Port of Boston | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | United States |
Location | Boston, Suffolk County, MA |
Coordinates | 42°21′48.96″N71°2′11.77″W / 42.3636000°N 71.0366028°W [1] |
Details | |
Operated by | Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) |
Owned by | Government of Massachusetts |
Type of harbour | Natural/artificial |
Size of harbour | 500 acres (200 ha) |
No. of berths | |
No. of wharfs | |
No. of piers | |
Employees | |
Port Director | Lauren Gleason |
Draft depth | 40 feet |
Air draft | Unrestricted |
Statistics | |
Website ]https://www.massport.com/ www.massport.com] |
The Port of Boston (AMS Seaport Code: 0401, [2] UN/LOCODE: US BOS) is a major seaport located in Boston Harbor and adjacent to the City of Boston. [3] It is the largest port in Massachusetts and one of the principal ports on the East Coast of the United States. [1] [4]
The Port of Boston was historically important for the growth of the City of Boston, and was originally located in what is now the downtown area of the city, called Long Wharf. Land reclamation and conversion to other uses means that the downtown area no longer handles commercial traffic, although there is still considerable ferry and leisure usage at Long Wharf. Today the principal cargo handling facilities are located in the Boston neighborhoods of Charlestown, East Boston, and South Boston, and in the neighboring city of Everett. The Port of Boston has also been an entry point for many immigrants. [5]
The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) was created in 1956 by a special act of the Massachusetts General Court; [6] [7] however, the Authority was not enabled until 1959, [8] due to delay in bond funding. [9] The Authority is an independent public authority, not a state agency. [8] The Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation and Public Works serves as an ex-officio member of the board and the remaining six members are appointed by the governor to staggered seven year terms. [10] Its Board members must be residents of Massachusetts. [8] The Department of Homeland Security also has a presence with United States Customs and Border Protection officers. The port has three areas of activity: cargo, cruises and ferry service.
Before the colonization of the Americas, the area served as a trading post for Native Americans in the region.[ citation needed ] After the establishment of the Boston settlement by John Winthrop in 1630 and the creation of a local shipbuilding industry, the port served the rapidly expanding American colonies. During that time, trade involved finished goods from England in exchange for lumber, fully constructed vessels, rum, and salted fish.
With the rapid growth of the Mid-Atlantic colonies in the 1750s, the ports of New York and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania began to surpass Boston for inter-colony trade.[ citation needed ] In response, Bostonian merchants established trade with foreign nations besides Great Britain. This trade led to a huge increase in wealth amongst local Bay State merchants.[ citation needed ] However, the British government's imposition of regulations restricting trade to Great Britain, combined with newly enacted taxes on the colonists, caused Bostonian merchants to join the more radical elements in American society. After the Boston Tea Party, the British Parliament passed the Boston Port Act which shut down the port until the East India Company was compensated for the damaged tea These actions led to the American Revolutionary War.
Though economically devastated by the Revolutionary War, the Port of Boston was again prospering with trade with various foreign ports such as Shanghai.[ when? ] The port's fortunes were further augmented with a navy base at Charlestown. By the mid-19th century, the shipbuilding industry reached its peak as displayed by the clipper ships developed by Donald McKay.[ citation needed ] The port also saw many land reclamation projects and the construction of new piers.
With the start of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, activity in the port turned towards trade between the states. Starting in the mid-19th century, the Port of Boston was eclipsed yet again by other eastern seaboard ports such the Port of New York City as local merchant companies were bought out by New York businessmen. In 1956, control of the port was handed to the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), which began the process of modernizing the port. During the 1980s and 1990s, a project dedicated to the cleanup of Boston Harbor was overseen by the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA).
In 1966, Sea-Land introduced containerized shipping and later established one of the first container ports on Castle Island, where Conley Terminal now stands. To meet the growing demand for container shipping, Massport constructed a common-use container port on what is now Moran Terminal. However, the port faced a setback with the closure of the Charlestown Navy Yard in 1974.[ citation needed ]
In the mid-1990s, the port went through another round of modernization. Container shipping operations were consolidated at Conley Terminal while Moran Terminal was dedicated to automobile shipping. A project of dredging the harbor commenced in 1997. Through the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (Big Dig), ground access to the South Boston facilities were improved with the extension of I-90 and the construction of the Ted Williams Tunnel linking South Boston with East Boston and Logan International Airport. The port has also seen a burgeoning cruise industry as well as expanding commercial and residential developments on the Boston waterfront.
