Port of Philadelphia

Last updated
Port of Philadelphia
Port of philadelphia.jpeg
The Port of Philadelphia in February 2016 with Center City Philadelphia in the upper left background
Port of Philadelphia
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
Location
Country United States
Location Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Details
Operated by Philadelphia Regional Port Authority
Owned by Pennsylvania
Statistics
Draft depth 45 feet
Air draft 188 feet, restricted by Delaware Memorial Bridge
143 feet, restricted by Benjamin Franklin Bridge [1]
Website
philaport.com

The Port of Philadelphia is located on the Delaware River in Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.

Contents

Generally the term applies to the publicly owned marine terminals located within Philadelphia city limits along the west bank of the river. These terminals are managed by the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority,PhilaPort, [2] an agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The term is sometimes used for Delaware River port complex to collectively refer to the ports and energy facilities along the river in the tri-state PA-NJ-DE Delaware Valley region. They include the Port of Salem, the Port of Wilmington, the Port of Chester, the Port of Paulsboro, the Port of Philadelphia, and the Port of Camden. [3] Combined they create one of the largest shipping areas of the United States. In 2016, 2,427 ships arrived at Delaware River port facilities: Fruit ships were counted at 577, petroleum at 474, and containerized cargo at 431. [4]

PhilaPort (The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority)

The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, commonly known as PhilaPort, and referred to as The Port of Philadelphia, is an independent agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania charged with the management, maintenance, marketing, and promotion of port facilities along the Delaware River in Pennsylvania, as well as strategic planning throughout the port district. PhilaPort works with its terminal operators to improve its facilities and to market those facilities to prospective port users around the world. Port cargoes and the activities they generate are responsible for thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the Philadelphia area and throughout Pennsylvania.

On May 22, 2017, The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PRPA) announced that it was rebranding as PhilaPort (The Port of Philadelphia) effective immediately. The name ‘PhilaPort’ was decided on to distinguish The Port of Philadelphia from the many other regional authorities. [5]

Terminals

Pier 40 had become self-storage, but closed Pier 40 Philadelphia.jpg
Pier 40 had become self-storage, but closed

The Port consists of a series of marine terminals, each with specialized capabilities.

Port of Philadelphia
Invisible Square.svg
Invisible Square.svg
Mapscaleline.svg
3km
2miles
7
6
5
4
3
2
Port of Philadelphia terminal locations
1
Packer Avenue Marine Terminal
2
Tioga Marine Terminal
3
Pier 82
4
Pier 84
5
Philadelphia Forest Products Center-Piers 78/80
6
Philadelphia Forest Products Center-Piers 38/40
7
Philadelphia Automobile Processing Facility
  • Packer Avenue Marine Terminal: This facility handles containers, steel products, frozen meat, fruit, heavy lift cargo, project cargo, and paper on 6 berths plus 1 Ro/Ro berth at a depth of MLW of 45 feet (14 meters). The 160-acre (1 km2) facility features 90,000-square-foot (8,361 m2) of dry storage and 2,200,000-cubic-foot (62,297 m3) of refrigerated storage with 2,500 reefer plugs. [7]
  • Tioga Marine Terminal: This facility handles containers, specialized forest products, over-dimensional cargo, palletized cargo, project cargo, break-bulk cargo, and steel on 6 berths at a depth of MLW of 36 to 41 feet (11 to 12 meters). The 116-acre (0 km2) facility features 734,500-square-foot (68,237 m2) of dry storage, of which 90,000-square-foot (8,361 m2) is refrigerated storage with 116 reefer plugs. [8]
  • Pier 82: This facility handles fruits and vegetables, break-bulk cargo, project cargo, and paper on 2 berths at a depth of MLW of 32 feet (9.8 meters). The 13.3-acre (0 km2) facility features 130,000-square-foot (12,077 m2) of dry, temperature-controlled storage. [9]
  • Pier 84: This facility is dedicated exclusively to cocoa beans and other cocoa products on 1 berth at a depth of MLW of 32 feet (9.8 meters). The 13.9-acre (0 km2) facility features 540,000-square-foot (50,168 m2) of dry storage. [10]
  • Philadelphia Forest Products Center: This facility at piers 38, 40, 78, and 80 handles newsprint, coated paper, wood pulp, other forest products, other break-bulk, and semi-bulk products on 2 berths plus 2 Ro/Ro berths at a depth of MLW of 32 feet (9.8 meters). The 44.4-acre (0 km2) facility features 1,143,000-square-foot (106,188 m2) of dry storage. [11]
  • Philadelphia Automobile Processing Facility: This facility handles automobiles, project cargo, trucks, and heavy equipment just offshore with immediate access to Packer Avenue Marine Terminal and Pier 96. The 84.2-acre (0 km2) facility features an auto-washing and auto service building. [12]

