DP World to operate Nanaimo

DP World Vancouver has signed a three-year agreement with the Nanaimo Port Authority to operate the Port of Nanaimo’s facilities, including the general cargo Duke Point facility and Assembly Wharf, said a press statement on Wednesday.

The two parties are looking at diversifying and pursuing commodities along with short-sea shipping of containers to and from Vancouver Island. The current commodities handled at the three-berth Port of Nanaimo facilities consist of traditional forest products along with salt and kaolin. The facility also handles cruise ship passengers at a newly-built berth opened for the cruise season 2011.

Today, Vancouver Island is one of the world’s highest population, non-road connected islands without any lo-lo (lift-on, lift-off) container terminal facilities, instead relying on inefficient ro-ro (roll on, roll off) services. The short sea shipping project will ensure greater connectivity for trade to and from Vancouver Island.

DP World currently operates more than 60 marine terminals around the world, including general cargo and container handling facilities, as well as cruise terminals.

Bernie Dumas, President, Nanaimo Port Authority said: “We are very pleased to be working with DP World over the coming years. The port wants to import and export a greater variety of commodities and our agreement with DP World with its extensive experience in both container and commodity handling allows us to explore new business opportunities and to reduce our reliance on a single market.”

Matthew Leech, Senior Vice-President and Managing Director, DP World, Americas, said: “At DP World we have extensive global experience and expertise that we will apply at the Port of Nanaimo to help customers  expand their businesses efficiently, contributing to the growth of the local economy in Vancouver and Canada as a whole.  We are excited to be given the opportunity to expand our capability in this growing and dynamic market and look forward to working in partnership with the Port of Nanaimo into the future.”

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