Boston Port (port code: USBOS) is the largest port in Massachusetts and one of the main ports on the east coast of the United States. It is situated on the west shore of Massachusetts Bay on the eastern seaboard of the USA, about 90 nautical miles southwest of the Port of Portland in Maine.
Covering a total area of 12,032 hectares, the port comprises an inner and outer harbour. There are a total of 258 piers, wharves and docks in the port area. The port is also home to a huge complex of private petroleum and liquefied natural gas terminals. The port’s Conley Container Terminal, covering 41 hectares, can handle the largest container ships on the Atlantic and has reefer capacity for 160 containers.
The port handles approximately 15.5 million tons of cargo and 164,500TEU annually. The principal exports leaving this port are vehicles, lumber and logs, iron and steel, leather, recycled paper and machinery. The main imports entering this port are alcoholic beverages, frozen seafood, footware, furniture and petroleum products. The chief coastal trade is in bulk gypsum, liquid sulphur, cement and petroleum.
Each year about 1,200 vessels and 270,000 passengers visit this port. The types of vessels regularly calling at this port are dredging vessels, accounting for about 31%; passenger vessels, taking up around 21%; and cargo vessels, taking a proportion of 9%. The maximum length of the vessels recorded to having entered this port is 350 meters. The maximum draught is 12.8 meters. The maximum deadweight is 123,137t.