Dear Editor:
Re: 'Unsightly' Gantry Crane Disturbs Waterfront Vista, April 9. An open letter to Mort Goulding: Thank you for your letter dated April 4, regarding Seaspan's gantry crane, and your interest in Vancouver Shipyards' modernization project in North Vancouver.
With community roots tracing back to 1886, Seaspan is a long-serving and proud member of North Vancouver. Our core value of care for the communities we serve is at the heart of everything we do, and we have a passionate and proven track record of acting local and conducting meaningful, transparent, two-way dialogue with our neighbours.
Most recently, from March 3 to 14, we partnered with the North Vancouver School District to conduct an official crane naming contest, which called on more than 4400 students in grades 4-7 from 25 schools across North Vancouver to submit their proposed names. The response was overwhelming, with 228 original submissions.
The new crane is a really important piece of our Shipyard Modernization Project, a two-year $200-million project, which once complete, will provide stateof-the-art facilities, allowing Seaspan to efficiently deliver non-combat vessels for the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Coast Guard, and establish a world-class shipbuilding and ship repair centre of excellence on the West Coast. The construction of the crane not only marks a major milestone in the Government of Canada's National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy, but also for the North Vancouver community as a whole.
We also proudly believe it exemplifies Seaspan's unwavering commitment to its investment in people, processes and equipment.
Once our new facilities - including the crane - are complete, Seaspan will begin construction on the NSPS non-combat build package, work that will create 5,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs over the next 20 years, produce almost $500 million per year in gross domestic product for B.C.'s economy, and mean thousands of young people will get the opportunity for an exciting new career in shipbuilding.
As a North Shore resident, you may remember that as part of receiving the development permit from the District of North Vancouver, including the new crane, Seaspan conducted a formal public comment period which sought out feedback, questions and comments from the community, and included the hosting of a public information meeting. Port Metro Vancouver also participated in the public information meeting to gather feedback on inwater work and parking lot upgrades.
In addition, Seaspan conducted a variety of public consultation notification activities, including advertising in the North Shore News, door-knocking and hand-delivering public information meeting notices to surrounding residents, as well as ongoing communications with two community associations: the Norgate Community Association and Pemberton Heights Community Association.
Throughout the consultation period, we heard loud and clear that the local community - and its residents - were in support of our current and future plans, and clearly understood the community benefits that would result over time, over and above the economic spinoffs and job creation.
You may also be interested to know that Seaspan has been meeting on an annual basis over the past three years with both the City and District of North Vancouver, along with making presentations to the North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, to discuss and advance plans for Shipyard Modernization Project activities, which include the construction and assembly of the gantry crane.
We regret any concerns you may have around planning, permitting or zoning processes, and would recommend that you reach out directly to the District of North Vancouver (which has jurisdiction over Seaspan lands) or Port Metro Vancouver (which has jurisdiction over water lots and PMV-leased lands), for further details in this regard.
In the meantime, I encourage you to stay up to date on all Seaspan activities by clicking on our website at: seaspan.com.
Tony Matergio
Vice-president and general manager
Vancouver Shipyards