With the completed Panama Canal expansion project allowing larger ships starting in 2016, the United States Army Corps of Engineers is dredging harbor access routes starting in 2017, deepening them from 40 to 47 to 51 feet. [11] This will allow visits by container ships carrying up to 12,000 TEUs, up from 7000 TEUs, and reduce the amount of freight which is expected to be shipped to the Port of New York and New Jersey and trucked to Massachusetts. [11] The project is estimated to cost $310 million and is paid for by the federal Water Resources Reform and Development Act (about two-thirds), Massport, and an additional allocation from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. [12] New container cranes to support larger ships were installed in 2021. The first 12,000-TEU-class containership. Ever Fortune, arrived at Conley on January 16, 2022. [13]
The Port of Boston has access to I-90, I-93, I-95, and U.S. 1, including a truck-only haul road. [14] Track 61 runs through the port, but as of 2019 [update] is being used by the MBTA as a test track. There is public transit access via the MBTA Silver line SL2 route.
The public facilities, operated by the Massport, are located in the neighborhoods of Charlestown, East Boston, and South Boston. These include:
The Port of Boston has facilities dedicated to bulk cargo, petroleum, and LNG shipment and storage. These are primarily located on the Mystic River, notably along the city of Everett waterfront as well as the Chelsea River area of East Boston, Chelsea, and Revere. The Chelsea River depots also contain facilities handling jet fuel for Logan International Airport. The Deer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant, whose 150-foot-tall (46 m) egg-shaped sludge digesters are major landmarks, sends treated sludge across the harbor via a tunnel for further processing into fertilizer.
The US Coast Guard has a base in Boston, [33] and the sail frigate USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides") is berthed at the former Charlestown Navy Yard, now part of the Boston National Historical Park. The park is also home to the USS Cassin Young, a World War II-era Fletcher-class destroyer and now a museum ship. The park's Drydock Number 1 was completed in 1833 and first used by the Constitution. [34] It is now used to overhaul historic ships, including Constitution in 1992 and Cassin Young in 2007. Two other pre-World War II-era dry docks in the harbor are still operational (as of 2014), including Dry Dock Number 3 — one of the largest dry docks on the U.S. East Coast — which regularly repairs ships for the Military Sealift Command. These are located at the former South Boston Naval Annex.
MBTA Boat, water taxis, and private ferries and small cruise boats also use docks at Rowes Wharf, Long Wharf, Boston Navy Yard, Logan International Airport, Hewitt's Cove in Hingham, Pemberton Point in Hull, and the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, and a number of small docks at destinations around the harbor. [35] The Boston Harborwalk provides public access to much of the harbor's edge.
Boston's port was historically served by many more wharves and pier facilities. Although Massport maintain the more notable ones, a handful of docking facilities in the Boston Harbor are maintained by private interests or other state agencies such as DCR. Further, some wharves have been converted to residential condominiums, or hotel accommodations.
The Port's current and former wharves include: [36]
Massport manages Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) No. 27, which includes many privately owned and port-owned sites located throughout Suffolk County, Massachusetts. [39]
The following Sub Zones are a part of The Port of Boston FTZ No. 27: [40]
In 2015, the port handled 237,000 container TEUs, 60,000 automobiles, and 121,000 metric tons of cement. Other major forms of cargo processed at the port include petroleum, liquefied natural gas (LNG), gypsum, and salt. There were 328,305 cruise ship passengers that year. Some 114 vessel calls are scheduled for the 2016 cruise season. [41]
In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, there have been concerns about the security of LNG shipments within Boston Harbor, and increased fear of terrorism. Because of the location of the LNG terminal in the Mystic River, tankers traveling to and from the facility are forced to pass directly offshore of downtown Boston. During their voyage through the harbor, they are protected by a security zone that extends 2 miles (3.2 km) in front of the vessel, 1-mile (1.6 km) behind it, and more than half a mile on either side. This zone is enforced by escort vessels provided by the Coast Guard and State Police. [42] The Tobin Bridge is closed as the escort passes under it, and boating is forbidden within the security zone. As of 2005 [update] , there have been proposals to construct an offshore LNG facility on either Outer Brewster Island [43] in the Harbor, or further afield in the wider Massachusetts Bay. [44]
The MBTA operates commuter boats between Long Wharf and Rowes Wharf on the downtown Boston waterfront to Hingham, Hull, Quincy, and Logan Airport as well as inner harbor ferries between downtown Boston, Charlestown, and South Boston. Other fast passenger ferries operate to Provincetown and Salem. Several companies operate cruise ships on the harbor, whilst water taxis operate from various points on the downtown Boston waterfront, Logan Airport, Charlestown, East Boston, and South Boston. [45] Ferries are also provided for travel amongst the harbor islands.
