A former cruise ship will house close to 600 workers at Woodfibre LNG. The MV Isabelle will have 652 renovated guest rooms and private ensuites, catered dining and lunch areas, an outdoor and sports lounge, meeting rooms and offices, a first aid clinic, a billiard and games room, laundry rooms and an 8,000-square-foot fitness facility.
The MV Isabelle is a 35,000-gross-tonne vessel. BC Ferries’s Spirit of British Columbia, is 18,747 gross tonnes. Bridgemans Services Group has been selected to provide on-site workforce accommodation for the workers beginning in the spring of 2024. As many as 32 buildings and structures are proposed at Woodfibre LNG.
“From the start, it’s been a priority to make sure the construction of the Woodfibre LNG facility has as little impact on Squamish as possible and Bridgeman’s expertise in floating accommodation helps make that possible,” said Christine Kennedy, president of Woodfibre LNG. “We look forward to working with Bridgemans to offer the non-local project workforce the most comfortable and sustainable option in workforce accommodation available today.”
Bridgemans will moor the MV Isabelle at the Woodfibre LNG project site so workers can easily move between the vessel and their workplace. The MV Isabelle underwent an extensive refit of its environmental systems and living, dining, recreation, and gathering areas in Europe and is in the final stages of preparation before being deployed to the site in spring 2024.
The floatel, WLNG said, will also offer a wide array of advanced environmental systems, including an ultraviolet water purification system, the ability to run on-shore hydropower, industrial-sized heat pumps, and sewage treatment that includes ultrafiltration, a low-intensity UV unit, and shipping to a waste management facility in BC. In addition, Bridgemans is designing the MV Isabelle to eliminate waste and recycle as much as possible.
“Bridgemans is honoured to work with Woodfibre LNG and provide its workforce with a premium live-work experience and dining, relaxation and recreation opportunities that are second to none on Canadian waters,” added Brian Grange, president of Bridgemans.
Floatels, WLNG said, alleviate the impact of workers on the Sea to Sky housing and rental markets, and floatels remove traffic and the threat of environmental issues related to standard work camps.
