The Tulsa Ports' primary facility is the Tulsa Port of Catoosa.[3] It is near the city of Catoosa in Rogers County, just inside the municipal fenceline of Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. It encompasses an area of 2,500 acres (10km2) and employs over 4,000 people at over 70 companies in its industrial park.[4] The port ships manufactured goods and agricultural products from Oklahoma to the rest of the world.[5] Designated a foreign trade zone, it is a major economic engine for the region with over 2.7 million tons of cargo shipped through the Port in 2013 alone.[6]
History
The notion of making Tulsa a port city on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS) evolved during the early 1960s, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was constructing the massive waterway. A delegation of 23 Tulsa business people travelled to Ohio to evaluate the impact of the effects of the Ohio River Valley navigation systems on regional business growth. They concluded that it would stimulate business in Oklahoma, and convinced other Tulsa business leaders to support the concept. The Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce appointed Early Cass to chair a committee, thereafter known as the City of Tulsa–Rogers County Port Authority.[7]
The port received its first commercial shipment in January 1971,[7] It was officially opened for business on February 20, 1970, and was formally dedicated by President Richard M. Nixon on June 5, 1971.[8] This port is the largest in Oklahoma. It is also one of the largest, farthest inland river ports in the United States.[9] It is located 8 miles (13km) from the Tulsa International Airport, and 15 miles (24km) from downtown Tulsa. It is a fully equipped multi-modal transportation center served by both the BNSF Railroad and the South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad. The port also provides rail switching services, known as the Port of Catoosa Industrial Railroad (PCIR),[10] utilizing three dedicated Port-owned switch engines. The railroad's operation was turned over to OmniTRAX in August 2022.[10]
In 1971, the first full year of operation, the port handled 86,654 tons of cargo. In 2013 (the most recently reported full year), it handled over 2.7 million tons.[11]
In addition to the many private terminals for grain, fertilizer, and break-bulk cargo located along the port channel, the port operates a 200-ton capacity overhead crane as well as a roll-on/roll-off dock.
In 2016 the port added a new 720 foot dock accommodating a rail line and multiple cranes.[12]
Low Water Wharf
In 2020 the Tulsa Port of Catoosa received a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration for railroad crossing repairs, freight rail infrastructure, and interchange improvements at the multimodal shipping complex and industrial park.[13]
On Thursday 24 September 2020, the Tulsa Port of Catoosa rebranded to Tulsa Ports.[14][15]
Facilities
The port has five public terminals that can transfer inbound and outbound bulk freight between barges, trucks and railroad cars.
Dry cargo terminals are owned by Tulsa Port of Catoosa. The dry break bulk cargo dock is operated by Tuloma Stevedoring, Inc. and primarily handles commodity iron and steel products. The dock is 720 feet (220m) long with a 230-foot (70m) wide concrete apron, and has various cranes and forklifts. It also features a 200-short-ton (180t) overhead traveling bridge crane.[16]
Dry bulk freight terminal is a public terminal operated by Gavilon Fertilizer LLC, and which can handle materials ranging from pig iron to fertilizer. This terminal has two pedestal cranes and an outbound conveyor loading system. Both open and covered storage areas are available.[17]
Roll-on/Roll-off (RO - RO) low water wharf or "Project Cargo" is a public wharf operated by the Port Authority very large cargo (e.g. certain process equipment used in oil refineries. Often these cannot be shipped easily by truck or rail because of their weight or their overall dimensions. Sometimes these are shipped internationally by sea, and must be transferred to or from ocean-going vessels at the Port of Houston or the Port of New Orleans).[18]
Bulk liquids terminals handle such commodities as chemicals, asphalt, refined petroleum products and molasses. There are seven such terminals at the Port.[19]
Tulsa Port of Inola
Tulsa Ports’ Inola facility, known as the Tulsa Port of Inola, is a 2,500 acre industrial park.[20] It has rail access to the Union Pacific, as well as barge access to MKARNS.[20] The first tenant, Sofidel, completed its manufacturing facility there in 2020.[20]
In September 2022, Tulsa Ports received the largest grant in its history, being $22.3 million from the federal government, toward the $27.9 million cost of the Port of Inola Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant.[21] The plant lays the foundation for industrial facilities which could likely provide 10,000 future jobs.[21]
In December 2022 the Port announced a $15.76 million dollar rail project to rehabilitate existing track to connect the Port and the Sofidel plant with the Union Pacific main line. The project included funding from Sofidel and the United States Department of Transportation.[22] The resulting Verdigris Southern Railroad opened in April of 2024.[23]
Further upgrades are planned.[24] As of December, 2023, an additional $150 million in infrastructure improvements are to be made to roads, water, and other utilities over the next two years.[24]
On May 22, 2023, an Enel subsidiary announced the Tulsa Port of Inola as the future site of one of the largest solar cell and panel manufacturing plants in the U.S.[25] Enel expects to invest over $1 billion in the 1.5 million square foot facility, creating 1,000 permanent jobs by 2025, with the possibility of creating another 900 in a second phase.[25][24] Oklahoma officials have called this the biggest economic development project in the state's history.[25][24]
Inola is a town in Rogers County, Oklahoma, United States. It is included in the Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area (TMSA). The population was 1,788 at the 2010 census with a 12.5 percent increase from 1,589 at the 2000 census. Inola is a Cherokee word meaning "Black Fox." The town styles itself as "The Hay Capital of the World."
