THUNDER BAY -- The new owners of the idled Thunder Bay shipyard—which operated for decades as the Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company—say they will be up and running soon with 25 full-time employees, and up to 80 workers during peak periods.
Hamilton-based Heddle Marine is a ship repair and service business offering a wide range of services including dry docking, fabrication, mechanical, machining, electrical and hydraulic work to a diverse range of clients including maritime vessel operators, offshore/onshore oil and gas operators, the military and the Coast Guard.
Besides Thunder Bay and Hamilton, it has facilities in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. An agreement to acquire the Thunder Bay site was finalized last June, but not made public until last September.
Now, Heddle Marine has announced that it will operate in the city as a start-up company known as Current River Holdings Inc., in collaboration with local partner Fabmar Metals Inc. The shipyard is expected to become operational sometime this spring.
In a news release, spokesperson Shaun Padulo says the venture has received support from the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission as well as the Thunder Bay Port Authority.
Padulo said Fabmar "will form the cornerstone of Heddle's operations at the Thunder Bay Shipyard."
He added that although it plans to begin with 25 workers, the company hopes to increase the full-time staff by diversifying its product offerings to areas such as fabrication work for infrastructure projects in northwestern Ontario.
