Workers at the Halifax Shipyard gather for the announcement that Atlantic Towing Ltd. will build an offshore supply vessel. (CBC)

An Irving-owned company has been awarded a contract to build an offshore supply vessel at the Halifax Shipyard, promising work for more than 200 people at its peak.

Atlantic Towing Ltd. will build the supply ship for EnCana Corp.'s Deep Panuke project off Nova Scotia.

Jim Irving, president of J.D. Irving Ltd., delivered the news Thursday to hundreds of workers gathered in a shipbuilding shed.

"It's easy to get your head down these days, with all the bad news out there," Irving said. "Nothing is better than to have some good news, enthusiasm and positive thinking, and that separates the real winners from the rest of the pack."

Electrician Derek Tawse-Smith is finishing up work on a small cruise ship, the Pearl Mist.

"I was expecting to be laid off very soon," he said. "It's good news today knowing that there's gonna be more in the works here."

Irving said the project will generate $20 million in payroll and result in $14 million for about 50 companies supplying goods and services.

The vessel is expected to be completed by the fall of 2010, around the time Deep Panuke starts producing natural gas.