Cruise-style ships haven’t visited Nanaimo Harbour much of late, but one can be seen anchored off Protection Island for the coming weeks.
According to Capt. Satinder Singh, Port of Nanaimo vice-president of operations and harbour master, Nanaimo Port Authority is supporting the MV Isabelle, a 652-cabin luxury floatel that underwent a refit in Europe in 2023 and will have its refit work finished at Seaspan’s North Vancouver shipyard before it takes on its new purpose as workforce housing.
“Woodfibre LNG has selected MV Isabelle to house its project construction workforce in Howe Sound, beginning spring 2024,” Singh said in an e-mail. “The vessel will offers the latest in safe, secure and sustainable workforce accommodation.”
The ship, described as a roll-on, roll-off passenger vessel that can accommodate vehicles, is owned by Bridgemans, which specializes in floatels and provides floating worker accommodations for industry projects such as wind farms, the film industry, mining and LNG construction projects.
“Woodfibre LNG will be the world’s first net zero LNG export facility, they chose Bridgemans for its commitment to sustainability and ability to deliver turn-key, safe and secure live-work offshore accommodation for more than 600 workers at [the] site,” Singh said.
Nanaimo Port Authority’s NA2 anchorage, where the ship is located in the harbour, was chosen as the ideal location to anchor the craft till April.
“The port is a full-service port with state-of-the-art [maritime domain awareness] system in place to maintain utmost safety, security, and environmental protection, Singh said.
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Use old cruise ship as housing