BC Ferries says there are five major components needed for the company to be able to build vessels in Canada.
The company’s president and CEO, Nicolas Jimenez, is presenting at the federal Made in Canada Ferries and Rail Summit in Ontario on Sept. 2, where he will outline what he believes needs to change to make domestic building feasible.
“This summit is an important opportunity to talk honestly about Canada’s shipbuilding realities. Let me be clear, our preference is always to build ferries here at home. For us to do that responsibly and serve our customers and communities fairly, Canadian shipbuilders need the capacity and ability to deliver affordable ships on guaranteed timelines,” reads a statement from Jimenez prior to the summit presentation. “We want Canadian bids to succeed but, without significant changes and broad supports, we believe they will continue to face challenges competing on projects of the size and delivery timelines of our new major vessels.”
He said no Canadian shipyards have bid to build BC Ferries vessels in more than a decade and if there are Canadian bids, it is important for the company to consider customers’ interests.
“Whether future ships are built in Canada or abroad, our responsibility is to deliver them on time, on budget, and at the quality our customers expect. Today, customers already fund about 75 per cent of our system costs. It would be unfair to shift the added cost of subsidizing industry gaps onto everyday ferry users,” Jimenez said. “We hope to build more new ships over the next decade, but that volume alone is nowhere near sufficient to sustain Canada’s shipbuilding or steel industries, nor is it fair to say that BC Ferries must carry that burden on our own.”
BC Ferries says the five elements that need to be a reality to be able to build in Canada are: local options that can deliver, fixed costs, guaranteed delivery dates, assured vessel and shipyard performance and quality and an open and competitive procurement process.
