Vancouver, BC, Canada, May 9, 2024 –Today, Bridgemans Services Group (Bridgemans) officially unveiled MV Isabelle X, modern floatel that has been retrofitted to comfortably and sustainably house more than 600 workers involved in the construction of the Woodfibre LNG project.
Woodfibre LNG selected Vancouver-based Bridgemans to source and retrofit the innovative floatel to align with the Project’s Net Zero mandate and meet a variety of key requirements requested by nearby residents in the Sea-to-Sky corridor, including the need to minimize environmental and community impacts.
Today, while at anchor in Vancouver, BC, a first look was provided of the floatel’s premium living, dining, recreation, and gathering areas along with its key sustainability features. These advanced environmental systems include an ultraviolet water purification system, the ability to run onshore hydro power, industrial heat pumps capable of heating and cooling the vessel, and sewage treatment that includes ultrafiltration.
“Bridgemans is proud to share MV Isabelle X with our neighbors in the Lower Mainland and the beautiful Sea-to-Sky corridor,” said Brian Grange, President, Bridgemans. “Over the past decade, our B.C.-based team has sourced, refit, launched and operated floatels around the world, and we are inspired by the opportunity to now work closely with local partners such as Woodfibre LNG and the Squamish Nation to offer safe, secure and sustainable workforce accommodation so close to home. MV Isabelle X is an outstanding example of Canadian innovation at work and sets a new global standard for large project workforce accommodation on the water.”
In ongoing consultations since 2019, the community of Squamish made clear its desire that the project workforce not impact the local housing supply. This feedback was received and incorporated into an approach that also ensured a safe working environment for all workers, including Indigenous workers and women. Woodfibre LNG requested and received approval of an amendment to its Environmental Assessment Certificate that specifies a floatel as the housing approach for non-local workforce and provides a tangible solution to key areas of concern.
“From the start, it’s been a priority to make sure the construction of the Woodfibre LNG facility mitigates impacts on the community of Squamish, one of the most important being that the workforce does not deplete the limited housing supply in Squamish,” says Christine Kennedy, President of Woodfibre LNG. “We also heard clearly from the community as well as the Squamish First Nation regulators that safety and security is paramount. The work done by our Gender Safety Advisory Committee combined with Bridgemans global expertise in floating accommodation and international best practices ensures that will be possible.”
The floatel has been approved by the federal, provincial, and Squamish Nation governments and supported by a coalition of hereditary chiefs and the Gender Safety Advisory Committee which Woodfibre LNG established in early 2023. The Committee, the first of its kind, will also play an ongoing role throughout construction and in relation to the floatel to ensure that programming is fully implemented and that concerns from women, particularly Indigenous women, are heard and responded to immediately.
“The problems sometimes associated with workcamps demanded a thoughtful and detailed response and we have collectively established a new bar for natural resource projects,” said Deanna Lewis, who sits on the Gender Safety Advisory Committee. “This will help keep our community safe through development of a gender and culture safety plan, worker health and wellness training, and limited access to the community for non-local workers.”
MV Isabelle X is a modern, self-contained, 35,000-grosse-tonne vessel with state-of-the-art sewage, water and power services that meet or exceed Canadian and provincial regulations. The vessel has been designed with numerous innovative technologies including renewable onshore electrical power from BC Hydro and industrial electric heat pumps, a first on a vessel of this type. This means MV Isabelle X will not use diesel boilers and will have a low emissions profile.
MV Isabelle X will offer a water treatment system to provide drinking water to residents via dispenser into reusable water bottles and an onboard, state-of-the-art sewage treatment system with mechanical screening and ultrafiltration. Treated sewage will be barged to appropriate waste management facilities in B.C..
The floatel will offer a premium live-work environment with 652 guest rooms with each including adjoining bathroom facilities; catered dining and lunch areas; an outdoor and sports lounge; 8,000 square foot fitness facility; billiards and games room; and laundry services.
About Bridgemans
Vancouver-based Bridgemans Services Group is the world’s premier provider of floatel and related services to large resource and infrastructure projects through its three integrated divisions – Floatels, Marine Services, and Marine Construction. With a proven track record in Asia, North America, Africa, Europe, Australia and the Caribbean, Bridgemans draws from a wealth of global expertise to offer custom turnkey solutions – from project planning to completion – in core specialties such as sourcing, refitting, and operating floatels; personnel and cargo transfers; and design-build construction. All provided with safety and sustainability top-of-mind.
For more information, please contact:
Media: media@brgmans.com
Sales: sales@brgmans.com