Port of Boston – The Hub
The Port of Boston is unquestionably the “Hub” (with apologies to Oliver Wendell Holmes who is credited with coining the expression) of New England’s international trade. And the Port of Boston is its largest containerport. But the Port of Boston, Paul W. Conley Container Terminal, run by the Massachusetts Port Authority, better known as Massport, is besieged on all sides by larger container ports. The Port of Montreal is around 300 miles north, Port of Halifax just over 479 miles northeast (almost 100 more by land) and Port of New York/New Jersey, a little over 200 miles to the southwest. And besides these nearby ports, add in the factor that ports throughout the entire Northeast corridor, down as far south as the recently blocked Port of Baltimore, (see Dan Ronan story on page 26) are also competing with Boston for freight, and ship calls.
The first impacts of the upgrades were noticed in 2023 as the Port handled 236,975 TEUs compared to the 173,926 TEUs in 2022, a 36% change. The big statistic for Massport was the import TEUs from Asia which were up 80% to nearly 80,000 TEUs. This was also reflected in total vessel calls which hit 227 compared in 2023 to 130 in 2022. In the early going in 2024 (through March) the trend is holding as Asian import TEUs are up to 25% to 19,493 compared to 15,559 in 2023. Overall, total TEUs through March 2024 are up 62,116 compared to 52,316 compared to 2023 for the same period.
The port also may get a boost from the diversion of freight from the Port of Baltimore, but it is too early to say how that will have an impact on the overall numbers. Perhaps a bigger question is whether the Panama Canal low water will continue throughout 2024 slowing down Asian business. Early signs say it may be recovering which would be good news for the Port of Boston and all the Northeast ports.
Port of Davisville RI: America’s Largest Small Port Getting Bigger
The Port of Davisville, which is located within the Quonset Development Corporation business park, has regularly been in the top ten auto ports in the United States, and has been called America’s biggest small port. In 2023 The Port handled 200,000 plus autos in 2023 and the number could increase in 2024 by as much as 25%, or 4,000 vehicles per month, as a result of the realignment of shipping traffic due to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge outside Baltimore Harbor.
Another indicator of the increased activity at the Port of Davisville is Seaview Railroad, which operates on 14 miles of track throughout the business park. The shortline broke its annual record for rail car volume at Quonset Business Park by moving 7,513 rail cars in 2023. Seaview hauls a variety of raw materials and finished products to and from Quonset businesses before connecting to railroads throughout the region. (see G&W story on page 14)
But besides the auto imports, the port has also been on the forefront of the offshore wind power push in New England since the beginning as the staging area for 800 MW Vineyard Wind 1.
The construction work on the Pier 1 and Terminal 5 projects at the Port of Davisville is on schedule. The port upgrades will increase the number of berths available for cargo ships and offshore wind service vessels at the Quonset Port
The port has also been on the forefront of the offshore wind power push in New England since the beginning for Block Island Wind (now Orsted US Offshore Wind). Offshore wind service vessels already call at the Port of Davisville as they support construction at South Fork Wind. The business park is also the location for Revolution Wind’s underground transmission cable from the wind farm to the electric grid following a one-mile underground route located entirely within the park.
Port of Providence, RI — ProvPort
In November of 2023 Waterson Terminal Services, LLC (WTS) and SSA Marine announced that they were entering into a joint venture to invest in WTS. WTS is the exclusive port operator and manager of ProvPort, Inc., a non-profit, public-private partnership that operates the former municipal Port of Providence.
WTS specializes in handling bulk, break bulk and project cargoes including the transfer of cargo from vessel to vessel, vessel to barge, or barge to barge. In its capacity as terminal manager, WTS is responsible for vessel scheduling, general management, safety and capital improvements at the deep-water port of Providence and is a licensed stevedore in the ports of Providence, Davisville, RI and New Bedford, MA.
Seattle, Washington-based SSA Marine is an independent, privately held marine terminal operators with activities at more than 250 terminal facilities and rail operations throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America and Asia.
Chris Waterson, who was named president and CEO of WTS as part of the transaction said of the deal, “SSA Marine quickly emerged as the ideal candidate and we are excited to enter into this next chapter as we work to expand our services regionally, with a focus on the emerging offshore wind industry.”
And of course, offshore wind is the big question mark after economic headwinds caused a reset on a number of the anticipated wind power projects in New England. In March, three offshore wind developers released their plans for new project bids in New England. Two of the developers proposed basing their projects out of the ports of Salem (Crowley has invested in the Port) or New London, CT while another proposed New Bedford, MA. Speaking of New Bedford, construction of the entire Vineyard Wind 1 project runs through the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal, the first port facility in the nation specifically designed for offshore wind. At this writing, the project has installed nine turbines and is in the process of installing the 10th, with preparations underway to transport the 11th turbine to the offshore project site.
