Campbell River shipyard lands $74.7M RCMP contract, creating up to 30 new jobs

A Campbell River shipyard has secured a $74.7-million federal contract to design and build three next-generation patrol vessels for the RCMP, a project expected to create up to 30 new jobs and generate work for businesses across British Columbia’s marine sector.

Ocean Pacific Marine will build the aluminum vessels for the RCMP’s West Coast Marine Services, replacing the force’s aging coastal patrol fleet. The boats will support marine policing, emergency response, search-and-rescue operations and other law enforcement duties along B.C.’s coastline.

“This is a huge contract for our business,” Laura Kempling, Ocean Pacific Marine’s manager of HR and administration, told CTV News. “Ocean Pacific Marine has been operating in Campbell River for 41 years, and we’ve slowly, incrementally been increasing our experience and doing more work on government contracts for clients like the Coast Guard and the RCMP, the Pacific Pilotage Authority, the Canadian Navy. We’ve been working with the RCMP on the refits of their current fleet for many, many years, and we’re very honoured to be awarded this contract of the new build of their three new vessels for the West Coast.”

The project will begin with about six months of design work in partnership with Scottish naval architecture firm Camarc Design before construction starts in early 2027. The first vessel is expected to launch in 2028, with the remaining two following afterward.

Ocean Pacific Marine currently employs 63 people and expects to hire more as work ramps up. Kempling said the economic impact will extend beyond the company’s Campbell River shipyard.

“We’re anticipating up to 30 new hires just in our business itself in Campbell River,” she said.

“However, we also anticipate quite a lot of additional hiring happening in some of the supporting businesses that are helping us on this contract.”

She said Richmond-based Bracewell Marine Group will fabricate the hulls and deckhouses, while other subcontractors in Campbell River and elsewhere in B.C. will also be involved in the project.

Kempling says the contract comes at an important time for the community.

“Campbell River is seeing some challenges and downturns of other industries in recent years,” she said. “We’re very excited that the marine industry in Campbell River is growing, and we are becoming a hub in Campbell River for marine repair, refit and new build work.”

The project is part of the federal government’s National Shipbuilding Strategy, which is intended to strengthen Canada’s domestic shipbuilding industry by expanding work to smaller shipyards.

For Ocean Pacific Marine, Kempling says the award represents a milestone unlike any the company has seen before.

“This is the largest contract Ocean Pacific Marine has ever been awarded by quite a large margin,” she said.