “ about |
* es 1§2, STAY: tonnes th

gh ‘West ‘an-'

public:
i the three“ transportation networks’.
“|'as’ well as: local’ response: capabi!

‘a’séries of ‘public meetings |
concerning - the. Vancouver * Area:
Transport «of Dangerous ° Good:

: Study, ‘initiated. in April 1987

hich is’one of- ‘the ‘chemicals used
the pulp and paper industry. - 7
Jorking. groups consisting of
industry, - labor, government’ and
representatives’. addressed

ties to possible emergencies!

“Sif we: will’ ‘accept - that danger- -
ous. goods “will: continue to.move”

through. the community, then we

-must look-at how. well prepared. we.

are for accidents,"” said Boydell.”
+ Although “there ; were. 65: Van-"

“couver area. incidents “compiled .

By TIMOTHY RENSHAW
. . News Reporter

Though the same AC-AC
diesel-electric drive system used
in the Larsen is proposed for the
$350- million Polar Class 8
icebreaker, Alsop took issue with
recent reports that the system is
unproven technology.

“Diesel electric is not: new,"
Alsop said,
successfully on a number... of |
Coast Guard vessels."’

He said. the AC-AC sysiem: is
new technology ‘but, again, not
unproven.

The system was installed by
Versatile in the Martha Black and,

“the George. Pearkes, two Type

1100 icebreakers delivered to the :

Coast Guard in 1986.

Both, he said, ‘*have been
operating successfully, with no
major probiems.”’

The AC-AC. system: was
chosen, he’ said, because it is-
more. efficient,, has’ lower

' operating and maintenance costs 2

‘ ‘Seff simalgaied full time as.

coordinator; of the -North’, Shore:

“it has been used |

BLAIR| GILHEN ... Henry”
‘ Lanea chief engineer.” :
over the Jongterm and ‘‘produces
the ‘kind of control icebreakers
needs?

Alsop. desedibed the Larsen's
technical complications as ‘bad
luck. You expect problems with
any new vessel,any advancement
in technology...and these (pro-
blems) happened i in sequence, not

"these proposa
" “Given® the’ ‘multipiicity.: of!

‘ Eenergency | Program, which’ calls - groups involved, :a ‘single authority’

‘upon, the” "resources of: all three

local municipalities. ea

SOA training: exercise involving’ aie
" simulated train derailment and hy- .

drochloric acid leak is planned for.

: September, Steacy said.

A final study report with: rec,
ommendations. will soon be sub-
, mitted to task force representatives -
of: Federal Transport Canada, the °
B.C. Ministry of Transportation.
and Highways, and the Greater
‘Vancouver Regional District
(GVRD).
' Boydell predicied little change
recommended for the rail industry.

- “There isn't room to put them -
anywhere else,”’ he said. ~

“SThe trucking industry. enjoys. a
greater deal of flexibility and could
see route changes to” take into’ ac-
| count; proximity of Aarge |

of people.

Better training in'the handling of
dangerous , goods,” particularly. of ©
the ‘smaller; independent truckers,
: would be ‘another ‘improvement _
that could be made. ”

Several of the: members of the:
; public expressed concern: at the.

over all dangerous goods transpo:
tation is not possible,"* he said.
But Boydell would like to see t

creation: of: a -group’'of bodies’

; (possibly through the GYVRD) | that

: he information. collected thr:

‘ould continue to share and update

‘the study.”

/**It would be an effective way of.
‘ cyaluating risks to the public

"Lifestyles. ar
Mailbox. tes

. ship,”’

, frustrating and difficult for far

ydell eiplained, /

simultaneously. If they had/hap-
pened at the same time the/delay
in - delivery would - have been
shorter."’

Meanwhile Coast fovara
members assigned to crew.on the
Henry Larsen patiently: await
clearance to sail the ship back to
its eventual home pori of Dart.
mouth, Nova Scotia.

Henry Larsen chief engineer
Blair Gilhen, 35, is jone of four
crew assigned to catalogue the
thousands of Henry Larsen spare
parts and plan ship maintenance
routines for the vessel prior to its
departure from’ North Van-
couver. f 1 /

“Sure we'd” Jike -to have the *
Gilhen said, “but this is
beyond anybody" $ control, ”

Gilhen, married and. with one-i.!
child, moved to Vancouver in
August 1985/with two other crew
members of the vessels S1--
member crew to oversee pre-sail-
ing details / |
‘He Works alternate months in’
Vancouver, and Dartmouth.

Though delays” in sailing the:
Henry. Larsen home have been...

t

lies of crew members stationed int:

Vancouver, Gilhen said sailing -|°
~ career ‘is disruptive to family’

life ae the best of time.’"

“andi environment, " Boy il sai :
Future trends in ‘the tanepo a:

tien of darigerous: goods are dif-  - :
ficult’ to predict. Boydell. noted |

that the major carriers usually plan:
no'further than ‘five’ years ‘ahead,
so they can ‘respond to: changes in...
demand for various products.
“But if a. gas: pipelin

gh - through to Vancouver Island,’ ‘that
willy ‘gmean significant’ “changes” to’

the volume of propane pefng moy- *.
od by: rail,’ Boydell said. a

' through: the study, .according .to ,
risk ‘management consultan' ‘Si
LaMorte, «none. of | ‘these
significant, _Many of. them
‘minor derailments occurring at
speeds i in the rail yard... « x

‘North Vancouver District Fire -

Chief Archie: Steacy’ served ; as

“chairman .of_ ‘the ‘Emergency. ton.

Response Working - Group.” The. .- Information ‘gathered | through
‘North: Shore is , well prepared for. the study, could be useful in the.
;accidents, | whe: told the News,’ with “decision-making, process involving

‘meeting over current proposals. yin-

_ volving dangerous groups,’ ‘such as: ;

“location” of a toxic waste dump,

‘possible’ marine’ transport. of, jet -- 7 A } :
* fuel from the U.S. to Canada:and-” |’. ae ay

a fuel facility proposed for North. Clessifieds . coadeebeceed
Vancouver, atthe foot of Pember-" : ;

.! property and the environment. .
aWest. Vancouver’ has a’ relatively
vsmall exposure ‘to. these goods,
’ swith 142, 694 tonnes going ‘through ..

7 Wednesday, c dy with
iw the morsing,! suany parieds
ja aftarnoen: Thursday,: elsudy
with showers. High both ’,

|, Mihat's. Going Gn..

gasoline) tonnes on: jits roads.
ms North Vancou r figures..more
h! "1 1045, 652. ton-
“by. rail 1 157, 889:

,