Howe Sound Pulp and Paper (Port Mellon) Wharf

Port Mellon, BC · Private · Paper Excellence · Howe Sound

Deep-water industrial mill wharf serving the Howe Sound Pulp and Paper (HSPP) Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK) pulp mill at Port Mellon on the west side of Howe Sound, one of British Columbia's oldest continuously operating mills (originally 1909, fully rebuilt to modern standard in 1991). The mill produces roughly 380,000 air-dry metric tonnes of NBSK pulp per year, shipped by sea to global tissue, towel and fine-paper customers, while the wharf and associated foreshore tenures receive wood chips/fibre, chemicals and supplies (including barge/scow handling for chip offloading). The newsprint/mechanical paper line was permanently closed in 2015 (citing market and drought/water-supply conditions); kraft pulp production and sale of surplus renewable electrical power to the BC grid continue. The site has direct access via Howe Sound to the Strait of Georgia and Pacific shipping lanes and can accommodate bulk carriers up to Panamax size; the mill employs about 350 people and is operated by Paper Excellence under its Domtar brand.