There are occasionally marine accidents, as with a commuter ferry Massachusetts going from Boston's Rowes Wharf to Hull in June 2006. [46]
The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), which itself was constituted in 1956 maintains its own police force of POST certified and sworn law enforcement officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. They work in conjunction with the Massachusetts State Police—Troop F who also provide law enforcement services for Massport. Massport police officers also known as "Port Officers" are responsible for physical security and law enforcement at the marine terminals, Boston's Seaport District, East Boston parks and various other properties and lands owned by the authority. [47]
Transportation in Boston includes roadway, subway, regional rail, air, and sea options for passenger and freight transit in Boston, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) operates the Port of Boston, which includes a container shipping facility in South Boston, and Logan International Airport, in East Boston. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates bus, subway, short-distance rail, and water ferry passenger services throughout the city and region. Amtrak operates passenger rail service to and from major Northeastern cities, and a major bus terminal at South Station is served by varied intercity bus companies. The city is bisected by major highways I-90 and I-93, the intersection of which has undergone a major renovation, nicknamed the Big Dig.
The Silver Line is a system of bus routes in Boston and Chelsea, Massachusetts, operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). It is operated as part of the MBTA bus system, but branded as bus rapid transit (BRT) as part of the MBTA subway system. Six routes are operated as part of two disconnected corridors. As of 2023, weekday ridership on the Silver Line was 27,000.
Airport station is a rapid transit station in Boston, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA Blue Line and the SL3 branch of the Silver Line. It is located in East Boston under the interchange between Interstate 90 and Massachusetts Route 1A. The station provides one of two mass transit connections to the nearby Logan International Airport, as well as serving local residents in East Boston. Shuttle buses connect the station with the airport terminals and other facilities.
Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is the port authority for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It owns and operates three airports, Logan International Airport, Hanscom Field, and Worcester Regional Airport, and public terminals in the Port of Boston.
The Port of Long Beach, administered as the Harbor Department of the City of Long Beach, is a container port in the United States, which adjoins Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for US–Asian trade, the port occupies 3,200 acres (13 km2) of land with 25 miles (40 km) of waterfront in the city of Long Beach, California. The Port of Long Beach is located less than two miles (3 km) southwest of Downtown Long Beach and approximately 25 miles (40 km) south of Downtown Los Angeles. The seaport generates approximately US$100 billion per year in trade and employs more than 316,000 people in Southern California. In 2022, the port, together with the adjoining Port of Los Angeles, were considered amongst the world's least efficient ports by the World Bank and IHS Markit citing union protectionism and a lack of automation.
The MBTA ferry system is a public boat service providing water transportation in Boston Harbor. It is operated by Hornblower Cruises under contract to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,260,000, or about 5,000 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024. The system has six routes that terminate in downtown Boston. Year-round routes run to Hingham directly (F1) and via Hull (F2H), and to the Charlestown Navy Yard (F4). Seasonal routes run to Lynn (F3), Winthrop (F5), and East Boston (F6).
The Port of San Francisco is a semi-independent organization that oversees the port facilities at San Francisco, California, United States. It is run by a five-member commission, appointed by the Mayor subject to confirmation by a majority of the Board of Supervisors. The Port is responsible for managing the larger waterfront area that extends from the anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge, along the Marina district, all the way around the north and east shores of the city of San Francisco including Fisherman's Wharf and the Embarcadero, and southward to the city line just beyond Candlestick Point. In 1968, the State of California, via the California State Lands Commission for the State-operated San Francisco Port Authority, transferred its responsibilities for the Harbor of San Francisco waterfront to the City and County of San Francisco / San Francisco Harbor Commission through the Burton Act AB2649. All eligible State port authority employees had the option to become employees of the City and County of San Francisco to maintain consistent operation of the Port of San Francisco.
The Port of New York and New Jersey is the port district of the New York-Newark metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a 25-mile (40 km) radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument.
The Port of Haifa is the largest of Israel's three major international seaports, the others being the Port of Ashdod, and the Port of Eilat. Its natural deep-water harbor operates all year long and serves both passenger and merchant ships. It is one of the largest ports in the eastern Mediterranean in terms of freight volume and handles about 30 million tons of cargo per year. The port employs over 1,000 people, rising to 5,000 when cruise ships dock in Haifa. The Port of Haifa lies north of Haifa's downtown quarter on the Mediterranean and stretches to some three kilometres along the city's central shore with activities ranging from military, industrial, and commercial next to a nowadays-smaller passenger cruising facility.
