A Halifax-based industrial equipment company has been awarded a $ 6 million contract to modernize oil cleaning equipment.

GRIFFIN Engineered Systems will supply equipment to the Canadian Coast Guard.

“If you have an oil spill, now is not the time to start looking for equipment,” said Michael Hebb, vice president of company sales. “You want to make sure you have everything and that you know how to use it.”

The contract includes a new offshore oil skimmer to be delivered to Nova Scotia in 2023, according to a press release. Others will be delivered to British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The contract will also include a crane and specialized skimming equipment for use in an offshore environment.

Hebb said the skimmer and specialized equipment will be housed in a shipping container so they can be placed on different types of ships. It could be a Coast Guard vessel, but also an offshore supply vessel, for example.

Part of the pan-Canadian plan

The contract is part of Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan, worth $ 1.5 billion. Hebb said the upgrade in Nova Scotia is part of a nationwide modernization plan.

“They have been working over the past few years to improve all of their levels of environmental response equipment,” he said.

In a recent statement, Fisheries and Oceans Minister Joyce Murray said the goal of the federal plan is to provide Coast Guard members with the necessary equipment to respond to a marine pollution incident.

“Through these contracts, we are also contributing to economic growth and job creation in Nova Scotia and Quebec,” Murray said in the release.

Aside from a few more minor incidents, such as an oil spill in the Port of Halifax in 2018, Hebb said Nova Scotia has not really faced a large oil spill since the sinking of the SS Arrow in Chedabucto Bay in 1970.

Still, he said it’s imperative to be prepared.

“Be careful to be prepared”

Hebb said GRIFFIN is delighted to be working with the Canadian Coast Guard, but also to see the shipping industry grow on the east and west coasts.

“I think people are starting to understand how precious the ocean is to Canada and our economy,” Hebb said.

“To reap the benefits of the ocean, we also need to be prepared in case the worst happens and something goes wrong. It’s all the equipment everyone hopes they’ll never use, but it is careful to be prepared. “

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