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BC Ferries is buying four massive ferries from a Chinese state-owned shipyard to run routes to and from Vancouver Island, saying that bidder was the clear choice despite China being locked in a trade war with Canada.

The publicly owned ferry operator announced this week that China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards had won the right to build these vessels and that no Canadian companies stepped up, mostly because they are too busy fulfilling federal military contracts.

BC Ferries – one of the largest and most complex ferry systems in the world – would not disclose the value of the shipbuilding contract, stating the need to protect its ability negotiate on future deals to build three more boats in the coming decade.

British Columbia’s Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth was disappointed the contract bypassed local shipyards, but acknowledged BC Ferries “made a business decision.”

Still, he called on BC Ferries to be transparent about the costs of the overhaul of its aging fleet, but noted he had no power to compel the company, since it was privatized 20 years ago. The company has one single voting share held by the B.C. Ferry Authority, which is owned by the province.

“At the end of the day, people will want to know how much you’re spending and that would be regardless of where they were built, whether they’re built here or whether they were built elsewhere,” Mr. Farnworth said in an interview Wednesday. “So I expect that will come up.”

An aging fleet, growing demand, spiralling costs: Rough seas for BC Ferries

When The Globe and Mail reported earlier this year on BC Ferries applying to its provincial regulator to approve its bid for five new vessels, officials confirmed those ships would total more than $1-billion. The regulator ultimately approved only four of the five ships being built and BC Ferries CEO Nicolas Jimenez said this week the new contract fits within its approved budget.

Mr. Jimenez also said the current bilateral tensions played no role in the shipbuilding decision, adding his primary focus was getting the province a good deal.

“Customers expect us to go source the best possible deal, the highest quality, a yard that provides safety, a yard that provides the highest in standards when it comes to oversight and labour, and to get the best cost,” he said at a news conference Tuesday.

“When it comes to things like trade policy, industrial policy, geopolitics, we would really defer that to the federal and provincial governments and expect them to manage and work those issues.”

BC Ferries has said its fleet is already running at capacity at peak travel times, and with population growth, the service is only going to get worse for users, including for commercial traffic that is integral to the province’s supply chains.

It said Weihai Shipyards has built vessels for Canada’s Marine Atlantic ferry company and other operators such as Corsica Linea and Brittany Ferries of France.

Mr. Jimenez added China’s tariffs don’t affect the import of these types of ships into Canada.

Bruce Williams, CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, said BC Ferries did its due diligence during its years-long procurement process.

BC Ferries pushes for swift approval of $1-billion shipbuilding contract amid tariff threats

Mr. Farnworth said he had no national security concerns with a state-owned Chinese shipyard constructing these vessels and noted Ottawa recently committed to high-level talks with China to thaw the trade dispute.

B.C.’s and Canada’s second largest international trading partners are both China, yet B.C. Premier David Eby’s recent 10-day trade mission included Japan, South Korea and Malaysia while excluding Asia’s biggest economy.

The Opposition B.C. Conservatives have called on Mr. Eby’s government to cancel the contract that was announced on Tuesday, while accusing him of abandoning Canadian workers.

When the request for proposals was issued last fall, B.C. shipbuilder Seaspan said in a statement that “Canadian shipyards and their supply chains cannot compete with low-wage countries that have lower employment standards, lower environmental standards and lower safety standards than Canada and B.C.”

Seaspan said in a statement Tuesday that it was currently building ships for the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard at its North Vancouver shipyard.

The B.C. Federation of Labour, which represents roughly half a million union members in the province, issued a strong rebuke of a contract it labelled a “colossal mistake.”

“According to media reports, BC Ferries defended itself by saying 60% of major ships in the world are built in China,” the organization posted on social media. “Wrong-headed decisions like this are the reason why.”

With a report from The Canadian Press