It would be gratifying to see sa国际传媒 Ferries鈥� new vessels built in British Columbia by a local company. But not at any price. When the ferry corporation put out feelers to see who was interested in building three new ferries, to cost between $200 million and $300 million, 20 shipyards responded. The only one from sa国际传媒 to respond was Seaspan, which owns Victoria Shipyards in Esquimalt, Vancouver Shipyards and Vancouver Drydock. Nine of the companies were asked to take part in a pre-qualification process, and the list was whittled down to five who will be allowed to bid on the contract.
The short list includes Seaspan. The others are from Germany, Turkey, Norway and Poland.
sa国际传媒 Ferries has been criticized for shortlisting only one Canadian company, and is under pressure to keep the project in the province. There are good reasons for that stance: the money stays at home and circulates in the local economy, jobs are created and sustained, and it would help strengthen sa国际传媒鈥檚 shipbuilding industry.
It would be an opportunity that would dovetail nicely with the sa国际传媒 Liberals鈥� job-creation plan, and it would suit New Democrat policies, but it would be a mistake to bring politics into the process. While sa国际传媒 Ferries should ensure roadblocks are not put in the way of a local bid, the process should be guided by sound business principles, not by political pressure, from whatever quarter it comes.
The issue is haunted by the ghost of ferries past, and that spectre, while not necessarily a shadow of things to come, should not be ignored.
In the late 1990s, the NDP government under Glen Clark decided to advance its economic goals by having three fast ferries built locally, using sa国际传媒 aluminum. It was a badly conceived project from start to finish, with delivery almost three years behind schedule and a budget that ballooned to more than twice the original estimates. And when the ships were done, they were plagued by problems to the point of uselessness. Built at a cost of more than $460 million, they were eventually auctioned off for $19 million.
The horror of the fast-ferries fiasco isn鈥檛 about building locally, it鈥檚 about what can happen when a political agenda displaces research, engineering, accountability and common sense.
Bidding is a competition, and it helps keep costs down. Putting geographical restrictions on the process would reduce the competitiveness and tend to drive prices up. In the bad old days, says sa国际传媒 Ferries, it had to pay a premium to local shipbuilders because a made-in-sa国际传媒 policy left the corporation with nowhere else to turn.
Awarding the contract to a local company would be a boost for sa国际传媒鈥檚 shipbuilding industry, but sa国际传媒 Ferries鈥� first responsibility is to its shareholders 鈥� all of the taxpayers of sa国际传媒 It has to get the best deal it can on behalf of those taxpayers and ferry passengers.
We would love to see the new ferries built in sa国际传媒 by sa国际传媒 talent. We believe the province鈥檚 shipbuilders are capable of the work required.
Winning the contract through a competitive bidding process would be the proof.
