Port of Wilmington (Delaware)

Port of Wilmington
The Port of Wilmington as seen from Interstate 495 on July 9, 2011.
Location
Country	United States
Location	Wilmington, Delaware
Coordinates	39°43′06″N 75°31′25″W / 39.71833°N 75.52361°W / 39.71833; -75.52361 (Port of Wilmington (Delaware))
Details
Opened	1923
Operated by	Diamond State Port Corporation
Owned by	Diamond State Port Corporation
Land area	308 acres (1.25 km2)
Available berths	10 (general cargo × 7, petroleum × 1, floating RoRo × 1, auto and RoRo × 1)
Executive Director	Eugene R. Bailey
Cargo handling	3 gantry cranes (50-ton cap. × 2, 75-ton cap. × 1)
Dry storage facilities	50 acres (0.20 km2) open space; 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2) dry warehouse space
Temperature controlled storage facilities	6 warehouses (800,000 square feet (74,000 m2) chilled/freezer storage; 16,000 square feet (1,500 m2) controlled atmosphere storage)
Statistics
Vessel arrivals	359 (CY2009)
Annual cargo tonnage	4,149,000 (CY2009)
Annual container volume	1,571,000 tons (CY2009)
Annual liquid bulk petroleum	1,409,000 tons (CY2009)
Main imports/exports	Fresh fruit, bananas, juice concentrate, automobiles, steel, forest products, livestock, petroleum
Website http://www.portofwilmington.com

The Port of Wilmington (formerly Wilmington Marine Terminal) 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 first development of a marine terminal in Wilmington was completed in 1923 at the location of the current Port of Wilmington. A number of improvements and expansions were made to the port over the course of the following decades. In 1972, Del Monte made the port its "principal North American port-of-discharge" for bananas and pineapples. Four years later, Volkswagen of America chose the port as its hub for imports of Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche automobiles to North America and the Port of Wilmington constructed a floating dock to receive these products. In June 1995, the state of Delaware purchased the port from the city of Wilmington and created Diamond State Port Corporation to operate the facility. In October 2007, the Port of Wilmington became the first port to implement the Transportation Worker Identification Credential.

In 2011, the Port sought to expand operations to include new construction of a berth suitable for container ships on the Delaware River.

The port has a 3,435-foot (1,047 m) wharf face along the Christina River with depths of 35–38 feet (11–12 m) alongside. There are nine berths facing the Christina River, including seven general cargo berths, one petroleum berth, one floating roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) berth. An automobile berth faces the Delaware River.