The Port of Kaohsiung is the largest harbor in Taiwan, handling approximately 10.26 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) worth of cargo in 2015. The port is located in southern Taiwan, adjacent to Kaohsiung City, and surrounded by the city districts of Gushan, Yancheng, Lingya, Cianjhen, Siaogang, as well as Cijin. It is operated by Taiwan International Ports Corporation, Taiwan's state-owned harbor management company.
Long Wharf is a historic American pier in Boston, Massachusetts, built between 1710 and 1721. It once extended from State Street nearly a half-mile into Boston Harbor; today, the much-shortened wharf functions as a dock for passenger ferries and sightseeing boats.
Silver Line Way station is a surface bus rapid transit station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Silver Line, located on Silver Line Way at Pumphouse Road between Massport Haul Road and D Street near the South Boston Waterfront. The station is a block south of the Boston Fish Pier; it also serves the Boston Renaissance Waterfront Hotel and the Leader Bank Pavilion.
The Port of Jacksonville (JAXPORT) is an international trade port on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. JAXPORT is the largest port by volume in Florida, and the 14th largest container port in the United States. It carries about 18 million short tons of cargo each year and has an annual economic impact of over $31 billion, including 138,500 jobs across the state of Florida related to cargo moving through the port. It handled 1,338,000 containers, and is the second largest handler of vehicles in the United States with 696,500 in 2019.
The Virginia Port Authority (VPA) is an autonomous agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia that owns The Port of Virginia, a group of facilities with their activity centered on the harbor of Hampton Roads, Virginia.
The Port of Iloilo is a seaport located in Iloilo City, Philippines. It serves the city, province of Iloilo, and the entire island of Panay in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. It is located in the districts of Iloilo City Proper and Lapuz, on the southeastern coast of Panay, in Iloilo Strait, and one of the country’s safest and most natural harbors. The Port of Iloilo is managed by the Philippine Ports Authority, a government-owned corporation, and consists of major facilities: the Iloilo River Wharf, Iloilo Domestic Port, and the Visayas Container Terminal.
Boston Harborwalk is a public walkway that follows the edge of piers, wharves, beaches, and shoreline around Boston Harbor. When fully completed it will extend a distance of 47 miles (76 km) from East Boston to the Neponset River.
The Port of Albany–Rensselaer, widely known as the Port of Albany, is a port of entry in the United States with facilities on both sides of the Hudson River in Albany and Rensselaer, New York. Private and public port facilities have existed in both cities since the 17th century, with an increase in shipping after the Albany Basin and Erie Canal were built with public funds in 1825.
The Port of Charleston is a seaport located in South Carolina in the Southeastern United States. The port's facilities span three municipalities—Charleston, North Charleston, and Mount Pleasant—with six public terminals owned and operated by the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA). These facilities handle containers, motor vehicles and other rolling stock, non-containerized goods and project cargo, as well as Charleston's cruise ship operation. Additional facilities in the port are privately owned and operated, handling bulk commodities like petroleum, coal and steel.
Track 61 is an industrial rail terminal track in South Boston, Massachusetts, also known as the Boston Terminal Running Track. Track 61 is the last remnant of the vast rail yards that once covered much of the South Boston waterfront. Track 61 legally begins at Summer Street, while the line from Bay Junction to Summer Street is the Boston Terminal Running Track and Terminal Yard. However, the names are frequently used interchangeably.
Flynn Cruiseport Boston, formerly known as the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal, is the main port for all cruise ships visiting Boston, Massachusetts. The port is owned and operated by Massport, which operates most of the Port of Boston, and is located in the Seaport District of Boston. It is primarily open between the months of March and November, with its busiest season being in the early fall, as multiple Canada and New England cruises use Flynn Cruiseport as either a port of call or port of departure. In 2018, the port handled over 389,000 passengers, up over 26% from 2016. Massport handled 402,346 passengers with 138 calls by 34 different ships from 21 cruise lines in 2019.
Port of Boston finds growth from its niche environs
Over one million immigrants came through the Port of Boston during this time period.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Officials from the Massachusetts Port Authority (MASSPORT) and the Port of Dalian Authority of the People's Republic of China met in Boston today to sign an historic agreement, officially naming the ports of Boston and Dalian sister ports.
With more than 60 percent of Panama Canal traffic originating from or traveling to the East Coast of the United States, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) today announced an historic move to boost trade by striking a strategic alliance with the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport). The alliance will increase cooperation - such as joint marketing - between the Panama Canal and the Port of Boston; it will also seek to boost trade along the "All-Water Route," the route from Asia to America's East Coast via the Panama Canal.