The Port Alberni Port Authority released their financials yesterday, which showed the effects of the loss of lumber shipments.
Western Forest Products last shipped lumber from the port in December of 2017, choosing instead to truck their lumber to Nanaimo and ship it out of Duke Point.
That caused a $700,000 drop in revenue for the Port, which was balanced by a similar drop in labour costs as they didn’t have to hire longshoremen to load the ships.
According to CEO Zoran Knezevic, the Port Alberni Port Authority is unique in Canada because it is not just a land-owner, but also the operator, running four marinas as well as their three shipping berths.
The 4 large sheds on the waterfront will soon be a hub of fish, oyster, and seaweed processing, as well as the bottling facility for Uchucklesaht’s award-winning Thunderbird Spirit Water.