Chaffmeister,
Something does not add up here...
"Of the seven Equinox Class ships, two will be owned by the Canadian Wheat Board, one by the Upper Lakes Group -- the parent company of the Port Weller dry docks -- and four by Algoma. When it's all done, the ships will represent an investment of around $500-million."
Last time I had a calculator out... that is $71M per ship.
AND the CWB says they get 2 ships for $65M?
What is the deal?
Further,
"The new ships are being built with room for emissions scrubbers and ballast tank cleaners, Wight said, so they can adapt to the new regulations when they come into effect."
So these ships DO NOT have the equipment to protect the environment installed?
Background:
Chinese-made ships are canal's future: Algoma boss
By GRANT LAFLECHE , STANDARD STAFF
Updated 19 days ago
Seven cargo vessels under construction in a Chinese shipyard represent the future of Niagara's shipping industry, says the head of Algoma Central Corp.
"These ships are being built to replace ships in our fleet that are very old," said Algoma CEO Greg Wight. "They aren't creating new jobs, but they are allowing us to maintain the workforce we have now."
The ships, which are expected to enter service on the seaway in 2013, are being built at the Nantong Mingde shipyard on the Yangtze delta in China.
Of the seven Equinox Class ships, two will be owned by the Canadian Wheat Board, one by the Upper Lakes Group -- the parent company of the Port Weller dry docks -- and four by Algoma. When it's all done, the ships will represent an investment of around $500-million.
Wight said all seven ships will be chartered to Seaway Marine Transport, the company that operates vessels for both Algoma and Upper Lakes.
They will eventually replace the aging fleet currently on the Great Lakes. Wight said ships in the fleet have crews of about 20 to 25 people, along with relief crews to handle vacations. Those sailors will transfer to the new vessels as they come into service.
The new ships are only the first of what will become the new fleet, Wight said.
"We have a large fleet and we expect to stay in the business for a long time to come," Wight said. "These ships will help us do that."
Wight said the ships are being built in China because it is not possible to build them at home. The Port Weller dry docks are a repair and refit facility and while shipyards on the east and west coasts do work for the Canadian Navy, they don't have berths large enough for the commercial vessels.
"We'd love to be able to build our ships here, but the cost is too great. Frankly, we'd never build a ship in Canada because of the cost," said Wight.
He said it is likely the ships would never have been built at all, putting the future of the fleet in jeopardy, had the federal government not eliminated a 25% tariff on imported ships.
St. Catharines MP Rick Dykstra said it took about four years to eliminate the tariff .
"It wasn't an easy decision. The question was, if we did that, would Canada's shipping industry make the investment (and build ships overseas)?" he said. "So I am very pleased to see they are."
He said the political decision was a "high stakes" game that would decide the future of shipping on the lakes.
"The older ships have to be replaced. They are not economically or technologically or environmentally efficient," he said.
These kinds of vessels had not been built in Canada in three decades, he said, so the government had to find a way to help the industry develop a solution.
Wight said the new ships will also help the industry cope with changing environmental regulations.
New York state, for example, wants to enforce stricter regulations when it comes to the fuel emissions of ships and the dumping of contents of ballast tanks that might contain invasive species that can harm the Great Lakes environment.
The new ships are being built with room for emissions scrubbers and ballast tank cleaners, Wight said, so they can adapt to the new regulations when they come into effect.
Algoma looked at 20 shipyards around the world before settling on the Yangtze docks. Wight said the facility employs about 10,000 people.
"This is large-scale work, complicated work on sophisticated designs," he said.
glafleche @ stcatharinesstandard.ca
Something does not add up here...
"Of the seven Equinox Class ships, two will be owned by the Canadian Wheat Board, one by the Upper Lakes Group -- the parent company of the Port Weller dry docks -- and four by Algoma. When it's all done, the ships will represent an investment of around $500-million."
Last time I had a calculator out... that is $71M per ship.
AND the CWB says they get 2 ships for $65M?
What is the deal?
Further,
"The new ships are being built with room for emissions scrubbers and ballast tank cleaners, Wight said, so they can adapt to the new regulations when they come into effect."
So these ships DO NOT have the equipment to protect the environment installed?
Background:
Chinese-made ships are canal's future: Algoma boss
By GRANT LAFLECHE , STANDARD STAFF
Updated 19 days ago
Seven cargo vessels under construction in a Chinese shipyard represent the future of Niagara's shipping industry, says the head of Algoma Central Corp.
"These ships are being built to replace ships in our fleet that are very old," said Algoma CEO Greg Wight. "They aren't creating new jobs, but they are allowing us to maintain the workforce we have now."
The ships, which are expected to enter service on the seaway in 2013, are being built at the Nantong Mingde shipyard on the Yangtze delta in China.
Of the seven Equinox Class ships, two will be owned by the Canadian Wheat Board, one by the Upper Lakes Group -- the parent company of the Port Weller dry docks -- and four by Algoma. When it's all done, the ships will represent an investment of around $500-million.
Wight said all seven ships will be chartered to Seaway Marine Transport, the company that operates vessels for both Algoma and Upper Lakes.
They will eventually replace the aging fleet currently on the Great Lakes. Wight said ships in the fleet have crews of about 20 to 25 people, along with relief crews to handle vacations. Those sailors will transfer to the new vessels as they come into service.
The new ships are only the first of what will become the new fleet, Wight said.
"We have a large fleet and we expect to stay in the business for a long time to come," Wight said. "These ships will help us do that."
Wight said the ships are being built in China because it is not possible to build them at home. The Port Weller dry docks are a repair and refit facility and while shipyards on the east and west coasts do work for the Canadian Navy, they don't have berths large enough for the commercial vessels.
"We'd love to be able to build our ships here, but the cost is too great. Frankly, we'd never build a ship in Canada because of the cost," said Wight.
He said it is likely the ships would never have been built at all, putting the future of the fleet in jeopardy, had the federal government not eliminated a 25% tariff on imported ships.
St. Catharines MP Rick Dykstra said it took about four years to eliminate the tariff .
"It wasn't an easy decision. The question was, if we did that, would Canada's shipping industry make the investment (and build ships overseas)?" he said. "So I am very pleased to see they are."
He said the political decision was a "high stakes" game that would decide the future of shipping on the lakes.
"The older ships have to be replaced. They are not economically or technologically or environmentally efficient," he said.
These kinds of vessels had not been built in Canada in three decades, he said, so the government had to find a way to help the industry develop a solution.
Wight said the new ships will also help the industry cope with changing environmental regulations.
New York state, for example, wants to enforce stricter regulations when it comes to the fuel emissions of ships and the dumping of contents of ballast tanks that might contain invasive species that can harm the Great Lakes environment.
The new ships are being built with room for emissions scrubbers and ballast tank cleaners, Wight said, so they can adapt to the new regulations when they come into effect.
Algoma looked at 20 shipyards around the world before settling on the Yangtze docks. Wight said the facility employs about 10,000 people.
"This is large-scale work, complicated work on sophisticated designs," he said.
glafleche @ stcatharinesstandard.ca
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