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| The HMCS Gatineau made port at its final home on Thursday morning. The destroyer is slated for dismantling at the Aecon Fabco shipyard in Pictou. Ray Burns - The News |
PICTOU - It took nearly two full days under tow but the HMCS Gatineau made port in Pictou yesterday.
The Gatineau is one of two destroyers slated for dismantling at the shipyard here and arrived around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. It left Halifax Harbour at about 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday towed by the Atlantic Elm tug.
When it was announced that Aecon Fabco had won the tender to dismantle the former destroyers the Department of National Defence said the ships would be towed out of Halifax Harbour in December. Circumstances led Aecon Fabco to move that date up.
"The big push was to get this ship and the second ship through the Canso Canal. It's going to close early this year on Dec. 1," project manager Joe Struthers said outside the shipyard. "It (the closure) is earlier than normal. Our alternative is to go right around the tip of Cape Breton. It would cost a lot more. We have been entirely fortunate with the weather."
The first job on the Gatineau is to make it secure, said Struthers.
"We're putting a gangway on board and generally preparing to bring the second ship in and tie it alongside."
The second ship, the HMCS Terra Nova, could arrive on Sunday, depending on the tug boats' schedule. The Gatineau used the Atlantic Elm as a tow vessel and was assisted by a tug in each harbour. A tug from the Canso Canal was standing by in Pictou Harbour in case it was needed.
Struthers, who worked on the design and construction of the Canadian patrol frigates, said it was nice to see the ship alongside, although he'd rather be building them than taking them apart.
"It's a good opportunity. It gets us more into the shipbuilding and marine side of the business."
The first phase of the process involves remedial work onboard the ships while they're afloat and that should take a few months. The marine railway will then come into play.
"Round about March or April we'll be taking the ships out of the water to complete the dismantling process," he said. "There are very strict controls in place for it. The whole project should be finished by the end of September."
