Controversial dry dock wrested from province's grasp headed back to New Brunswick

One of New Brunswick's most infamous pieces of marine infrastructure is on its way back to the province.

A floating dry dock built at taxpayer expense at a shipyard in Bas-Caraquet, and removed to Quebec last fall, is en route to Saint John, where it will be used in the modernization of the port's west-side facilities.

Last year, Premier Blaine Higgs called the removal of the provincially-owned dry dock from the New Brunswick Naval Centre "a disgrace" and asked the Federal Court of Canada to block it. 

But Groupe Océan eventually won the right to move the dry dock to its main location in Quebec City.

Now the dry dock is being tugged back to New Brunswick, where a contractor will use it to build and move massive concrete box-like caissons as part of the port's $205-million expansion.

Groupe Océan spokesperson Philippe Filion said the dry dock is versatile enough that it was a less expensive option for the general contractor.

"It's so well made, it can be used for more than just raising and lowering vessels," he said. "It's a piece of equipment that New Brunswickers can really be proud of." 

The dry dock's return journey to New Brunswick was first reported by Carole Brodeur, who works on a tugboat at the Port of Quebec. She posted photos of the dry dock to a Quebec City-based "shipspotting" Facebook group. 

Port modernization

Saint John Port Authority CEO Jim Quinn said eight huge concrete caissons, each the size of a six-storey building, will be built one at a time on the dry dock. The caissons will then be floated in the water, filled with rock and sunk to become part of a new wharf.

"It's kind of going to be interesting to watch," Quinn said. "People think concrete doesn't float, but it does."

Groupe Océan is also dredging as part of its work for general contractor Pomerleau.

The federal and provincial governments have each contributed $68 million to the port modernization.

Quinn wouldn't say what he made of the dry dock's role relative to its controversial history. "I have no comment on whatever happened a while back," he said with a chuckle.

Troubled past

New Brunswick taxpayers spent $10 million on the dry dock, which was built at the New Brunswick Naval Centre, a shipyard in the village of Bas-Caraquet.

The yard was initially owned by the village and the neighbouring town of Caraquet, but the previous Liberal government took it over in 2016 after it ran out of money. Groupe Océan was an anchor tenant at the shipyard and several other boat builders operate there.

Last summer, the Higgs government refused to help fund a slipway at the yard, infrastructure that the Quebec company said it needed to be able to bid for larger shipbuilding contracts in Bas-Caraquet.

In September Groupe Océan made plans to move the dry dock to its Quebec facilities. While the province owns the dock, the company has a 20-year lease to use it.

The premier called it "a disgrace" that New Brunswick taxpayers had subsidized a piece of infrastructure that would be used to compete with the Bas-Caraquet shipyard. 

Groupe Océan argued the plan all along was to build the dry dock in Bas-Caraquet, providing local workers with training and experience for future projects, then move it to Quebec.

The province tried to seize the dry dock through the Federal Court. But after granting an initial injunction, the court ruled that Groupe Océan could move it to Quebec. 

Groupe Océan called the province's legal action an attempt to blame the company for the problems at the shipyard. 

Fillion said last year the company might sue the province, but he said this week nothing has been filed. "We're still examining our options," he said.

The Higgs government had no comment on the dry dock being used in Saint John other than to acknowledge it. 

"The Regional Development Corporation was advised by Groupe Océan that the dry dock would be moved to Saint John for use during the Port of Saint John modernization project," said spokesperson Mary-Anne Hurley-Corbyn.