Irving sells Shelburne Ship Repair to Mersey Seafoods

JD Irving Ltd. is out and Mersey Seafoods is the new owner at Shelburne Ship Repair in a deal that has something in it for both companies.

The sale was jointly announced Thursday. The sale price was not disclosed

Exiting Shelburne allows Irving to focus on fulfilling major Canadian government shipbuilding contracts at its Halifax Shipyard, including completing construction of Arctic and offshore patrol ships and starting on the big job: building navy warships.

"We have 450 people that we're looking to hire this year, so we're fully focused on ships for Canada," Irving spokesperson Mary Keith told CBC News.

Why deal works for Mersey

For Mersey, the acquisition continues a recent expansion run that includes taking ownership stakes in Fisherman's Market in Halifax and Scotia Harvest near Digby, N.S., and building two state-of-the-art processing plants.

"This makes perfect sense in our business," says Mersey Seafoods president Greg Simpson.

Mersey and Scotia Harvest operate a fleet of fishing vessels to harvest shrimp, scallop and groundfish in Atlantic Canada.

Shelburne Ship Repair is used by other large fishing companies, including the offshore scallop fleet and does a lot of repair work for the Canadian Coast Guard.

Simpson went to the yard Thursday. All 67 employees will be offered work by Mersey which assumes a UNIFOR collective agreement.

"We're very committed to the South Shore being headquartered in Liverpool, and ship repair is a very important part of the fabric of the South Shore, especially the town of Shelburne. We want to better support that," Simpson said on his way back from meeting with staff.

"It's business as usual. Nothing changes for them other than a different owner."

Irving exits after 24 years

The deal ends Irving's 24-year involvement in the yard. The coast guard vessel Kopit Hopson 1752 was moved out of Shelburne to Irving Shipbuilding's Woodside Industries site for final commissioning work.

Irving first leased the yard in 1998 and later bought it.

"We've had a very good relationship with the community of Shelburne and wonderful employees at Shelburne. They will be in very good hands with Mersey Seafoods as they continue to pursue commercial opportunities," Keith said.