PORT ANGELES — It’s the end of an era for the Daishowa America mill.
The last ship carrying wood chips from the plant off Marine Drive departed Port Angeles Harbor on Wednesday.
The final precedes the pending shutdown of the mills’ chip-making operation.
Nine people will lose their jobs when the plant closes Dec. 31.
“We are pretty much done here,” said Bill Lester, one of the chip plant’s nine ship loaders.
Daishowa officials have said previously that there are no plans to shut down its other Port Angeles mill operations.
The chip ship — the Panamanian-flagged Daishin Maru — will travel from Port Angeles to Coos Bay, Ore., to pick up another shipment before heading to Japan, Lester said.
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