Discover the rich history of Richmond's coastline at the Maritime Festival. Climb aboard the SS Master, North America's last working steam-powered tugboat.
“She looks pretty good for a 100-year-old boat,” Robert Allan, a naval architect who is a member of the S.S. Master Society, aid at Seaspan’s North Vancouver Shipyards in North Vancouver, where the tug is in dry dock for repairs and restoration. “But she needs some care and attention, for sure,” he said. Seaspan agreed to have 10 of its workers restore the 85-foot long tug that weighs 225 tons for no charge. The project will take two weeks and will complete about 20 per cent of the work that is needed, said Seaspan vice-president Paul Hebson. “Historically, tug boats have been so important to the development of British Columbia as a province,” he said. “Why wouldn’t we support something that’s 100 years old.”