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 Departure Bay.

Departure Bay
Ferry terminal
Aerial view of Departure Bay, ferry terminal to the right.
General information
Location	680 Trans-Canada Highway Nanaimo, British Columbia Canada
Coordinates	49.1921928°N 123.9560779°W / 49.1921928; -123.9560779
Owned by	BC Ferries
Operated by	BC Ferries
Line(s)	Route 2–Horseshoe Bay
Bus routes	4
Connections	Nanaimo Regional  20  Hammond Bay  25  Ferry Shuttle  50  Downtown/Woodgrove  91  Intercity
Construction
Parking	177 short-term spaces 349 long-term spaces
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	DEP[1]
Website	www.bcferries.com/travel-boarding/terminal-directions-parking-food/nanaimo-departure-bay/NAN
History
Opened	1951
Original company	Black Ball Line
Key dates
1961	Acquired by the Government of British Columbia
Passengers
2024	1 551 280[Note 1]  2.3%

Unlike Nanaimo's other major ferry terminal, Duke Point, Departure Bay has public transit connections.

History

Beginning in 1951, the Black Ball Line originally ran its ferry service from Departure Bay to Horseshoe Bay using the ferries Kahloke and Chinook. In November 1961, BC Ferries took over service by acquiring the Black Ball Line.^[2]

Prior to the opening of the Duke Point ferry terminal in 1997, Departure Bay had regular ferry service to Tsawwassen. This change occurred to alleviate traffic flow in Nanaimo.

Notes

1. Figures obtained for 2023 & 2024 from adding the passengers counted at Departure Bay 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 Departure Bay for 2023 was 1 587 734.