Concrete solutions

The biggest concrete feed barge built for MHC was recently completed in Campbell River, by Pacific Marine Construction.

The $2 million float house will provide accommodation for employees and storage for fish feed, including state-of-the-art technology used for raising BC salmon and improved safety measures for employees.

The company will be moving the new barge to a salmon farm site in the Port Hardy area.

MHC Marine Projects Manager Dave Pedersen said the work of local contractors had been exceptional. “It is on time and budget, despite being the biggest concrete barge we’ve ever built and having a new design with a walk-around apron to improve safety.”

Dave explained that the large size – it has eight bedrooms – will ensure comfortable accommodation for operations personnel and contractors. Farm employees have separate rooms, desalinated and hot water on demand, improved anchoring, and a safer design for feed storage.

Pacific Marine Construction owner Cory Handyside said it took four and a half months to build at his shipyard at Discovery Harbour. “It was a very rewarding project to work on. We had a crew of ten people on it full time to build such a big float house, battling weather and tight timelines. It took excellent teamwork,” Cory said.

Another Campbell River business benefitting from the build is Powerserve Energy, which installed the electrical and communications hardware, including the Steinsvik feed delivery and monitoring system.

The owner of Powerserve Energy, Stefan Schedler, said his firm’s experience in providing power generation and electrical support for the aquaculture industry continues to grow.

“This is a challenging and highly specialized field, we’re very grateful for the industry as well as our dedicated and skilled team of technicians here in Campbell River who can successfully execute this often difficult type of work.”