Maritime Month

The cruise sector not only brings prosperity but showcases the adventurous aspect of the San Diego region.  

A 2019 Economic Analysis Study found the Cruise Industry has a $20 million annual economic impact and provides nearly 500 jobs.  

With each cruise that disembarks on our shore, we welcome visitors to enjoy our dynamic waterfront. As adventurers embark from our shores, we send guests on a memorable experience.  

The shipbuilding and ship repair sector is foundational to our way of life in the San Diego Region. 

As a federally designated Strategic Port, the hardworking men and women of our maritime industry play a vital role in supporting our local Naval Pacific Fleet, enhancing our national military readiness.  

To help put the impact of our shipbuilding and ship repair sector into perspective, a 2019 Economic Analysis Study found the Industrial and Wholesale Industry, which includes shipbuilding and ship repair, has a $2.1 billion annual economic impact and provides about 6,600 jobs. 

Commercial and sportfishing have a distinguished legacy within the San Diego Region and help nourish our way of life. At one time, San Diego was known as “The Tuna Capital of the World” with two of the countries three biggest tuna canneries based along our San Diego Bay. 

As Sportfishing Association of California President, Ken Franke expresses, “Globally, San Diego is one of the largest sportfishing fleets of its kind in the world; San Diego offers live bait fishing, and we have hundreds of thousands of anglers who come down to San Diego’s boats each year."   

In partnership with Crowley, the Port welcomes the eWolf, the first all-electric tugboat in the United States! 

The 82-foot vessel with 70 tons of bollard pull advances Crowley and the maritime industry’s efforts toward sustainability and decarbonization. Over the first 10 years of its use, the new eTug will reduce 178 tons of nitrogen oxide, 2.5 tons of diesel particulate matter, and 3,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide versus a conventional tug. It also replaces a tugboat that consumes more than 30,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year.  

The etug will operate from Crosby Pier at our Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal with it's battery system charged at a specially-designed shoreside station developed with Cochran Marine. 

For vessels that are not able to utilize shore power, we are partnering with Clean Air Engineering – Maritime, Inc. (CAEM) to design, build, and operate a barge-based emissions control and capture system! This is sometimes referred to as a bonnet system. 

This bonnet system is placed on top of a vessel’s smokestack and captures and treats exhaust while at berth. This system will be used for vessels that can’t utilize shore power. 

The Port first installed shore power at the cruise terminals in 2010, making us among the first ports in California to have shore power available for cruise ships.  

Last year, we expanded the shore power capability at our B Street and Broadway Pier cruise ship terminals to allow two cruise ships to plug in simultaneously. 

And now, we are adding a third connection at our cruise terminal that allows vessels with starboard connections to access shore power at the south berth. At our Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, we currently have one shore power system, which is used by our tenant, Dole. We are also working on installing a shore power system at our National City Marine Terminal, which specializes in roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) cargo, that should be operational in the next year. 

Shore power helps to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions as ships do not have to run their diesel auxiliary engines while in port.