HaiSea unveils home base for ‘world’s greenest tugboat fleet’ to serve LNG Canada facility

HaiSea Marine, a joint venture majority owned by the Haisla Nation in partnership with Seaspan ULC, has welcomed its new floating operations facility, the home base for the “world’s greenest tugboat fleet” that will support LNG carriers calling at LNG Canada’s new export facility in Kitimat, British Columbia.

The new floating facility, named Zewén, was built by Pacific Marine Construction and is now ready to be transported up the Douglas Channel to Kitimat, where it will be based to support HaiSea’s operations.

Zewén is a floating operations and maintenance building that was purpose-built and designed to withstand the extreme tidal range in the Kitimat region. It features a large workshop, common areas, a gym, and will also accommodate up to eight shore-based personnel to use during working hours.

The facility will host HaiSea’s fleet of LNG-powered and fully electric tugs required for LNG Canada’s new export facility which will soon undergo commissioning operations.

To remind, under the $500 million contract, HaiSea Marine will provide harbor and escort tugboat services to LNG Canada with its fleet of battery-powered and low-emissions vessels.

Three battery-powered tugboats, HaiSea Wamis, HaiSea Wee’git, and HaiSea Brave, have already been delivered to HaiSea Marine as well as the first LNG-powered tugboat, Haisea Kermode.

Besides assisting LNG carriers calling at the export facility, the tugboats will also provide transportation of material and personnel, marine emergency response, firefighting, and oil pollution response.

Commenting on the delivery of the floating tugboat facility, Crystal Smith, Elected Chief Councillor, Haisla Nation, said: “When HaiSea was still in the idea and planning phase, we challenged Seaspan to create something different; an environmentally friendly tugboat fleet to ply our waters; job opportunities for Haisla Nation members and our local First Nations neighbours; and lastly, we wanted diversity and inclusion to be part of HaiSea’s culture. As we celebrate the naming of the Zewén facility, it is clear that our shared vision of diversity, inclusion, and environmental innovation is coming to fruition.”

Jason Klein, CEO of LNG Canada, added: “The Zewén is an impressive structure and is certainly fitting for an initiative as cutting-edge and dynamic as HaiSea Marine. In addition to serving as a warm and comfortable base for mariners, it will symbolize progress and opportunities for the Haisla Nation. As an organization that prioritizes the safety of its people, partners and neighbours, as well as protecting the marine environment, LNG Canada is grateful for the opportunity to work alongside the HaiSea joint venture.”

In addition to the home base for the tugboat fleet, the Shell-led LNG Canada project, also known as Canada’s first LNG export facility, will consist of a natural gas receiving and LNG production unit, a marine terminal with the capacity to accommodate two LNG carriers, and LNG loading lines. It will also include LNG processing units, storage tanks, a rail yard, a water treatment facility, and flare stacks.

Its production capacity is planned at 14 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) from the first two trains, with the potential to expand to four trains in the future.