Catoosa is a city in Rogers and Wagoner counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 7,440 at the 2020 census compared to 7,159 at the 2010 census.
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 Melbourne is the largest port for containerised and general cargo in Australia. It is located in Melbourne, Victoria, and covers an area at the mouth of the Yarra River, downstream of Bolte Bridge, which is at the head of Port Phillip, as well as several piers on the bay itself. Since 1 July 2003, the Port of Melbourne has been managed by the Port of Melbourne Corporation, a statutory corporation created by the State of Victoria.
The Port of Alaska (POA) is a deep-water port in Anchorage, Alaska, with three bulk carrier berths, two petroleum berths, and one barge berth. The name was changed from "Port of Anchorage" to the "Port of Alaska" in 2017. It is an enterprise department of the Municipality of Anchorage. It is distinguished from other types of municipal departments largely because it generates enough revenue to support its operations without being a burden to Anchorage property tax payers, and it also pays a fee-in-lieu of taxes to help run city government.
The Port of Muskogee, rebranded as Port Muskogee in January 2023, is a regional inland port located on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, in the United States. It is a multi-modal local hub for the transport of goods via trucks, railroad, and barges on the Arkansas River. It is one of the farthest inland ports in the United States that remains ice-free year-round and can access the Gulf of Mexico. It is located near the confluence of the Arkansas River, Grand River and Verdigris River in Oklahoma, at River Mile 393.8 of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System.
The Black Fox Nuclear Power Plant was a nuclear power plant proposed by the Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) in May 1973. It was cancelled in 1982.
The Port of Ashdod is one of Israel's three main cargo ports. The port is located in Ashdod, about 40 kilometers south of Tel Aviv, adjoining the mouth of the Lachish River. Its establishment significantly enhanced the country's port capacity. It handles the largest volume of cargo containers annually of all Israeli ports. Ships carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip also unload their cargo at Ashdod.
Teesport is a large sea port located in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland, in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, Northern England.
The McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS) is part of the United States inland waterway system originating at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa and running southeast through Oklahoma and Arkansas to the Mississippi River. The total length of the system is 445 miles (716 km). It was named for two senators, Robert S. Kerr (D-OK) and John L. McClellan (D-AR), who pushed its authorizing legislation through Congress. The system officially opened on June 5, 1971. President Richard M. Nixon attended the opening ceremony. It is operated by the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
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.
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 Cleveland is a bulk freight and container shipping port at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River on Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the third-largest port in the Great Lakes and the fourth-largest Great Lakes port by annual tonnage. Over 20,000 jobs and $3.5 billion in annual economic activity are tied to the roughly 13 million tons of cargo that move through Cleveland Harbor each year.
The Port of Immingham, also known as Immingham Dock, is a major port on the east coast of England, located on the south bank of the Humber Estuary in the town of Immingham, Lincolnshire. In 2019, the Port of Grimsby & Immingham was the largest port in the United Kingdom by tonnage with 54.1 million tonnes of cargo passing through that year.
Blount Island is an island of approximately 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, nine nautical miles (16.7 km) west of the Atlantic Ocean. One of three public cargo facilities at the Port of Jacksonville is located there, and it is also the site of the United States Marine Corps Blount Island Command.
Lekki Deep Sea Port, is a multi-purpose, deep sea port in the Lagos Free Zone and is the only currently operating deep sea port in the country, having started full commercial operations in April 2023.
ExpressRail is a network of on- or near-dock rail yards supporting intermodal freight transport at the major container terminals of the Port of New York and New Jersey. The development of dockside trackage and rail yards for transloading has been overseen by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which works in partnership with other public and private stakeholders. As of 2019, four ExpressRail facilities were in operation, with a total built capacity of 1.5 million lifts.
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Verdigris Southern Railroad, known as “VESO,” was initiated in 2021 to serve the Tulsa Port of Inola, one of the Tulsa Ports. VESO connects Port customers to the Union Pacific Railroad.
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