Duke Point is a major ferry terminal owned and operated by
BC Ferries
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry ...
that provides ferry service across the
Strait of Georgia
The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coast ...
to
Tsawwassen
Tsawwassen ( ) is a suburban, mostly residential community on a peninsula in the southwestern corner of the City of Delta in British Columbia, Canada. It provides the only road access to the American territory on the southern tip of the peninsul ...
. The ferry terminal is located at
Duke Point
Duke Point is a geographical location in the extreme southeastern part of the city of Nanaimo in British Columbia. It is located on a thin peninsula to the east of the Nanaimo River estuary, just across the Northumberland Channel from Gabriola ...
in
Nanaimo
Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...
and is the only major terminal in the BC Ferries system without a public transit connection.
The terminal was built in 1997 for $42 million (equivalent to $67.88 million in 2022) to divert commercial vehicle traffic away from BC Ferries'
other main Nanaimo terminal in the heart of the city, thus easing traffic jams through Nanaimo's city centre. It was officially opened on 9 June 1997 by then Premier
Glen Clark
Glen David Clark (born November 22, 1957) is a Canadian business executive and former politician who served as the 31st premier of British Columbia from 1996 to 1999.
Early life and education
Clark attended independent Roman Catholic schools, n ...
and saw its first sailings the following day.
In 2013, 42 percent of passengers travelling from Nanaimo to the mainland went through Duke Point.
The ferry terminal marks the southern terminus of
Highway 19, which connects the terminal to the
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...
just south of Nanaimo's city centre via the Duke Point Highway. The highway cost $50 million (equivalent to 80.81 million in 2022) to build.
[
]
Incidents and accidents
On December 20, 2011, MV Coastal Inspiration experienced a hard landing upon arrival at Duke Point terminal. The terminal berth sustained significant damage and the vessel's port side doors were also damaged. The terminal required extensive repairs, requiring a closure of over four months, with all service re-routed through Departure Bay
Departure Bay is a bay in central Nanaimo, British Columbia, on the east coast of Vancouver Island. The surrounding neighbourhood is also referred to as "Departure Bay" —once a settlement of its own, it was amalgamated into the City of Nan ...
,
See also
* Tsawwassen ferry terminal
Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, as part of the BC Ferries system and of Highway 17, is a major transportation facility in Delta, British Columbia, positioned less than from the 49th parallel along the Canada–United States border. It is located a ...
* Departure Bay ferry terminal
Departure Bay is a major ferry terminal in Nanaimo, British Columbia owned and operated by BC Ferries that provides ferry service across the Strait of Georgia to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver. The terminal is located at the southern end of ...
Notes
References
External links
Seaspan Ferries
BC Ferries
Transport in Nanaimo
Ferry terminals in British Columbia
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