Shipyard

Hog Island was once the largest shipyard in the nation. In 1917, as part of the World War I effort, the U.S. government contracted American International Shipbuilding to build ships and a shipyard at Hog Island. At the time Hog Island was the largest shipyard in the world, with 50 slipways. The first ship, named SS Quistconck for the Lenape name for the site, was christened August 5, 1918, by Edith Bolling Wilson, wife of U.S. president Woodrow Wilson. [13]

The Philly Shipyard is a private company operating on what was once the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.

Development in the 2000s

Delaware River Main Channel Deepening
A project to deepen the Delaware River's 103-mile main shipping channel from 40 to 45 feet began in 2010 and was completed in 2017. The $392 million project was funded by the Federal Government and local-match sponsor PhilaPort (using Commonwealth of Pennsylvania general funds). [14]
Infrastructure Upgrade
A $300 million Port Development Plan was announced by the Commonwealth in November 2016, which will expand and improve cargo operations throughout the Port's busiest areas. [15] As part of the $300 million Port Development Plan, the first two of five giant cranes capable of unloading the largest container ships arrived in March 2018 from China, where they were manufactured. [16]
Southport Marine Terminal

An expansion of port facilities at Philadelphia Naval Yard. [17]

New Leadership
In August 2016 PhilaPort's Board of Directors hired Jeff Theobald, a maritime industry professional with more than 40 years of experience in terminal operations and shipping logistics, as its new executive director and CEO, to further professionalize the port's operations.

History

A WPA poster depicting the port in the 1930s Port of Philadelphia LCCN98518510.jpg
A WPA poster depicting the port in the 1930s
The SS United States, holder of the Blue Riband, berthed at Pier 82 A559, SS United States, Pier 82, Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 2017.jpg
The SS United States, holder of the Blue Riband, berthed at Pier 82

The Port of Philadelphia was established more than 300 years ago during the colonial period, and was for a time the busiest port in both that period and the earliest years of the new republic, finally being eclipsed by the Port of New York. In much of the 20th Century, the Port was overseen by the city's Department of Wharves, Docks, and Ferries, which was replaced by the quasi-public Philadelphia Port Corporation in 1964.

In 1989, following the lead of other municipal ports that made overtures to their respective state governments for capital and operating support, the Port of Philadelphia moved from city to state control, with a new agency, the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, established by the State Legislature's Act 50 of 1989 to run the Port. The Port of Philadelphia has always been a landlord port, with private companies being given leases to run the Port's facilities, with capital and marketing support provided by the Commonwealth and PRPA. [18] [19]

Philadelphia Cruise Terminal

The Philadelphia Cruise Terminal was located at 5100 South Broad Street within the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. The Delaware River Port Authority began operating the terminal in 1998 in Building 3, a landmarked 1874 Navy Yard building. [20] Following the September 11 attacks the Philadelphia terminal accommodated some of the ships that had been diverted from New York. Its peak year was 2006 when it handled 36 cruises. By 2011 the schedule had dwindled to just two cruises. The DRPA decided to close the terminal rather than invest additional operating costs or capital improvements. Its demise was attributed to a combination of the economic downturn, increasing size of cruise ships, and six hours needed to navigate the Delaware River before entering open ocean. [21]

federal court, presided over by judge Anita Brody, ruled down on June 14, rejected Penn Warehouse's financial demands and ordered the ship to be removed in 90 days until September 12, 2024 from Pier 82. [22] [23] [24]

See also

An aerial view of the Philadelphia and Camden waterfronts DelawarePhillyCamdenPettyIslandaerial.jpg
An aerial view of the Philadelphia and Camden waterfronts

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transportation in Philadelphia</span>

