Ogden Point is a deep water port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

 facility located in the southwestern corner of the city of Victoria

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Its location in the historic and beautiful city on the southern tip of Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...

, by the Strait of Juan de Fuca

Strait of Juan de Fuca

The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about long that is the Salish Sea outlet to the Pacific Ocean...

 not far from Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

 and Seattle, USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, has made it an attractive cruise ship

Cruise ship

A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...

 destination. It also serves as a ship repair and supply facility for cruise ships and other vessels such as deep sea cable laying ships

Cable layer

A cable layer or cable ship is a deep-sea vessel designed and used to lay underwater cables for telecommunications, electricity, and such. Cable ships are distinguished by large cable sheaveshttp://atlantic-cable.com/Cableships/Monarch%284%29/ | History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea...

. Ogden Point also has a heliport

Heliport

A heliport is a small airport suitable only for use by helicopters. Heliports typically contain one or more helipads and may have limited facilities such as fuel, lighting, a windsock, or even hangars...

 with frequent service to Vancouver Harbour

Burrard Inlet

Burrard Inlet is a relatively shallow-sided coastal fjord in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the low-lying Burrard Peninsula from the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, home to the communities of West...

, Vancouver International Airport

Vancouver International Airport

Vancouver International Airport is located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, about from Downtown Vancouver. In 2010 it was the second busiest airport in Canada by aircraft movements and passengers , behind Toronto Pearson International Airport, with non-stop flights daily to...

, and Seattle. The port lies at the western entrance of Victoria Harbour

Victoria Harbour (British Columbia)

Victoria Harbour is a harbour, seaport, and seaplane airport located in the Canadian city of Victoria, British Columbia. It serves as a cruise ship and ferry destination for tourists and visitors to the city and Vancouver Island. It is both a port of entry and an airport of entry for general...

.

The cruise ship facility is scheduled to handle 226 ship visits in 2010, with 23 ships carrying up to 3,000 passengers each from ten cruise lines expected to call between late April and early October. Most visits are single day or evening visits from liners cruising to Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

 from Seattle, Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, or San Francisco, but there are also cruises of the Pacific Northwest

Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...

, often including Vancouver and/or Seattle, along with cruises to Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 and around the world.

History

Ogden Point was named after Peter Skene Ogden

Peter Skene Ogden

Peter Skene Ogden , was a fur trader and a Canadian explorer of what is now British Columbia and the American West...

 (1790–1854), who was a prominent trader and explorer for the Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...

. The pier

Pier

A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...

s at Ogden Point were built in the early 20th century by the city of Victoria in anticipation of a growth in shipping due the opening of the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

. In 1916 the US Hydrographic Office

Naval Oceanographic Office

The Naval Oceanographic Office , located at John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi, comprises approximately 1,000 civilian, military and contract personnel responsible for providing oceanographic products and services to all elements within the Department of Defense.Valued by maritime...

 published a Coast Pilots

Coast Pilots

United States Coast Pilots is a nine-volume American navigation publication distributed yearly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Coast Survey. The purpose of the publication is to supplement nautical charts of United States of America waters. Information comes...

 guide that referred to the piers as the "Ocean Docks". That edition of Coast Pilots also mentioned that the breakwater

Breakwater (structure)

Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...

 south of Pier A was under construction in 1915. The breakwater was completed in 1916 and the piers were completed in 1918. Later in the century Victoria Machinery Depot

Victoria Machinery Depot

Victoria Machinery Depot Ltd. was a ship builder located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.This was a historic metalworks and shipyard in Victoria, Canada. From the late 1850s on, with the Fraser Canyon and Cariboo Gold Rushes British Columbia was dependent upon Californian supplies and ships...

 built some of the first vessels for BC Ferries

BC Ferries

British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. or BC Ferries is a de facto Crown Corporation that provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia...

 and other customers in the 1960s using Ogden Point for the larger ships.

In 2001 the Norwegian Sky arrived from Seattle, becoming the first weekly cruise vessel to call on Ogden Point.

In 2008, Ogden Point saw the arrival of 202 cruise ships and in excess of 380,000 passengers. The cruise ship terminal is considered an in transit port as presently no ships are home ported (embarked or disembarked) at this facility. In 2008 the facility was extensively rebranded in the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority's red, grey and black colour scheme.

In 2009 Ogden Point saw the arrival of 228 cruise ships from a variety of cruise lines including Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Santa Clarita, California in the United States. Previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises PLC, the company is now one of ten cruise ship brands operated by Carnival Corporation & PLC and accounts for approximately 19% share...

, Holland America Line

Holland America Line

The Holland America Line is a cruise shipping company. It was founded in 1873 as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company , a shipping and passenger line. Headquartered in Rotterdam and providing service to the Americas, it became known as Holland America Line...

, Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line founded in 1988 by the Greek Chandris Group. In 1997, Celebrity Cruises Ltd. merged with Royal Caribbean International to become Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which operates Celebrity, Royal Caribbean International, Azamara Club Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises and CDF...

, Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line is a company operating cruise ships, headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. It began operations in 1966 under the name Norwegian Caribbean Line. The company is best known for its Freestyle Cruising concept, which means that there are no set times or...

, Crystal Cruises

Crystal Cruises

Crystal Cruise Lines, most commonly seen as Crystal Cruises, is a Japanese luxury cruise line founded in 1988 and notable for its two medium-sized, high-end ships, Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity, which each hold about 1,000 guests. The line is a wholly owned subsidiary of the large Japanese...

 as well as ResidenSea. These calls brought over 400,000 visitors to the city of Victoria between April 23 and October 14, 2009.

Facilities

The 12 ha (29.7 acre) port facility has two finger piers designated Pier A (to the south) and Pier B (to the north). Berths on each pier are designated North and South. South A extends for 305 m (1,000.7 ft), the other three berths extend for 244 m (800.5 ft). Each berth can accommodate a vessel with a draft in excess of 10 m (32.8 ft) at low tide. Although there are four berths, a maximum of three ships can be accommodated in port at any one time due to the close proximity of North A and South B. Canada Border Services Agency

Canada Border Services Agency

The Canada Border Services Agency is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border enforcement, immigration enforcement and customs services....

 facilities are located at each pier. Pier A also houses a 9290 m² (11,110.7 sq yd) warehouse, complete with cable ship

Cable layer

A cable layer or cable ship is a deep-sea vessel designed and used to lay underwater cables for telecommunications, electricity, and such. Cable ships are distinguished by large cable sheaveshttp://atlantic-cable.com/Cableships/Monarch%284%29/ | History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea...

 spooling apparatus and cable storage facility.

Ogden Point has break bulk cargo

Break bulk cargo

In shipping, break bulk cargo or general cargo is a term that covers a great variety of goods that must be loaded individually, and not in intermodal containers nor in bulk as with oil or grain. Ships that carry this sort of cargo are often called general cargo ships...

 docks. Vessels up to 300 m (984.3 ft) can be accommodated.

Cruise ships calling at Ogden Point's Cruise Ship Terminal usually provide shore excursions for passengers and this may include tours of the Butchart Gardens

Butchart Gardens

The Butchart Gardens is a group of floral display gardens in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada, located near Victoria on Vancouver Island. The gardens receive more than a million visitors each year...

, city tours, visits to Craigdarroch Castle

Craigdarroch Castle

Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria, British Columbia, is a historic, Victorian-era Scottish Baronial mansion. The mansion was designated a National Historic Site of Canada due to its landmark status in Victoria.-Description:...

, pub tours

Pub crawl

A pub crawl is the act of one or more people drinking in multiple pubs or bars in a single night, normally walking or busing to each one between drinking.-Origin of the term:...

, Empress Hotel afternoon tea

The Empress (Hotel)

The Fairmont Empress is one of the oldest and most famous hotels in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Located on Government Street facing the Inner Harbour, the Empress has become an iconic symbol for the city itself...

, whale watching

Whale watching

Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and other cetaceans in their natural habitat. Whales are watched most commonly for recreation but the activity can also serve scientific or educational purposes. A 2009 study, prepared for IFAW, estimated that 13 million people went whale watching...

, and horse drawn trolley

Horsecar

A horsecar or horse-drawn tram is an animal-powered streetcar or tram.These early forms of public transport developed out of industrial haulage routes that had long been in existence, and from the omnibus routes that first ran on public streets in the 1820s, using the newly improved iron or steel...

 tours.

During the cruise season, services to guests include a shuttle bus service

Shuttle bus service

Not to be confused with Space shuttleA shuttle bus service is a public transport bus service designed to quickly transport people between two points. Such a bus will 'shuttle' backwards and forwards between the two points, normally without any intermediate stops and with a high frequency of trips...

 operated by CVS Cruise Victoria to provide guests an alternative to the 30 minute walk to downtown Victoria

Downtown Victoria

Downtown Victoria is a neighbourhood of Victoria, British Columbia that acts as the commercial and entertainment hub of the city and surrounding region....

. Public buses

Victoria Regional Transit System

Victoria Regional Transit System provides public transportation in the Greater Victoria region of British Columbia, Canada. Its operations are governed by the Victoria Regional Transit Commission in association with BC Transit. There were more than 25 million riders in 2010.-History:Transit service...

 (#30/31) stop along Dallas Street on their way to downtown Victoria. Taxi cabs and limousines are also available onsite.

Western Stevedoring is under contract from the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority to manage the facility and Cruise Terminal.

The Camel Point heliport, , is operated by Pacific Heliport Services

HeliJet

Helijet International is a helicopter airline and charter service based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It operates scheduled services and has a charter division servicing the film, television, aerial tour and general charter markets, as well as air ambulance services...

and is located just northeast of Pier B.

External links

• Greater Victoria Harbour Authority

• Pier A is at 48.415°N 123.390°W
• Pier B is at