Rob Shaw: Local shipyards could have built some BC Ferries ships rather than China, says leaked report

Local shipyards could have built at least some of BC Ferries’ new ships right here at home, instead of in China — that’s the conclusion of a previously-unseen report, obtained by CHEK News, that was given to the provincial government two years ago.

The report, commissioned by North-Vancouver based shipyard Seaspan in 2023, outlines how thousands of jobs and billions in economic revenue were possible for the province under a plan to phase in construction of seven new C-class major vessels locally, in the process creating a homegrown maritime shipbuilding industry.

BC Ferries and the government would need to put Canadian targets on procurement, and give weight to factors like provincial economic development and job creation, or else local shipyards would have no ability to compete against