Transportation in Philadelphia involves the various modes of transport within the city and its required infrastructure. In addition to facilitating intracity travel, Philadelphia's transportation system connects Philadelphia to towns of its metropolitan area and surrounding areas within the Northeast megalopolis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of San Juan</span> Seaport facility in Puerto Rico

The Port of San Juan is a large seaport facility in and around San Juan Bay in Puerto Rico. Primarily located within the capital municipality of San Juan, the Port of San Juan consists of multiple public and private passenger and cargo facilities. Public facilities are administered by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority (PRPA), under the Department of Transportation and Public Works of Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Boston</span> Seaport district in Boston, Massachusetts

The Port of Boston is a major seaport located in Boston Harbor and adjacent to the City of Boston. It is the largest port in Massachusetts and one of the principal ports on the East Coast of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Halifax</span> Canadian seaport

The Port of Halifax comprises various port facilities in Halifax Harbour in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It covers 10 km2 (3.9 sq mi) of land, and looks after 150 km2 (58 sq mi) of water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Prince Rupert</span> Port in British Columbia, Canada

The Port of Prince Rupert is a seaport managed by the Prince Rupert Port Authority that occupies 667,731 hectares of land and water along 20 kilometres of waterfront. The port is located in Prince Rupert Harbour in the North Coast Regional District of British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Ports Authority</span> Operator of port facilities in the U.S. state of Georgia

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) is the port authority for the State of Georgia. It was founded by an act of the Georgia General Assembly in 1945 and chaired by Blake R. Van Leer. The GPA operates all seven of Georgia's rail and sea port facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Brunswick</span>

The Port of Brunswick is an Atlantic seaport in Brunswick, Georgia, United States, in the southeast corner of the state. It is one of four ports operated by the Georgia Ports Authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Jacksonville</span> Port in United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of San Diego</span> Public-benefit corporation

The Port of San Diego is a seaport in San Diego, California. It is located on San Diego Bay in southwestern San Diego County, and is a self-supporting district established in 1962 by an act of the California State Legislature. In addition to port activities, the Port District controls San Diego Bay and owns and manages the bay's immediate waterfront under the state's Tidelands Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Wilmington (Delaware)</span> Port in United States

The Port of Wilmington is a deep-water port located at the confluence of the Christina River and the Delaware River in Wilmington, Delaware, 65 miles (105 km) from the Atlantic Ocean. The port has been ranked as the top North American port for imports of fresh fruit, bananas, and juice concentrate, and as having the largest dock-side cold storage facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Baltimore</span> Cargo port in Baltimore, Maryland, US

The Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore is a shipping port along the tidal basins of the three branches of the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland, on the upper northwest shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is the nation's largest port facility for specialized cargo and passenger facilities. It is operated by the Maryland Port Administration (MPA), a unit of the Maryland Department of Transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Toronto</span> Port in Canada

The Port of Toronto is an inland port on the northwest shoreline of Lake Ontario in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The port covers over 21 hectares of land on the eastern shore of the Toronto Harbour, in an area known as the Port Lands. The port includes several facilities, including Marine Terminal 51, Warehouse 52, and the International Marine Passenger Terminal. The Port of Toronto is operated by PortsToronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Southampton</span> Passenger and cargo port in Southampton, England

The Port of Southampton is a passenger and cargo port in the central part of the south coast of England. The modern era in the history of the Port of Southampton began when the first dock was inaugurated in 1843. After the Port of Felixstowe, Southampton is the second largest container terminal in UK, with a handled traffic of 1.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). It also handles cruise ships, roll-on roll-off, dry bulk, and liquid bulk.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Tokyo</span> Port in Japan

The Port of Tokyo is one of the largest Japanese seaports and one of the largest seaports in the Pacific Ocean basin having an annual traffic capacity of around 100 million tonnes of cargo and 4,500,000 twenty-foot equivalent units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Camden</span> Port in United States

The Port of Camden is situated on east bank of the Delaware River in Camden and Gloucester City in southern New Jersey. It is one of several ports in the Delaware Valley metro area port complex and is located near the mouth of Newtown Creek opposite the Port of Philadelphia. The port is one of the nation's largest for wood products, steel, cocoa and perishable fruit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Charleston</span> Port in United States

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.

