It was also the site of one of Australia's biggest shipyards during the 20th century.

"The Russians were working on it in their big Ukrainian shipyard, and now it's missing."

Four big shipyards nearby and others further afield provided a ready-made market for its paints.

Industrialization started at around 1870, with a paper mill and a somewhat bigger shipyard.

But now the future is uncertain for the last big shipyard in Quebec.

The big shipyards said that this was another reason the accord had to be defeated.

During the 1930s it was the world's biggest shipyard by launched gross tonnes.

It was also the site of one of Australia's biggest shipyards, operating between 1857 and 1991.

But the last big shipyard, once the city's largest employer, closed in 1996.