South Jetty Dock at Esquimalt Graving Dock

Vancouver Island’s Esquimalt Harbour, west of downtown Victoria, B.C., is home to Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt and the Esquimalt Graving Dock, the largest dry dock and ship repair facility on Canada’s West Coast. The facility’s massive jetties provide essential staging and berthing space, with much of the fitting-out, maintenance and repair work performed alongside them when vessels do not require dry-dock access. FRPD, in joint venture with SPAL General Constructors Corporation, was selected to reconstruct the South Jetty while this busy marine facility remained fully operational.

Problem

Originally built in 1927 on relatively short timber piles, the South Jetty had deteriorated significantly and was assessed as vulnerable to collapse in the event of a major earthquake. Replacing the aging structure required construction within an active harbour and ship repair facility, without disrupting operations or compromising environmental remediation completed during previous projects.

Solution

The FRPD–SPAL joint venture implemented a detailed construction and logistics plan that ensured safety, environmental protection and continuous access for tenants. Work was sequenced to minimize operational impacts, marine equipment moves were carefully coordinated with harbour authorities and strict environmental controls were maintained throughout. The project was successfully completed on schedule, providing a modernized dock and berthing structure that supports ongoing ship repair and maintenance activities at the facility. Read more about this project.