Port of San Diego | |
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![]() Aerial view of the Port of San Diego, showing three cruise ships and the USS Midway Museum. NAS North Island is visible in the background. | |
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![]() Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
Location | |
Country | United States |
Location | San Diego, California |
Details | |
Opened | December 18, 1962 |
Owned by | San Diego Unified Port District |
Statistics | |
Annual cargo tonnage | 2,873,613 |
Annual container volume | 823,560 |
Passenger traffic | 250,000 |
The Port of San Diego is a seaport in San Diego, California. It is located on San Diego Bay in southwestern San Diego County, California, 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. [1]
The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics has ranked the Port of San Diego as one of America's top 30 U.S. containership ports, [2] bringing in nearly 3 million metric tons (3,000,000 long tons; 3,300,000 short tons) of cargo per year through the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal and the National City Marine Terminal. Together with the National City Marine Terminal, the Port of San Diego is the primary port of entry for Honda, Fiat, Audi, Mazda, Acura, Isuzu, Volkswagen, Nissan, Mitsubishi Fuso, and Hino Motors into the United States. The port holds a 24 1/2-year lease with Dole plc, bringing in much of the country's banana crop. It is also the third-busiest cruise ship port in California.
The port is governed by a seven-member Board of Port Commissioners. One commissioner each is appointed by the city councils of Chula Vista, Coronado, Imperial Beach and National City, and three commissioners are appointed by the San Diego City Council. The Board establishes policies under which the port's staff – supervised by the Executive Director – conducts its daily operation.
The San Diego Unified Port District was created in 1962 after the California State legislature passed Senate Bill 41 and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors certified it. In 1964, voters approved a $10.9 million bond for capital improvements. Improvements included the development of a new air terminal, preparation for Harbor Island to be leased, and construction of a new cargo terminal in National City. In 1970, the first cruise ship to offer scheduled cruises out of San Diego since the creation of the port began making 10-day trips to Mexico. In 1980, the port completed a wildlife refuge in Chula Vista in an effort to improve the ecological balance of the Bay. In 1983, the San Diego Cruise Industry Consortium was formed to promote San Diego as a cruise destination and homeport. Three years later, the B Street Pier Cruise Ship Terminal was officially dedicated. That year, over 26,000 passengers embarked and disembarked at the terminal. In 1989, the port-funded, $165 million, waterfront San Diego Convention Center opened.
In 1990, The Pasha Group began importing vehicles (Isuzus) at the National City Marine Terminal. A total of 15,589 vehicle units were imported the first year. Pasha now imports over 400,000 vehicles annually. In 1993, the port and Tenth Avenue Cold Storage Company celebrated the grand opening of San Diego's first on-dock cold storage facility, built for $11 million, at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal. In 2001, the Board of Port Commissioners announced a 20-year lease with Dole Food Company. This signified the port's entry into the refrigerated containerized cargo market. Dole ships 1.8 billion pounds of bananas annually. [3] In 2012, the port signed a new lease with Dole Food Company for an additional 24 1/2 years.
The Port of San Diego administers two marine cargo facilities, Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal and National City Marine Terminal. The Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal is a 96 acres (39 ha) multi-purpose eight berth facility. Inbound cargo includes refrigerated commodities, fertilizer, cement, break bulk commodities, and forest products. The terminal features an on-dock state-of-the-art 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2) square foot cold storage facility warehousing a variety of fresh produce and other perishables. The National City Marine Terminal is a 125 acres (0.51 km2) seven berth facility operated by The Pasha Group, which processed over 450,000 vehicles during fiscal year 2016. The National City Marine Terminal serves as the primary port of entry for Honda, Acura, Isuzu, Volkswagen, Nissan, Mitsubishi Fuso, and Hino Motors. [4] [5]
The port's main cruise facility is located downtown. The main facility, at B Street Pier in downtown San Diego, along North Harbor Drive, has three cruise berths. The port also redeveloped the historic Broadway Pier to create a second cruise-ship pier and terminal, which opened in December 2010. [6]
As of 2019, San Diego is the third-busiest cruise port in California. Three cruise lines home-port in San Diego: Holland America, Celebrity Cruises, and Disney Cruise Line. [7] Holland America uses San Diego as a home port during the winter season. Disney and Carnival Cruise Lines have seasonal Mexican cruises in the spring and fall, as well as a Panama Canal cruise at the end of the visit. Multiple other cruise lines use San Diego as a port of call.
