New Electric Tug – A Model of Recognition and Solidarity
Reconciliation begins when recognition of the past inspires meaningful action in the present.
ILWU Local 400 Union Executive – Ziggy Mangat, Treasurer, Jason Woods, President and Peter Lahay ITF Inspectorate Coordinator proudly stand in front of HaiSea Wamis.
In our case, it inspired historic action. A decade ago, when LNG was still a quiet rumour in Kitimat, ILWU Local 400 Marine Section recognized immediately that the project would include maritime jobs, and that any future tug work belonged, above all, to the First Nations seafarers there. We set about ensuring it went to them —and we did so with a sense of purpose, solidarity, and the belief that an injury to one is an injury to all
We began by acknowledging that First Nations peoples were the West Coast’s first seafarers. We secured a change to the section of our union constitution governing shipping rules. We travelled to Kitamaat Village to meet with the Haisla Nation to consult on next steps in the process of reconciliation. All of this work began before Seaspan launched its own work in the region — something all our members can forever be proud of.
Haisla First Nation members and ILWU Local 400 members Bradley Windsor, Christian Cross, Edmund Smith (Edmund is currently a trainee but has worked up north with Seaspan). Craig Windsor and Edward Ross (left to right). Photo credit – Craig Windsor.
Our union and the company initially began their work with the Haisla Nation on separate paths, but arrived independently and genuinely at the same conclusion. The result was a new company, HaiSea Marine, a joint venture majority owned by the Haisla Nation in partnership with Seaspan ULC. Our members will crew all its vessels.
After years of hard work by all parties, ILWU president Jason Woods and secretary-treasurer Ziggy Mangat were present last month as we finally welcomed the HaiSea Wamis to British Columbia. The vessel is the world’s first fully electric tug. It is named, appropriately, for Wamis, the first ancestor who sought sanctuary at Kitamaat.
We are enormously proud of the work this tug embodies. And we are firmly committed, among other actions, to continued reconciliation through faithful union representation of our new Haisla members.
HaiSea Wamis resting in the Vancouver harbour.
“We welcome the HaiSea Wamis to our shores, but more than that, we welcome this new beginning that the partnership of Seaspan, First Nations and our union allows us. We are proud seafarers, every one of us, proud of the work we do, the strength of our solidarity and the value of our contribution to our families, community and country,” Woods said.
ILWU 400 has also established scholarships to be awarded annually to First Nations mariners seeking to upgrade their marine certifications. The low-barrier scholarships are open to any First Nations persons in British Columbia.
– Peter Lahay
Local 400