On Vancouver Island, cargo at the Port of Nanaimo is currently dominated by forest products and logs, which accounted for 3.8 million metric tons out of a total 2025 volume of 4.1 million tons. It is also a growing gateway for Canadian automobile imports. Much sought-after container throughput is relatively limited at under 15,000 TEUs.

But major change is in the works with the forthcoming launching of a shortsea operation by DP World of the Salish Sea Gateway. DP World is completing construction of a C$22 million facility in Vancouver that will connect in weekly calls a dedicated marine barge service with Fraser Surrey and Duke Point Terminal in Nanaimo.

The infrastructure project is designed to shift cargo from truck-and-ferry movements to a dedicated marine connection linking regional road and rail networks with global ocean carrier services. While reducing highway and ferry congestion, it will lower carbon dioxide emissions, and help to avoid seasonal bottlenecks across the Georgia Strait.

Perspectives from DP World’s Doug Smith

In a recent posting on Linkedin, Doug Smith, CEO of DP World Canada, offered these perspectives:

“For years, people have talked about shortsea shipping on Canada’s West Coast,” he began. “Now we are putting it into motion. The idea is simple: use the water better.

“The Salish Sea Gateway will create a dedicated barge connection between Vancouver-area container terminals and the Port of Nanaimo, helping move containers across the region without relying only on truck-and-ferry movements. That matters for customers.
“It gives importers and exporters another option. It connects Vancouver Island more directly into global trade. It supports smoother movement between port, road, rail and ocean carrier networks. And it helps build the kind of consistency supply chains need.”

In other media comments, Smith has also stressed that though the barge service will initially focus on containers, he sees west coast shortsea shipping in Canada expanding into bulk cargo in the longer term.