Victoria Machinery Depot Ltd. was a historic metalworks andshipyard inVictoria, Canada.

From the late 1850s, with theFraser Canyon andCariboo Gold Rushes, British Columbia was dependent uponCalifornian supplies and ships. To prevent US domination of thecolony, GovernorJames Douglas enacted laws restricting US shipping. As a consequence, Joseph Spratt established theAlbion Iron Works on May 4, 1863.^[1]

Albion Iron Works went through several business changes and merged with Victoria Machinery Depot (VMD), assuming the latter's name in 1888.^[1] After a fire in 1908 destroyed the plant, the facility was rebuilt.^[5] The yard did essential war work in both world wars. Harold Husband purchased the company in 1947 for $185,000.^[2]

A 1954 fire caused $100,000 damage to the storage shed on Dallas road.^[5] Later, the yard built severalBC Ferries vessels.

During 1965–1967, it constructed theoil drilling platformSedco 135-F for exploration byShell Canada inHecate Strait.^[2] At the time,Sedco 135-F was the largestsemi-submersible platform in the world and was the first platform constructed in BC.^[6] Before submersion, theCA$10 million rig rose 50 metres (160 ft) above the waterline at the VMD docks. After the 1967 launch and three years of exploration off the British Columbia coast, it was towed to oilfields in New Zealand, the North Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.^[6][7]Sedco 135-F is often confused with the rig that suffered theblowout resulting in theIxtoc I oil spill. That was the originalSedco 135, the first of the series built atIngalls Shipbuilding in 1965.^[8]Sedco 135-F was one of the last seagoing vessels built by VMD.

The company turned to pressure vessels andsubmarines, but the firm closed permanently in 1994, joining the business contractions of that decade.^[2]

The yards were one of several contractors to theRoyal Canadian Navy for ship repair and maintenance.

The first shipyard was constructed on Bay Street between Pleasant Street and Turner Street. A second yard was built near what is now Ogden Point Terminal.^[9]

• Hull 6 SSMount Royal – 1902, built for theHudson's Bay Company.^[10]
• Hull 136Sedco 135-F – 1967, at 8,676gross register tonnage it was one of the largest vessels built by VMD.^[10]

• Hull 58HMCS Terra Nova (DDE 259) – 1959Restigouche-class destroyer^[10]
• Hull 87HMCS Saskatchewan (DDE 262) – 1959–1961Mackenzie-class destroyer moved toYarrows Shipyards for completion in September 1961.^[10]

• Hull 52 MVLloyd Jones – 1950, later known asVesuvius Queen.^[10] (see alsoSteamboats of Lake Okanagan)
• Hull 79MV Mill Bay – 1956 built for Coast Ferries Ltd., purchased byBC Ferries in 1969.^[10][11][12]
• Hull 85 MVSidney – 1960, laterQueen Of Sidney – 1963.^[10]
• Hull 94 MVCity of Victoria – 1962, laterQueen of Victoria 1963,Queen of Ocoa 2000,Aan 2005, scrapped 2006.^[10]
• Hull 99MVQueen of Saanich – 1963^[10]
• Hull 100MVQueen of Esquimalt – 1963^[10]
• Hull 104MV Queen of Nanaimo – 1964^[10]

• Hull 105MV Queen of New Westminster – 1964
• Hull 107 MVComox Queen – 1964 built for theMinistry of Transportation, laterTenaka.^[10]
• Hull 125MVQueen of Burnaby – 1965^[10]
• Hull 129MVPowell River Queen – 1965^[10]
• Hull 130MVMayne Queen – 1965^[10]
• Hull 131MVBowen Queen – 1965^[10]
• Hull 124MV Queen of Prince Rupert – 1966^[10]
• Hull 145 MVDoris Yorke – 1968, nowSeaspan Doris (a truck andrail ferry),^[13] was the last vessel constructed by VMD.^[10]
• SternwheelerInlander - 1910. She was the last sternwheeler serving the Skeena River. Scrapped in 1912 at Port Essington.^[14]

• Inlander - 1910. She was the last sternwheeler serving the Skeena River. Scrapped in 1912 at Port Essington.

• Hull 6 SS Mount Royal – 1902, built for the Hudson's Bay Company.

• List of oil spills
• Transocean – recent company that owns part of the remnants of the former South East Drilling Company (SEDCO)

• Marine engine manufacturers
• Shipbuilding companies of Canada
• Former defence companies of Canada
• History of Victoria, British Columbia
• Companies established in 1863
• Companies disestablished in 1994
• Engine manufacturers of Canada
• Companies based in Victoria, British Columbia
• Defunct manufacturing companies of Canada