Allied Shipbuilders
Allied Shipbuilders is a Canadian shipbuilding, ship-repair, and marine-engineering company based in North Vancouver, British Columbia.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Allied Shipbuilders is a privately held Canadian shipbuilding and ship-repair company based at the mouth of the Seymour River in North Vancouver, British Columbia. Established in 1948 by marine engineer Arthur McLaren, the company developed from the Vancouver shipbuilding industry that expanded during the Second World War. It is one of the older continuously operating commercial shipyards on the Pacific Coast of North America. The company's immediate predecessor was West Coast Shipbuilders Ltd., founded in Vancouver in 1941 during a period of heavy wartime demand for cargo vessels. West Coast operated a four-berth yard in False Creek and launched 55 Fort and Park ships, Canadian-built cargo vessels broadly comparable in role to Liberty Ships. After the war, the yard constructed fuel barges for Northern Transportation Company service on the Mackenzie River and the Arctic, as well as the M.V. Anscomb ferry for Kootenay Lake. West Coast Shipbuilders closed in 1948, after which Arthur McLaren established Allied Builders Ltd. on part of the former site. Allied initially concentrated on small steel tugboats, an important specialization at a time when many regional tugs were still built of wood. In 1961, the business adopted the Allied Shipbuilders name and expanded into repair work through the acquisition of Burrard Shipyard & Marine Ways, a Coal Harbour ship-repair operation. In 1967, Allied moved from False Creek to a larger facility near the eastern approach to the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing. The former Coal Harbour operation was closed in 1979 as the waterfront was redeveloped for high-rise residential and commercial construction, with its activities consolidated on the North Shore of Vancouver Harbour. Allied's work has included new construction, conversion, refit, maintenance, and marine engineering for ferries, fishing vessels, tugboats, barges, offshore supply vessels, Arctic icebreakers, and harbour-patrol craft. The company's customers and users have included commercial operators, BC Ferries, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Vancouver Port Authority. The company has also constructed and operated floating dry docks, and shares its broader industrial site with marine-related businesses including Western Machine Works and Coast Engineering Works. Osborne Propellers is located on the site but is not owned by Allied. According to the supplied reference material, Allied had constructed 259 hulls over its history, with most of its more recent activity focused on ship repair rather than serial newbuild production. Notable later projects include the M.V. Skeena Queen, RCMP patrol vessel Inkster, Vancouver harbour-patrol vessel Takaya, tugboats, sections for BC Ferries' Spirit-class vessels, and the conversion and enlargement of the former Utah State Ferry M.V. John Atlantic Burr into the BC Ferries vessel M.V. Kuper. Ownership remained within the McLaren family from the company's creation until 2012. On February 1, 2012, majority ownership was acquired by Chuck Ko, who had joined Allied in 1980 as a design draftsman and later became technical manager and vice-president of operations. Ko subsequently became president. The transaction followed several years of succession planning involving the McLaren family and company management. Allied is therefore best understood as a long-running regional marine-industrial enterprise whose identity is tied to Pacific Coast ship construction, repair, engineering, and vessel conversion rather than to a mass-market consumer brand.
History
Allied Shipbuilders emerged from the wartime expansion of Vancouver's commercial shipbuilding industry. West Coast Shipbuilders Ltd. was established in 1941 by Vancouver businessmen on a former shipyard site in False Creek. W. D. McLaren became general manager, and his son Arthur McLaren joined the company after completing an engineering degree at the University of British Columbia. West Coast launched its first vessel, Fort Chilcotin, in March 1942. By the end of the Second World War, the yard had delivered 55 Fort and Park ships for wartime cargo service. Following the war, West Coast Shipbuilders built fuel barges for Northern Transportation Company operations on the Mackenzie River and in the Arctic. It also constructed M.V. Anscomb, a ferry for Kootenay Lake. The predecessor company closed in 1948, by which time Arthur McLaren had become shipyard manager. In November of that year, McLaren founded Allied Builders Ltd. on a small leased portion of the former yard. The new company initially specialized in small steel tugboats. This gave Allied a distinctive position in a regional market where wooden tug construction remained common. The business expanded in 1961, when it adopted the Allied Shipbuilders name and acquired Burrard Shipyard & Marine Ways in Coal Harbour, adding ship-repair capability to its new-construction work. In 1967, Allied moved from False Creek to a larger North Shore facility near the Second Narrows crossing. The Coal Harbour yard eventually closed in 1979 when the waterfront land was redeveloped, and its work was consolidated at the North Vancouver location. Over subsequent decades, Allied built a broad range of vessels and marine structures. Its documented output includes fishing boats, tugboats, log barges, ferries, offshore supply vessels, Arctic icebreakers, harbour-patrol vessels, and military mine-countermeasures vessels. The company also designed and built two floating dry docks and developed capabilities in refit, vessel conversion, repair, and marine engineering. The reference material records 252 vessel deliveries between 1949 and 1992, followed by seven later hulls numbered 253 through 259. Later projects demonstrate the diversity of Allied's work. Hull 253 was a 2,400-horsepower z-peller berthing tug designed by Robert Allan Ltd. for C. H. Cates & Sons. Hulls 254 and 255 comprised forward sections for BC Ferries' Spirit of British Columbia and Spirit of Vancouver Island. Hull 256 was Inkster, an aluminum catamaran patrol vessel for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Hull 257 was M.V. Skeena Queen, a 110-metre Century-class ferry designed in-house and capable of carrying 100 vehicles. Hull 258 was Takaya, a harbour-patrol vessel for the Vancouver Port Authority. Hull 259 involved the extensive conversion of a former Utah State Ferry into BC Ferries' M.V. Kuper, which was lengthened, widened, re-equipped, and relaunched in November 2006. The company remained fully owned by the McLaren family for its first 63 years. Arthur McLaren died in 1999, but the family's involvement continued through his successors, including brothers Malcolm, Jim, and Douglas McLaren. On February 1, 2012, Malcolm and Jim McLaren sold majority ownership to Chuck Ko, then the company's vice-president of operations. Ko had joined Allied in 1980 as a design draftsman and progressed through technical and operational roles. He became president after the transaction. The change was prepared over several years and was intended to support continuity in the company's management and operations. Allied's modern profile is primarily that of a regional repair yard, although it retains shipbuilding and conversion expertise. Its North Vancouver property also hosts related marine businesses, including Western Machine Works and Coast Engineering Works, while Osborne Propellers operates on the site independently. Allied's history reflects the changing structure of British Columbia's maritime economy: wartime cargo construction, postwar commercial vessels, specialized tug and ferry production, and an increasing emphasis on maintenance, repair, conversion, and engineering for vessels operating on the Pacific Coast.
