Build / Support / Sustain

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Welcome to our second edition of On Watch in 2023! This time out we are returning to our Member Spotlights with a feature on Robert Allan Ltd’s naval architect, Andra Papuc. Robert Allan Ltd. has a thriving international business designing tugboats and other vessels for owners and operators around the globe. As you can see from our news section, their tugboats are being built by many yards, and they have mastered the design of tugs for specific uses while adapting the boats to meet the challenges of carbon footprint reduction.

It's a great pleasure for us to feature and connect members through our Spotlights. With over 80 members, our Association represents companies from across Canada, and an important role for us is to create connections and business opportunities within our sector. If you are not yet a member, but would like to be, we encourage you to join here! If you know of others who might benefit from membership, please share the link with them.

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Finally, if you would like to provide us with feedback and input into items you would like to see covered in this newsletter, or if you would like us to create a unique member spotlight of your company, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Colin Cooke

President and CEO

Photo of Andra Papuc Courtesy of Robert Allan Ltd

Robert Allan Ltd. is a privately-owned Canadian naval architecture and marine engineering firm based in Vancouver on the West Coast of Canada. The firm was founded by naval architect Robert Allan in 1928, who created some enduring vessel designs that are still in service today. His son Robert F. Allan eventually joined his practice, and a few decades later the current Robert (Rob) Allan joined.

The firm was sold to a group of employees in 2008, but the feeling of a family company remains today. As Andra Papuc, who works as Project Manager / Naval Architect and joined the ownership group in 2013, describes it, employees feel very cared for, and retention levels are very high. Many of the team have been there for 25 years, and indeed, one employee has been there for over 53 years! As a woman succeeding in a male-dominated field, Andra feels that she has always been supported in the company. Now a mentor for other women entering the field, Andra regularly gives presentations at her alma mater, the University of British Columbia, and she sees a bright future for women in ship design and construction at companies like Robert Allan Ltd.

The company designs commercial working vessels of all kinds; however, a key area of business is designing tugboats for the international market. A tugboat in the 24-45 metre length range can be designed quickly, within six months. Thus Robert Allan Ltd. has been able to amass significant experience with this type of vessel and has become an international industry leader in tugboat design. With orders of multiple vessels coming from shipyards and owners across the world, the company has been able to maintain steady operations and avoid the bust and boom cycles that are so challenging for many in the shipbuilding sector.

The quicker design and build cycles of tugboats is very satisfying for naval architects like Andra. She has been able to travel to see some of the designs in action. The company also invests in research and development in order to build upon the wealth of experience from the boats that have already been built and tested. What permeates the work at Robert Allan Ltd. is the constant desire to find out what makes a “good tugboat.” This includes adapting vessels to new challenges and opportunities such as reducing carbon footprints, using new fuels such as green methanol, and incorporating new methods of propulsion such as hybrid propulsion trains. Robert Allan Ltd. is also expanding into other types of categories such as designing offshore windfarm support vessels.

Working in a collaborative environment has been a rewarding experience for Andra, who first joined the company as a co-op student while she was studying naval architecture. 15 years later, the passion for the industry remains. “I didn’t just end up here, it was very purposeful that I started working at Robert Allan Ltd. I have been lucky to work with like-minded people and clients ever since.” And if designing vessels for a living hasn’t been enough for Andra, she is now herself a boat owner and spends many happy moments exploring the BC coast with her own sailboat. Being around boats at work and in her private life, and constantly being inspired to find out what makes a “good boat”, is definitely the way for this naval architect to thrive!

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