All aboard: Up close and personal with the Chevron barge in Vancouver (PHOTOS)

Sep 9 2022, 5:50 pm

If you grew up in Vancouver or have just spent some time in or around the Stanley Park Seawall, you’ve likely seen the Chevron barge floating off in the distance at Coal Harbour.

We recently got an up-close and personal look at the barge and its insides, as well as an exclusive tour with the man that has been keeping things safe for nearly three decades, Ron Graham.

Thankfully, we didn’t have to swim to the barge; a boat picked us up and ferried us there.

We had so many questions about the barge. Like, what function does it serve? How many people does it employ? Can we buy food? Do mermaids ever visit? Is it a secret landing spot for UFOs? What about Ogopogo?

We didn’t get the answers to all of these questions, but we did get the answers to most.

Disclaimer: mermaids do not visit the barge.

A brief history of the barge

vancouver chevron barge

Amir Ali/DailyHive

The barge has been in operation for decades. The Chevron company previously owned this Vancouver unicorn, but now the barge belongs to the Parkland Corporation. The original facility, Standard Oil of British Columbia Number Five (SOBC 5), was put in place back in 1959, but it got a bit of an upgrade 13 years ago in 2009 when it was replaced by what you see today. The current facility was custom-built in Alaska by Alaska Ship and Drydock.

SOBC was in service from 1959 to 2009, even though it only had a 30-year lifespan.

“When we decommissioned it, it was still in excellent condition,” Graham told us.

While the barge itself now stands alone in Vancouver’s Coal Habour as the only facility of its kind, the area was once thriving with other such facilities from other big oil and gas companies like Esso.

Amir Ali/DailyHive

It serves a few functions, including providing marine diesel and gasoline for ships in need, and the crew is also capable of offering oil changes.

We saw all sorts of gizmos, gadgets, and screens, which all serve essential safety functions aboard the barge.

This is how the barge gets its fuel. (Amir Ali/DailyHive)

While on board, we saw several boaters hop aboard while having their ships refuelled, and the customer service was just as top-notch as all the work that has gone into keeping the barge safe.

The Chevron barge stole the Olympic spotlight

chevron barge

Some American football on the Chevron barge. (Amir Ali/Daily Hive)

“So the idea was to have this facility commissioned and operational for the Olympics in 2010,” said Graham.

He added that the barge received much attention during that time, and interviews were conducted with media outlets worldwide. There was even an interview with NBC’s Brian Williams. They were astounded that this barge existed. In addition, the Olympic rings were parked on a barge very close by.

“So it drew a tremendous amount of interest.”

Speaking of the Olympic Games, the new barge has fully equipped living quarters, including a kitchen, a lounge with its TV and couch, a DVD player, and a bedroom. More on the bedroom later.

vancouver chevron barge

Amir Ali/Daily Hive

One fun memory Graham brought up is how the TV turned the living quarters into a bit of a destination for security patrolling the waters during hockey games.

Being located where it is, the barge gets a lot of eyes on it.

“That’s a responsibility we take very seriously.”

Greetings from the barge, Vancouver. (Amir Ali/Daily Hive)

Safety first, kids

Hey, it’s Ron! (Amir Ali/Daily Hive)

Graham has been overseeing things at the barge for the past 28 years and the barge itself has been incident free for over 10,000 consecutive days.

That’s an impressive record, one that Graham is exceptionally proud of.

Hey, it’s Ron again! (Amir Ali/DailyHive)

“We have always been, I believe, on the leading edge of bunkering procedures and transfers and all of the things that keep us safe,” he added.

“No spill, no injury.”

A primary reason for that is the number of safeguards on the barge. Even the safeguards have additional safeguards on top. There are all sorts of alarms and warnings to prevent a worst-case scenario like a spill from occurring. The barge even has its very own rainwater reclamation system, which wasn’t something required by regulations, just a Chevron standard.

chevron barge vancouver

The fire suppression system. (Amir Ali/Daily Hive)

Employees handled much of the day-to-day operation of the previous facility manually (SOBC 5). For example, the manual turning of valves is a lot of heavy labour. The new facility is state-of-the-art, with computers handling many menial tasks they once had to do by hand.

Speaking of employees, it takes about three crew members to keep things running day-to-day. Generally, one employee stays overnight manning the barge on their own; that’s where the previously mentioned bedroom comes into play.

We can’t forget about the snacks. The barge has its own Town Pantry on board, fully equipped with all the Cheese Pleesers you can handle.

chevron barge vancouver

Where’s the Fresca? (Amir Ali/Daily Hive)

chevron barge vancouver

Snacks! (Amir Ali/Daily Hive)

chevron barge vancouver

The barge is sweet tooth friendly (Amir Ali/Daily Hive)

While it may not seem like a state-of-the-art facility when seeing it from a distance on your stroll around the SeaWall, it very much is in every way.

As Graham explained, people worldwide who have visited the barge have marvelled at its existence.

The Chevron barge in Vancouver is an iconic landmark, and now when you walk by, you’ll know just a little bit more about this Coal Harbour treasure.

 

GET MORE URBANIZED NEWS
Want to stay in the loop with more Daily Hive content and News in your area? Check out all of our Newsletters here.
Buzz Connected Media Inc. #400 – 1008 Homer Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 2X1 [email protected] View Rules
Amir AliAmir Ali

+ Vancouverites
+ Transportation
+ History
+ Urbanized
+ Curated
ADVERTISEMENT