Long Beach Pier History

In 1899 the long beach pier was opened due to development in the Break Water project. The port of Long Beach is the 2nd largest port in the United State and makes about $180 billion a year. The port of Long Beach has 22 terminals, 66 ship to shore cranes, and 62 berths. Some of the top imports are crude oil, electronics, and plastics. Some of the top exports are petroleum coke, petroleum bulk, and chemicals. 2/3rd of the cargo entering the port of Long Beach ends up in the east coast and arrives faster than a direct sea route because of the ports available On Dock Rail. The port started on dock rail in 1986 and is now available in five terminals. The port of Long Beach is also trying to reduce its carbon footprint by introducing programs like Green Dot which offer lower docking rates to ships that don’t speed in the harbor.
The port of Long Beach has an advantage in having the biggest crude oil terminal in the west coast allowing raw materials and dry bulk items. The reason for a focus on the material and bulk is because the port offers larger ships it deep canal, 5,000 feet wharf terminal, and largest enough cranes to moves all the items. The port long beach is one of the only ports in the U.S. to offer big ship ready which means it can fit some of the biggest ships in the world. The port of Long Beach is protected by Long Beach police department, Coast Guard, and Homeland Security. Other interesting facts about the port of Long Beach is they take part in disaster response drill that prepares the whole pier on what to do if an emergency. The new Gerald Desmond Bridge will be the second largest cable bridge in the U.S. and will make the port more efficient by allowing some of the largest ships underneath