Kingston’s Metalcraft Marine wins contract to supply barges to Canadian Coast Guard

Kingston’s Metalcraft Marine has just landed another hefty contract.

The boat builder has won a $7.2-million bid from the federal government to supply the Canadian Coast Guard.

Metalcraft builds high-speed fire, patrol and work boats. Contracts manager Bob Clark says the deal with the feds is for 24 barges to respond to marine pollution incidents, including oil recovery.

“You have an oil spill, you pick up the oil from the water with the oil skimmer and then the oil skimmer pumps it into the recovery barge and then the recovery barge is towed to shore and it’s pumped out,” Clark explained.

2:12 Unexpected visitor from the States docked in Kingston

Clark says a truck would then take the hazardous waste oil, filter it, clean it, separate the good oil and dispose of the rest.

In a media release, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Bernadette Jordan discussed the impending deal.

“Our government is providing the Canadian Coast Guard with the equipment it needs to ensure Canada continues to be a world leader in marine environmental response,” Jordan said.

“These new barges will play an important part in helping us best respond to marine pollution incidents.”

Clark says they’re just finalizing the design for the barges before they start cutting metal at the company’s Alcan fabrication shop.

“I think the key in a contract like is that your fabrication costs are low,” Clark said, “because it’s all about fabricating metal and so our costs are low through efficiencies and that’s what helped us win the contract.”

Clark says the plan is for all barges to be delivered before March 31, 2022.

1:17 Different factors to consider in oil spill clean up: U of S professor