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Denis Berube was excited to see an enormous new vessel arrive in Nanaimo’s harbour Thursday, and hoped it was a docking cruise ship.
4 years have handed for the reason that final cruise ship go to to Nanaimo’s specifically constructed terminal.
“That’s why we constructed this pier,” mentioned Berube, a Nanaimo resident.
“I assumed it was a cruise ship, you’re saying it’s a resort? Oh that’s one,” he mentioned.
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The MS Isabelle is pictured in Nanaimo on Feb. 8, 2024.
In response to the Nanaimo Port Authority, many calls have are available in asking concerning the towering MS Isabelle because it dropped anchor in a single day Wednesday.
“We have now been getting quite a lot of calls, sure,” mentioned Satinder Singh, harbourmaster and vice-president of operations for the Nanaimo Port Authority.
However the MS Isabelle is not any cruise ship. The vessel is definitely a floating resort constructed for a whole lot of development employees who will likely be tasked on a Squamish woodfibre LNG undertaking.
“It’s a 652 cabin luxurious flotel that has come to Nanaimo Port Authority earlier than it goes into operation,” mentioned Singh.
“It does appear like a cruise ship. It’s about the identical dimension because the cruise ships that we’re focusing on for our 2024, and 2025 and past seasons,” mentioned Andrea Thomas, head of cruise improvement for the Nanaimo Port Authority.
In response to Thomas, two cruise ships are booked to cease in Nanaimo in Might and August 2024, and two additional cruise ships are booked for 2025. However she says it has been sluggish going making an attempt to revive cruise curiosity to the small centre, since Nanaimo was simply beginning to construct a status, when the pandemic shut the trade down.
“The final time the port right here noticed cruise ships was 2019, so for the reason that pandemic, we’ve been slowly making an attempt to rebuild that,” mentioned Thomas.
It price $24 million to construct Nanaimo’s cruise ship terminal, so Berube is one among many in Nanaimo who’re wanting to see cruise tourism return.
“For our retailers right here it will be quite a lot of assist, that’s for positive,” he advised CHEK Information.
The Nanaimo Port Authority has set a objective of attracting 25 cruise ship visits to Nanaimo every year, however supplied no timeline on how lengthy that will take.
The MS Isabelle is anticipated to stay on Nanaimo’s waterfront till April, whereas making ready for its a whole lot of flotel company in Squamish.
SEE ALSO: ‘Floatel’ ship arrives in B.C. waters to house LNG construction workers in Squamish
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