“Seaspan Shipyards remains open,” says Amy MacLeod, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Seaspan.
She told DryDock: “As COVID-19 developments continue to unfold, our top priority is the health and well-being of all Seaspan employees, customers and community partners. We are closely following the guidance and direction of public health and government authorities and implementing recommended preventative measures to help protect our employees and help flatten the curve in the community.
We have taken significant steps to implement physical distancing and other COVID-19 precautions including: establishing close proximity PPE (personal protective equipment) and protocols; shift balancing; layout changes for lunch areas; opening gates versus using turnstiles at entry and exit; and additional cleaning throughout.
• In the yards, we are doing work we can do safely. If we are not able to work safely, we aren’t doing that work.
• The bulk of our office staff is now working remotely which further reduces the number of people in the yards overall.
• We are also beginning to turn our focus toward reintegrating our employees who are currently working from home, making sure we take a cautious and long-term approach to doing that.
• In an effort to be as open, transparent and accessible as we possibly can, we are posting all COVID-19 external statements as well as CEO employee updates on our website”: Seaspan Shipyards
Work progressing
“Work continues to progress across all Seaspan Shipyards,” says MacLeod. “That said, we are managing on a day-to-day basis in what is obviously not a business as usual environment. We are monitoring and responding to real-time developments, new information and new directives daily, and will adjust and if needed escalate our actions as circumstances change.
“We are seeing ships rescheduled versus cancellations,” she told DryDock. “Most of our work is long-lead scheduling. We are seeing some evidence that some work, while not cancelled, may shift over time.
“While we have had to make schedule adjustments, we have not lost or turned away any business. We continue to pursue new business opportunities to bring more and future work to our shipyards.”
When asked whether they had seen any owners looking to take advantage of any available slots due to cancellations, she replied; “Our shipyards remain busy, but we are always happy to talk to customers about what they need us to do. While we have had to make schedule adjustments, we have not lost or turned away any business. We continue to pursue new business opportunities to bring more and future work to our shipyards.”
Maintaining supplies
Seaspan has been able to maintain supplies. “We have an incredible supply chain, who continue to work with us in this climate to provide the supplies we need,” she explains. “In addition, because we are open we are also able to support local businesses in the community, such as supporting the local restaurants that provide lunches to our employees.”
The yard is not currently offering any incentives to stimulate business. “We are not in a position where we need to provide incentives to do business,” states MacLeod.