Dock future discussed

THE VANCOUVER Port Corp. (VPC) plans to meet
with officials of North Vancouver-based Versatile
Pacific Shipyards Inc. (VPS1) next week to discuss the
future of VPSI’s $60-million Panamax floating dry

dock.

In a restructured business
plan filed this week with the
B.C. Supreme Court, VPSI
asks the federal government to
allow it to sell the dry dock for
$14.8 million and use that
money to help pay off a debt
load estimated at nearly $20
million.

Failing that, Versatile wants
the federal government to cur-
chase the dry dock for $7.5
million. The provincial gov-
ernment has secured a $7.5-
million loan to VPSI against
the dry dock.

But officials from North
Vancouver-based Vancouver
Shipyards Co. Ltd. (VSY) and
the Marine Workers and
Boilermakers Industrial Union
(MWBIU) have said the dry
dock should remain in the Port
of Vancouver,

Versatile has said the
Panamax floating dry dock,
named for its ability to lift and
repair vessels that can pass
through the Panama Canal, is
“under utilized’* aid should be
sold.

Vancouver Port Corp.
spokesman Trace Acres said
Thursday that the dry dock is
vital to the grawth of the port.

“The port corporation will
be meeting with Versatile next
week. Anything, such as a

By Surj Rattan
News Reporter

floating dry dock capable of
handling Panamax ships is a
benefit to us to be able to
market the port world wide,”’
said Acres.

“We would not only like to
see a dry docking facility but
we would also like to see a
healthy ship-repair industry
here. We would like the dry
dock to remain as close as
possible.”’

Acres said
floating dry dock
36,000 metric tonnes.
can also dry dock any
Panamax-size vessel, which
Acres said can range up to
80,000 deadweight tonnes.

Deadweight tonnage is the
actual carrying capacity of a
vessel.

tf the dry dock feaves the
Vancouver port, the only other
shipyards in Burrard Inlet
capable of dry docking vessels
are Vancouver Shipyards and
Allied Shipbuilders, both
located in North Vancouver.

Allied has a dry docking ca-
pacity of about 3,C00 metric
tonnes; Vancouver Shipyard
can dry dock a vessel up to
1,200 tonnes.

the Panamax
can lift
But it

Union campaigned to save dock

From page 3

North Vancouver shipyard per-
manently. The announcement
follows disclosure that Versatile
has been granted court protection
under the Company Creditors Ar-
rangernent Act to allow it to
restructure its finances in an at-
tempt to stave off bankruptcy.

In a B.C. Supreme Court af-
fidavit, Peter Quinn rips into the
federal government for reneging
on an agreement to provide Ver-
satile with $22.5 million in finan-
cial assistance.

The entire workforce at Ver-
satile’s North Vancouver yard is
laid off.

*May: Shipyard unions campaign
to save Versatile’s $60-million
floating dry dock; Quinn denies
that the company plans to sell the
dock.

MP Chuck Cook says that Ver-
satile workers should accept that
the shipyard is ‘‘going down the
drain.”’

“Pve been telling those silly
buggers for years to get the hell
out of there and find a job,”’
Cook says of Versatile employees.

Agent says gov’t
From page 1

shortfall in corporate sporsorship
revenue, additional programming
costs and wet weather have
resulted in less revenue than orig-
inally anticipated.

Said McAllister, ‘*Within that
context we have a shortfall in rev-
enue. But it's within the $27-
million budget we put before the
government last September. So
there’s no wild spending — we're
exactly on target.

“There’s a request in to gov-
ernment to deal with this budget
reality. The only option is to cut
our programming to make up the
difference. To cancel now, artists
would have to be paid out —
there’s no saving to cancelling our
program,’” he added.

Meanwhile said B.C. Year of
Music Society (Music °91) director
and North Vancouver resident Leo
Aquino of the latest provincial
cash injection to Music ‘91, ‘*!
don’t know how it arrived but it

eJuly: Versatile files its restric-
tured business plan; the plan re-
quests federal government ap-
proval to sell the floating dry
dock for $14.8 million to an un-
named buyer or for the federal
government to buy the dock for
$7.5 million.

