Activity at the Vancouver Shipyards in North Vancouver has been impacted by the Canadian Merchant Service Guild strike as an estimated 1,000 unionized trades refused to cross picket lines set up by striking tugboat captains last Friday. A Labour Relations Board decision issued Sept. 1 allowed striking tugboat workers from the marine division to set up picket lines preventing shipyard workers from reporting to work. The company plans to challenge the labour board ruling, as continuation of the work stoppage for any length of time, could spell further delays for the federal shipbuilding program at Seaspan, which has already been plagued with setbacks. At the end of June, Ottawa announced that the expected delivery date for both joint support ships has been pushed back by two years – the latest of several such timeline revisions. The first ship is now expected to be delivered in 2025, while the second ship won’t be finished until 2027.