The Port of Paulsboro is located on the Delaware River and Mantua Creek in and around Paulsboro, in Gloucester County, New Jersey, approximately 78 miles (126 km) from the Atlantic Ocean. Traditionally one of the nation's busiest for marine transfer operations, notably for crude oil and petroleum products, such as jet fuel and asphalt, it is a port of entry with several facilities within a foreign trade zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Salem</span> Port in New Jersey, USA

The Port of Salem is a shallow-draft port in the vicinity of the Salem River Cut-Off on the Salem River in Salem, New Jersey in the United States about 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the Delaware River and about 54 miles (87 km) from the Atlantic Ocean. It was re-designated a port of entry in 1984 and became a foreign trade zone (FTZ) in 1987. Transloading operations include the handling of a variety of bulk cargo, notably of construction aggregate, break bulk cargo, and containers for clothing, fishing apparel, agricultural produce, and other consumer goods, and has at times involved lighterage. It is operated under the auspices of the South Jersey Port Corporation. The port is envisioned as being a component of the supply chain for the development of windpower in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Chester</span> Port in United States

The Port of Chester is an American port on the west bank of the Delaware River in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Centered around Chester it ranges into Marcus Hook to the south and Eddystone to the north. It is part of the Delaware Valley port complex and lies between the Port of Wilmington and the Port of Philadelphia. Traditionally, shipbuilding and later automobile assembly were the mainstays of the port. It has since given way to other manufacturing and recreational activities, with Penn Terminals the only traditional maritime facility.

References

  1. ↑ "Bridges and Cables" (PDF). Moran Shipping. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  2. ↑ "Home". Philadelphia Regional Port Authority. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  3. ↑ "Port of Philadelphia Technical Memorandum - Summary of Existing Conditions" (PDF). Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Delaware River ship arrivals finish 2016 strong" (PDF). The Beacon. Philadelphia, PA: Maritime Exchange. Winter 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  5. ↑ "It's a Brand New Day at PhilaPort » PRPA Rebrands". PhilaPort. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  6. ↑ "People left scrambling after Pier 40 Self Storage announces closure". FOX29. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Packer Avenue Marine Terminal". PhilaPort. October 16, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Tioga Marine Terminal". PhilaPort. October 19, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Pier 82". PhilaPort. October 19, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Pier 84". PhilaPort. October 19, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Philadelphia Forest Products Center". PhilaPort. October 19, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Philadelphia Automobile Processing Facility". PhilaPort. October 19, 2020.
  13. ↑ Worcester, Kimball. "The Great War's Largest Shipyard: Hog Island, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania". roadstothegreatwar-ww1.blogspot.com. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  14. ↑ "Main Channel Deepening". Philadelphia Regional Port Authority. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  15. ↑ "Port Development Plan". Philadelphia Regional Port Authority. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  16. ↑ Maykuth, Andrew (March 24, 2018). "Giant cranes from China arrive at PhilaPort, signaling a new era". Philly.com. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  17. ↑ Adomaitis, Greg (November 5, 2015). "Delaware River port project to bring hundreds, or thousands, of jobs". NJ.coms. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  18. ↑ "History of PRPA". Philadelphia Regional Port Authority. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  19. ↑ Brown, Peter Hendee Brown (2009), America's Waterfront Revival: Port Authorities and Urban Redevelopment, Chapter 5: Philadelphia and Camden, University of Pennsylvania Press, ISBN   9780812241228
  20. ↑ "Philadelphia Cruise Terminal". Philadelphiacruiseguide.com. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Delaware River Board Closes Philadelphia Cruise Terminal". 5 January 2011. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  22. ↑ "Iconic Ocean Liner SS United States Ordered to Leave Berth by September". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  23. ↑ Conde, Ximena (2024-01-17). "SS United States is 'every landlord's nightmare,' pier's lawyer says as rent dispute goes to trial" . The Philadelphia Inquirer . Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  24. ↑ Guilhem, Matt (March 11, 2024). "The Fastest Ocean Liner to Cross the Atlantic Faces Eviction from Pier". NPR.org.

39°55′6.1″N75°8′11.8″W / 39.918361°N 75.136611°W / 39.918361; -75.136611

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.