The federal government origi-
nally invested over $28 million in
the dock.

Versatile's plan would also close
its North Vancouver yard perma-
nently after some steel cutting
work is completed on the pro-
vince’s superferry contracts.

The company’s long list of
creditors has a month to look over
the Versatile business plan to
determine if it is acceptable.

At the same time Versatile
delivers its business plan that ef-
fectively removes all hope of the
West Coast’s largest shipyard be-
ing revitalized, the federal gov-
ernment approves a $263-million
bailout of Quebec’s MIL-Davie
shipyard.

Says Cook, ‘‘} can’t justify that
gift to Quebec. The workers here
are mad, damn mad.”’

being, evasive

did finally arrive thank
heaven.’’

Aquino said he and his fellow
directors are in place to ‘‘be the
eyes and ears of the public.”

But he said, ‘‘We do not neces-
sarily make the important policies.
At the very end of the line are
politicians. So it’s a very com-
plicated chain of command and
believe it or not there’s not very
much ! can tell you. I don’t think
you'll get even one board member
to divulge the things they even do
know because there is an indemni-
ty factor involved and it’s a little
bit unnerving. So technically
speaking we shouldn't be speaking
at all.’”

But said Cook, ‘‘At this point
we want answers from the gov-
ernment. The government has
been so evasive. We're still faxing
stuff to Rita. We want answers. |
think it's disgusting that a board
of directors in a free enterprise
system are afraid to say anything
about a government program.”

AGENDAS

North Vancouver City Council,
Monday, July 22) at 7:30 p.m.
(recessed from July 15): Zoning
amendment bylaw, 1702 Chester-
field Ave., Meola, Butler/Zoning
amendment bylaw, 444 Lonsdale
Ave., Strata Corp./Balcony
enclosure policy/Economic twinn-
ing proposat, NV District/!4th
Street civic centre corridor study/
Implementation of advisory com-
mission of disability issues/
Proposed parking lot, land west
of 2300-block Lonsdale/Disabled
parking enforcement/Youth initia-
tives committee proposal.

North Vancouver District Council,
Monday, July 22 at 7:30 p.m.:
Land lease bylaw, W.F. Daycare
Society Ltd./Building bylaw
amendment/Heritage designation
and land tease bylaw, 267 West
Queens Rd./Street naming, Emer-
son Way and Arena Road/District
OCP, 300-block Weilington
Dr./Notification of pesticide use
bylaw.

West Vancouver District Council,
Monday, July 22 at 7:45 p.m.:
Zoning amendment, 2232 Marine
Dr./Fire limit area bylaw.

i)
DEVELOPMENT
PERMITS

North Vancouver City: None.
North Vancouver District: Devel-
opment permit applications: Rec-
Centre Ron Andrews;
McNaughicn Business Park, West
14th. Rezoning of Canyon Heights
Pentecostal Church,

West Vancouver District: Tower
Hill subdivision, 2907 Rosebery
Ave./Development permit, 2232
Marine Dr.

a]
PUBLIC
HEARINGS

North Vancouver City: None.
North Vancouver District: None.
West Vancouver District: Zoning
amendment bylaw, portion of
1433 Bellevue Ave. and lane to

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Sunday, July 21, 1991 - North Shore News - 5

MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS

east, Calmar Housing Ltd.
Amendment zoning bylaw, 2478
and 2484 Haywood Ave., Parvan
Holdings/Amendment zoning
bylaw, 6217, 6221, 6223 Imperial
Ave., Diligenti and municipality.
Public meeting: Development
permit application: 2478 and 2484
Haywood Ave.

Agenda items are restricted by
space. For a complete listing of
West Vancouver agenda items,
call 922-1211 after hours for re-
corded information. Comprehen-
sive agendas for North Vancouver
City and District are posted at the
respective halls and are also avail-
able at the public libraries.

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