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Physical
Port of Vancouver USA
The Port of Vancouver USA is the furthest-inland deep-water port on the Columbia River, in Vancouver, Washington.
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The idea
The Port of Vancouver USA is a deep-water port in Vancouver, Washington, along the Columbia River. A deep-water port has channels and docks deep enough for large ocean-going ships, which lets cargo move between those ships and the trucks and trains that carry goods across the land.
The port owns and operates marine terminals that handle bulk goods, oversize project cargo and roll-on, roll-off cargo. A terminal is an area of docks, storage space and machinery designed to handle particular kinds of cargo, so dividing a port into terminals lets it load and unload different goods at the same time.
Wind turbine parts, such as blades and tower sections, are extremely long and heavy, so moving them requires powerful lifting equipment. A mobile harbor crane moves on wheels or tracks, so it can travel along the dock to reach different ships. The port's twin mobile harbor cranes are typically used to unload wind energy equipment.
The port sits in the county seat of Clark County, the southernmost county in Washington. It is a government agency governed by three locally elected commissioners. Ports like this one connect farms, factories and energy projects far inland with ships that cross the ocean.
Check yourself
Question 1 of 3
In what year was the Port of Vancouver USA founded?
Composition
what it's made of
- Marine terminals — Port-owned terminals that handle liquid bulk, dry bulk, break bulk, project cargo and roll-on, roll-off cargo.
- Mobile harbor cranes — Twin cranes that unload high, wide and heavy cargo such as wind energy equipment.
- Deep-water docks — Docks deep enough for large ocean-going ships.
- Columbia River waterfront — The port lies along the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington.
Connection
how it relates
Change
how and why it evolves
- Past
- The port was founded in 1912. In January 2018, Washington Governor Jay Inslee denied a permit for the Vancouver Energy project, a proposed crude oil hub at the port. In February 2018 the port and the project's backers agreed to end its land lease, which ended the plan.
- Now
- Ships that call there export grain and copper concentrate and import slab steel, cars and wind energy parts.
- Next
- Demand for wind energy and shifts in world trade will likely shape which kinds of cargo the port handles in the coming years.