A $12.8-million project to increase mooring space in the CFB Esquimalt Harbour is showcasing DCC’s expertise and collaborative approach.
Peter Stecyk, Coordinator, Construction Services, brings 35 years’ experience to the job of ensuring the quality of 14 small-boat floats (most of which are 30-m long and 7-m wide). The floats will form three finger-shaped berths for Orca-class operational vessels.
Each float has 25-cm-thick concrete walls and a concrete deck supported by blocks of high-density, high-strength Styrofoam. “The foam has to be strong to provide the 50-year lifecycle we need,” Stecyk explains.
Stecyk and DCC colleague Brian Simpson are working with the contractor building the floats in Delta, B.C. to confirm they meet DND requirements. Further collaboration will be required when the finished floats arrive in Esquimalt.
Two tugs will move the floats into a temporary location. DND diving teams will be on standby to inspect them for security purposes, while a specialist will check for any damage resulting from the 16–20-hour ocean journey.
“Through all of this process, there has to be continual communications with the Queen’s Harbour Master,” Stecyk says, “because the Navy's vessels will not be the only ones coming and going in the busy harbour.”
Fabrication of the floats, which began in August 2017, is expected to be complete by the end of March 2018. Installation of the pilings to which the floats will be attached will follow, with DCC’s environmental experts joining the collaborative team to monitor water quality and prevent harm to marine life.