N.S. Company Capitalizes on Offshore Markets

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/TOURISM-N.S. Company Capitalizes on Offshore

A Dartmouth company is taking advantage of the growing market for offshore oil and gas services. Secunda Marine Services is building two offshore supply vessels with provincial government support in the form of a loan guarantee.

Construction work on the vessels will be completed this summer. The vessels will be used for work in the Canadian offshore. The project will employ about 300 people during peak construction periods.

The province of Nova Scotia is providing Secunda with a loan guarantee of up to 87.5 per cent -- or up to $47 million -- on the $53 million-valued vessels for a period of five years. The project is a new initiative under the provincial Offshore Vessel Program, which was announced last fall.

"The province is helping to develop the infrastructure needed to support the offshore oil sector so that companies like ours can compete with larger international firms and put people to work here," said Fred Smithers, Secunda's president and chief executive officer. "There will be many opportunities in the offshore oil sector. This guarantee ensures that Secunda can take advantage of them."

The Offshore Vessel Program is an example of the province's commitment to ensure that local companies with the necessary expertise get in on the ground floor of growing offshore markets worldwide.

"The benefits to the taxpayer are solid," said Premier Russell MacLellan. "This project is generating hundreds of jobs that support families and pump dollars into the provincial economy."