WCMRC is moving forward with our new on-water oil spill response base in Nanaimo. WCMRC and the Port of Nanaimo (PON) signed a 25-year lease agreement this week for nearly 130,000 square feet of land and waterlot areas all fronting Nanaimo Harbour.
The Nanaimo response base will function as the hub for all of WCMRC’s bases on Vancouver Island. It will house an Incident Command Post and will serve as the primary training facility. Construction of the base is expected to cost $10 million. When construction is complete it will be home to 35 full-time response personnel and 15 response vessels.
“We are building an entirely new marine response infrastructure on Vancouver Island and the Nanaimo response base is the heart of it all. We have a great relationship with the port and look forward to building strong relationships with the community,” says Kevin Gardner, WCMRC’s President.
Ewan Moir, President and CEO – Port of Nanaimo comments: “We are very excited about the WCMRC response facility and the substantial benefits for Nanaimo and Central Vancouver Island. Not only do we acquire a highly-skilled team and specialized equipment for environmental responses, locally we also achieve long-term economic benefits from an established and professional organization.”
The base is part of a larger expansion plan that commits approximately $150 million in enhancements to WCMRC. The enhancements will double capacity and cut mandated response times in half in south coast waters. The enhancements include five new response bases, 120 new employees and 40 new vessels at strategic locations along B.C.’s southern shipping lanes.