Summary
Duke Point is a major ferry terminal owned and operated by BC Ferries that provides ferry service across the Strait of Georgia to Tsawwassen. The ferry terminal is located at Duke Point in Nanaimo and is the only major terminal in the BC Ferries system without a public transit connection.[2]
Duke Point | |
|---|---|
| Ferry terminal | |
 Aerial view of the Duke Point ferry terminal | |
| General information | |
| Location | 400 Duke Point Highway Nanaimo, British Columbia Canada |
| Coordinates | 49°09′43″N 123°53′39″W / 49.1620032°N 123.8941355°W |
| Owned by | BC Ferries |
| Operated by | BC Ferries |
| Line(s) | Route 30–Tsawwassen |
| Construction | |
| Parking |
|
| Accessible | Yes |
| Other information | |
| Station code | DUKE[1] |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Opened | 9 June 1997 |
| Passengers | |
| 2023 | 1 014 816[Note 1]  8.71% |
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 Premier Glen Clark and saw its first sailings the following day.[3] It has one berth, but was built to be easily expanded to have two additional berths in the future, as well as an additional 500 parking spaces, should demand require.[4]
In 2013, 42 percent of passengers travelling from Nanaimo to the mainland went through Duke Point.[5]
The ferry terminal marks the southern terminus of Highway 19, which connects the terminal to the Trans-Canada Highway 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.[3]
Incidents and accidents edit
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,[6][7] finally re-opening on May 1, 2012.
See also edit
Notes edit
- ^ Figures obtained for 2022 & 2023 from adding the passengers counted at Duke Point in each month of the calendar year.[1] The figures under "Total Prev Year" are not used because those denote fiscal years instead of calendar years. The total passenger count at Duke Point for 2022 is 933 539.
References edit
- ^ a b "Plans, Reports, Policies and Other Resources". Connecting the Coast. BC Ferries. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ^ "Nanaimo Regional Transit System map". Archived from the original on 2009-09-07. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
- ^ a b "Duke Point Terminal Now Open". Times Colonist. 7 December 2008 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Photobucket". June 1997.
- ^ Seyd, Jane (March 16, 2014). "West Vancouver merchants worried over future ferry plans". North Shore News. Glacier Media.
- ^ "All holiday sailings to proceed despite Duke Point closure" (Press release). Victoria: BC Ferries. December 21, 2011. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
- ^ "BC Ferries to operate mid island route via Departure Bay" (Press release). Victoria: BC Ferries. December 20, 2011. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
External links edit
- Seaspan Ferries