The Port of San Diego experienced a 44-percent growth in cruise calls between 2002 and 2006, growing from 122 to 219 calls. Passenger numbers more than doubled in that time, from 276,000 in 2002 to 619,000 in 2006. [8] Cruise ship business peaked in 2008, when the port hosted 252 ship calls and more than 800,000 passengers. [9] By 2011, the number of ship calls had fallen to 103, a decline blamed on the slumping economy as well as fear of travel to Mexico due to well-publicized violence there. [10] The Mexican government worked to improve the Mexican Riviera destination as well as public safety, driving a return of consumer demand. In 2016, the Port of San Diego's cruise business began an expected rebound, largely driven by growth in business for Holland America Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Lines. The number of ship calls grew from 68 in the 2014-2015 season to 102 in the 2015-2016 season. In 2019-2020 the port expects approximately 92 cruise calls and nearly 300,000 passengers. [7]
In November 2010 a crippled cruise ship, Carnival Splendor, was towed to the San Diego cruise ship port after drifting for four days without power or electricity following an engine room fire. [11]
In May 2013, Celebrity Cruises' Solstice became the longest cruise ship to date to dock in San Diego, during a Wine Country Coastal Cruise. [10]
On July 13, 2016, Vice President Joe Biden made a historic visit to the port, delivering a speech at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal. [12]
Ships sometimes make unscheduled stops in San Diego because of storm warnings along the Mexico cruise route. During one such diverted call in 2018, San Diego hosted the largest cruise ship ever to dock in San Diego, the 4,500-passenger Norwegian Bliss. The largest ships that normally call in San Diego hold 3,000 passengers. [13]
In July 2022, the port held a groundbreaking ceremony for a $1.35 billion project to construct a resort hotel and convention center on the Chula Vista Bayfront. [14]
The port engages in public education for both adults and school children regarding pollution prevention. The port protects San Diego bay through storm water management and endangered species management along with the removal of hazardous waste and contaminated sediments. [15]
The Port of San Diego has assisted in the restoration and enhancement of over 280 acres (110 ha) of environmental habitat including Emory Cove, and the Chula Vista Wildlife Reserve. [16] The port also started the Green Business Network, which is a voluntary sustainability program that provides education and resources to businesses along the waterfront, in order to sustain the ecosystem. [17]
Real estate is one of five strategic activity areas of the Port of San Diego. The port currently administers approximately 800 separate business agreements. Revenue from real estate assets and developments, primarily building and ground rents and concession fees, was approximately $96 million in FY 2014-2015. The Port of San Diego collects rents from many hotels, restaurants, parking facilities, yacht clubs, etc. around San Diego Bay.
The Port of San Diego leases sites for 18 hotels, including the 40-story Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel, the 25-story Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, and, the San Diego InterContinental. [18] The port also hosts hotels in Point Loma, Harbor Island, and Shelter Island.
There are currently three shipyards on San Diego Bay, National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), Continental Maritime of San Diego (Huntington Ingalls), and Southwest Marine (BAE Systems). NASSCO is the largest new-construction shipyard on the west coast of the United States; "specializing in auxiliary and support ships for the U.S. Navy and oil tankers and dry cargo carriers for commercial markets." [19]
With approximately 140 sworn officers, the department is prepared to protect and serve the citizens and visitors in the port's five member cities - Chula Vista, Coronado, Imperial Beach, National City, and San Diego. The department also provides police and marine firefighting services on San Diego Bay and is contracted out to the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority to provide police protection at the San Diego International Airport. [20]
The United States Virgin Islands (USVI) is the only place under United States jurisdiction where the rule of the road is to drive on the left. However, virtually all passenger vehicles are left hand drive due to imports of U.S. vehicles.
