Port of Hueneme
| Port of Hueneme | |
|---|---|
Port of Hueneme Administrative Building
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| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Port Hueneme, California |
| Coordinates | 34°8′50″N 119°12′30″W / 34.14722°N 119.20833°WCoordinates: 34°8′50″N 119°12′30″W / 34.14722°N 119.20833°W |
| Details | |
| Opened | July 4, 1940 |
| Operated by | Oxnard Harbor District |
| Owned by | Oxnard Harbor District/Naval Base Ventura County: Port Hueneme |
| Type of harbor | Artificial |
| Land area | 120 acres (49 ha) |
| Port CEO and Director | Kristin Decas |
| Motto | We make cargo move. |
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Website www |
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The Port of Hueneme in California, United States, is the only deep water harbor between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area. Located in Ventura County on the Santa Barbara Channel, the port complex not only serves international shipping businesses but is an operating facility of Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC).
The Oxnard Harbor District (OHD) owns and operates the port. The port has five deep-water berths. As a shared port between NBVC and the Oxnard Harbor District, the U.S. Navy has over 4,500 feet (1,400 m) of berthing space for various ship platforms for use by tenant commands of NBVC: Port Hueneme and transient government contract/military shipping.
The original wharf was built to serve the new farmers on the Oxnard Plain and became the largest grain-shipping port south of San Francisco. The modern port continues this legacy as a dominant port for fruit and other produce. Bulk cargo and automobiles are specialties of the port and distinguishes it from much larger ports.General cargo includes household goods and oversized cargo. This includes providing support services for the offshore oil industry in the Santa Barbara Channel.
The port has a direct highway connection to the nationwide freight network which raises the status of the port and gives it access to more federal funding resulting in a competitive advantage. The port owns a railroad line through Port Hueneme and south Oxnard that is operated by the Ventura County Railroad and connects nationally to the Coast Route of Union Pacific. The District does not perform any cargo handling operations as the companies shipping through the port take responsibility in cooperation with the port district.
European immigrants began farming on the Oxnard Plain in the 1860s but the area was isolated due to the difficult overland routes. Thomas R. Bard chose Point Hueneme as the site of a wharf to take advantage of the naturally occurring depth of a submarine canyon. The extra depth meant there was less surge while the boats were loading or unloading than there would be at other locations. Before the construction of a 900-foot-long wharf (270 m) in 1872, goods had been shuttled through the surf zone to reach offshore vessels. Hueneme soon became the largest grain-shipping port south of San Francisco and the wharf was extended to 1,500 feet (460 m) in 1897. Three and four-masted wooden schooners brought lumber from the north and carried grain, lima beans and sheep to markets in San Francisco. Teams of horses pulling wagons waited for the load of grain to be weighed in lines that stretched six blocks. Hoping to connect the new wharf with ore mines in Inyo County, Bard launched a campaign to build a road through the Santa Clara River Valley. Bard also platted the townsite of Hueneme to support the activity at the port and build a family home.
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Wikipedia