Seaspan Ferries Opens New Duke Point Terminal

British Columbia-based Seaspan Ferries Corporation (SFC) officially opened its new Duke Point Terminal in Nanaimo on June 12.

The company said that the 18 acre, multi-berth facility, which took approximately 19 months to build, consolidates operations from the previous downtown-located operation and the old facility at Duke Point.

The terminal, capable of accommodating 360 trailers as well as an overflow lot, is expected to “improve flexibility and efficiency” between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.

“The opening of Seaspan Ferries’ new Duke Point Terminal marks the latest step in our bold and ambitious CAD 250 million commitment to re-construct our marine terminals and modernize the fleet of vessels that service them,” Steve Roth, President, Seaspan Ferries Corporation, said.

The completion of SFC’s CAD 44 million (USD 33.1 million) Duke Point Terminal comes on the heels of the commissioning and introduction of its two new LNG-fuelled vessels, the Seaspan Swift and Seaspan Reliant.

The 148.9-metre-long ferries, both now in service, “will reduce greenhouse gas emissions dramatically,” SFC said.

The company currently operates a fleet of seven ferries out of four terminals in British Columbia.