Chula Vista is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. It is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fifteenth largest city in the state of California, and the 82nd-largest city in the United States. The population was 275,487 as of the 2020 census, up from 243,916 as of the 2010 census. Located about halfway—7.5 miles (12.1 km)—between the two downtowns of San Diego and Tijuana in the South Bay, the city is at the center of one of the richest culturally diverse zones in the United States. Chula Vista is so named because of its scenic location between San Diego Bay and coastal mountain foothills.
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port located in San Diego County, California, near the U.S.–Mexico border. The bay, which is 12 miles (19 km) long and 1 to 3 miles wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's 840 miles (1,350 km) of coastline, after San Francisco Bay and Humboldt Bay. The highly urbanized land adjacent to the bay includes the city of San Diego and four other cities: National City, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach and Coronado. The bay is considered to be one of the premier natural harbors on the West Coast.
The Port of Miami, styled as PortMiami and formally known as the Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami, is a major seaport located in Biscayne Bay at the mouth of the Miami River in Miami, Florida. It is the largest passenger port in the world and one of the largest cargo ports in the United States.
The Port of San Juan is a seaport facility located in the metropolitan area of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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.
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, commonly referred to as NASSCO, is an American shipbuilding company with four shipyards located in San Diego, Norfolk, Bremerton, and Mayport. It is a division of General Dynamics. NASSCO owns a subsidiary manufacturing facility with TIMSA in Mexicali, Mexico. The San Diego shipyard specializes in constructing commercial cargo ships and auxiliary vessels for the US Navy and Military Sealift Command; it is the only new-construction shipyard on the West Coast of the United States. NASSCO performs ship repairs and conversions for the United States Navy in all four shipyard locations: San Diego, Norfolk, Bremerton, and Mayport.
The Port of New Orleans is a significant transport hub located in Louisiana, United States. It serves as an embarkation point for cruise passengers and Louisiana’s sole international container port.
People in the San Francisco Bay Area rely on a complex multimodal transportation infrastructure consisting of roads, bridges, highways, rail, tunnels, airports, seaports, and bike and pedestrian paths. The development, maintenance, and operation of these different modes of transportation are overseen by various agencies, including the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the Association of Bay Area Governments, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. These and other organizations collectively manage several interstate highways and state routes, eight passenger rail networks, eight trans-bay bridges, transbay ferry service, local and transbay bus service, three international airports, and an extensive network of roads, tunnels, and bike paths.
The South Bay, also known as South County, is a region in southwestern San Diego County, California, consisting of the cities and unincorporated communities of Bonita, Chula Vista, East Otay Mesa, Imperial Beach, Lincoln Acres, National City, and South San Diego.
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 and approved by 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.
San Diego–Tijuana is an international transborder agglomeration, straddling the border of the adjacent North American coastal cities of San Diego, California, United States, and Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The 2020 population of the region was 5,456,577, making it the largest bi-national conurbation shared between the United States and Mexico, and the second-largest shared between the US and another country. The conurbation consists of San Diego County, in the United States and the municipalities of Tijuana, Rosarito Beach (126,980), and Tecate (108,440) in Mexico. It is the third most populous region in the California–Baja California region, smaller only than the metropolitan areas of Greater Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.
There were several proposals to build a new stadium for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL), replacing San Diego Stadium as the franchise's home venue.
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 Port of Galveston is the port of the city of Galveston, Texas, United States. It was established by a proclamation issued by the Congress of Mexico on October 17, 1825, while the land known today as Texas was still part of Mexico. The Port of Galveston is the oldest port in the Gulf of Mexico west of New Orleans.
Transportation in San Diego consists of a variety of air, road, sea, and public transportation options.
The Port of Ensenada is a marine freight and cruise terminal in Ensenada, Baja California. This deepwater port lies in Bahia de Todos Santos.
International Marine Passenger Terminal is a cruise ship passenger terminal located in the Port of Toronto at 8 Unwin Avenue in Port Lands, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The facility is operated by PortsToronto.
The economy of San Diego is the 17th largest among metro areas in the United States and 4th largest among California's metro areas, with a gross domestic product in Greater San Diego of $206 billion in 2014. The economy is also part of the San Diego–Tijuana international metropolitan conurbation.
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