- 2012
Majority ownership changes hands
[1]Chuck Ko acquires majority ownership after the McLaren family's long period of control and becomes president.
- 2006
M.V. Kuper is relaunched
[1]Allied completes a major conversion of the former Utah State Ferry M.V. John Atlantic Burr for BC Ferries.
- 1979
Coal Harbour yard closes
[1]The former Coal Harbour operation closes as the waterfront site is redeveloped, with activities consolidated on the North Shore.
- 1967
Allied moves to North Vancouver
[1]The company establishes the larger yard near the Second Narrows crossing where it continues to operate.
- 1961
The company becomes Allied Shipbuilders
[1]The business changes its name and expands into ship repair through the acquisition of Burrard Shipyard & Marine Ways.
- 1948
Allied Builders is founded
[1]Arthur McLaren establishes Allied Builders Ltd. after the closure of West Coast Shipbuilders.
- 1942
First West Coast Shipbuilders vessel launches
[1]Fort Chilcotin becomes the predecessor yard's first launched vessel.
- 1941
West Coast Shipbuilders is established
[1]The predecessor company begins operating a four-berth yard in Vancouver's False Creek during the wartime shipbuilding expansion.
Products and positioning
A long-established Pacific Coast commercial shipyard specializing in vessel construction, repair, conversion, and marine engineering.
New vessel construction · 1948
Commercial shipbuilding
Allied has constructed commercial vessels for Pacific Coast operators, including tugboats, ferries, fishing vessels, barges, offshore supply vessels, and other specialized craft. Its historical production also included Arctic icebreakers and harbour-patrol vessels. The yard's output reflects custom and project-based construction rather than high-volume standardized production.
Marine services · 1961
Ship repair and refit
Ship repair became a core part of Allied's business after the 1961 acquisition of Burrard Shipyard & Marine Ways. Services support ferries, fishing boats, tugs, barges, and other vessels operating on the Pacific Coast, with work encompassing maintenance, repair, refit, and associated engineering.
Ferry
M.V. Skeena Queen
Hull 257, M.V. Skeena Queen, is a 110-metre Century-class ferry designed in-house by Allied. The vessel was designed to carry up to 100 vehicles and became part of the BC Ferries fleet.
Ferry conversion · 2006
M.V. Kuper
Hull 259 was a former Utah State Ferry known as M.V. John Atlantic Burr. Allied lengthened and widened the vessel, installed a new midship section and superstructure, and replaced or upgraded machinery, piping, and equipment before relaunching it as M.V. Kuper for BC Ferries.
Patrol vessel
Inkster
Hull 256 is an aluminum catamaran patrol vessel built for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The vessel supports policing and community-service operations on British Columbia's North Coast.
Harbour-patrol vessel
Takaya
Hull 258 is a harbour-patrol vessel constructed for the Vancouver Port Authority. It belongs to a group of patrol craft associated with Allied's work for Pacific Coast port authorities.
Shipyard infrastructure
Floating dry docks
Allied operates two floating dry docks designed and constructed in its own yards. They support the company's repair, maintenance, and refit activities for vessels that cannot be serviced solely from a fixed berth.
Brand decisions
2012
Transfer majority ownership to Chuck KoM&ABackground
After 63 years of family ownership, the McLaren family prepared a succession transition involving long-serving company management.
Action taken
On February 1, 2012, Jim and Malcolm McLaren sold majority ownership to Chuck Ko, who had worked at Allied since 1980 and had most recently served as vice-president of operations.
Aftermath
Ko became president, while members of the McLaren family continued to have roles or interests in the business.
2006
Convert the former Utah State Ferry into M.V. KuperGeneration changeBackground
BC Ferries required a substantially modified ferry platform for its fleet.
Action taken
Allied lengthened and widened the vessel, added a central hull section and new superstructure, and installed new machinery, piping, and equipment.
Aftermath
The rebuilt vessel was renamed M.V. Kuper and relaunched on November 3, 2006, marking Allied's first launch since 1997.
1967
Relocate to a larger North Vancouver yardStrategyBackground
The False Creek site no longer provided the preferred scale for the company's expanding operations.
Action taken
Allied established a larger shipyard east of the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing.
Aftermath
The North Vancouver facility became the company's continuing base, while the Coal Harbour operation was later closed during waterfront redevelopment.
1961
Enter the ship-repair businessStrategyBackground
Allied had initially focused on constructing small steel tugboats, while the company also had access to the maritime infrastructure and expertise associated with Vancouver's established shipyards.
Action taken
The company acquired Burrard Shipyard & Marine Ways and changed its name from Allied Builders Ltd. to Allied Shipbuilders.
Aftermath
The acquisition broadened Allied from a new-construction business into a combined shipbuilding, repair, and marine-services company.
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