A multibillion-dollar Vancouver-based construction, transportation and telecom industry company is wading deeper into marine transportation.
Representatives of the Ledcor Group of Companies were in North Vancouver on Wednesday to christen two new cargo barges and a $3.5 million, 1,200 horsepower tug boat as part of the company's plans to double the size of its marine cargo-hauling fleet by 2016.
The barges, each worth approximately $3 million, will be used primarily for shipping wood chips, aggregate and other bulk commodities to industries in the Lower Mainland and elsewhere along B.C.’s West Coast.
Paul McElligott, president of Ledcor’s resources and transportation division, said the barges could also be used for shipping cargo containers.
Barge transportation is one of a number of alternatives to moving containers via trucks on congested urban roads in Metro Vancouver.
The company said the 80-metre barges could also be used for shipping equipment and materials for construction of liquefied natural gas export terminals in B.C.
Photo: North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA Naomi Yamamoto christens Ledcor’s new 1,200 horsepower tug boat in a March 25 ceremony in North Vancouver | Ledcor Group of Companies
McElligott, a former CEO of TimberWest Forest Corp. and the BC Rail Group of Companies, said Ledcor’s marine division is still a relatively small contributor to the company’s bottom line.
“But we’re hoping over time to grow it into a $500 million division of Ledcor.”
He added that the marine division, launched in 2012, has another six barges under construction. Its current fleet is six tug boats and 15 barges.
Ledcor was founded in 1947. Its first project involved building the access road and well site for Imperial Oil’s Leduc, Alberta, oil discovery that kick-started oil and gas development in Canada.
The Ledcor Group is now a global operation with divisions ranging from telecommunications and forestry to transportation and construction.
The private company has annual revenue of more than $3 billion and approximately 8,000 employees, roughly 800 of which are employee shareholders.
