By Riccardo Regosa, General Manager, Point Hope Maritime
The arrival of tugs to Point Hope Maritime always generates a stir of enthusiasm as they are fan-favourites for our residential neighbours at Dockside Green where there are more binoculars per capita than any other neighbourhood in the Capital Region.
This spring, we welcomed the SAAM VENTA to Point Hope Maritime (Point Hope). Prior to coming to Point Hope, I spent my early career working for DAMEN, one of the world’s largest and foremost builders of maritime vessels, including tugs. As I watched our dedicated and skilled docking crew bring this majestic tug into the shipyard, it was like seeing an old friend arrive. Fifteen years ago, on the other side of the world, I was involved in building this vessel at DAMEN Shipyard Galati, Romania. She was the sixth tug of a series of ten built in 2009, and she traveled in 2014 from Brazil to Vancouver to become part of the SAAM Towage fleet. Shortly after bidding farewell to the SAAM VENTA, we had the good fortune of taking care of the SAAM SABA, the seventh tug in the series. In both cases, when we completed our work in the yard and launched these vessels, I was struck by the fact that the tugs looked as good as they did when my DAMEN team delivered them new in 2009. Impressive and gratifying.
Tugs are the workhorses of the sea and when these impressive vessels are in our yard on blocks, the sheer power of their mass reflects the importance of their work. Every hour that these warriors are not in service has a fiscal impact to our clients, and we take this reality seriously in the delivery of our services. It is not uncommon for our docking crew to capitalize on a high tide at 0200 hours to accommodate a client, and then to return later the same day to prepare a cart for the next docking. This May, we will complete the fourth spurline expansion in the shipyard increasing our capacity by an additional 70 feet enabling us to drydock six vessels of which three vessels can be up to 200 feet. This investment further strengthens our commitment to minimize service disruption for our clients.
We’ve had the pleasure of receiving several tugs at the shipyard this spring, each one of them magnificent vessels, and many represent valued, long-term client relationships. Working on these gentle giants is a highlight for our team, who take pride in the quality and importance of their work. Each tug leaves our yard work-ready, strong with a renewed sheen; the safety and integrity of all operational systems reaffirmed. For our employees, their relationship to each vessel is personal. Their hardened hands, expertise and knowledge contribute to the success of our clients and help shape all the untold ocean adventure stories – the silent legacies of every vessel that graces our yard.
At Point Hope Maritime, we specialize in ship repair and maintenance, but at the beginning middle and end of each day, we are in the people business building and supporting industry relationships that are critically important to the North Pacific marine sector. Our clients and our employees are the foundations of our business, and we are grateful to both.
