Canada awards Marine Recycling Corp. contract to dismantle vessel

The Canadian government’s Public Services and Procurement agency has awarded a contract valued at C$5.7 million ($4.6 million) to Marine Recycling Corp. of Port Colborne, Ontario, to scrap and dispose of Royal Canadian Navy vessel the HMS Athabaskan, at its vessel dismantling facility in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

The contract includes towing the vessel to MRC’s facility in Sydney, demilitarizing the ship, remediation of the hazardous waste on the vessel and recycling any remaining materials.

The HMS Athabaskan was in operation in Canada for 44 years. The vessel is currently docked at the Canadian naval base in Halifax and is the last of the country’s Iroquois-class destroyers.

The dismantling is expected to be completed by July 2019. It reportedly will be the third former Navy ship that MRC has handled at its shipbreaking facility in Nova Scotia.

“Marine Recycling Corp. has an excellent well-earned reputation, providing retirement for ships [that] have served Canadians throughout the years,” says Canadian Member of Parliament Vance Badawey of Niagara Centre, Ontario. “The MRC team can take pride in being a positive influence through the continued support of community organizations in Port Colborne and across the Niagara region.”