More than thirty East Bay EDA members and partners of the organization’s Land Use & Infrastructure Committee and Resilient East Bay initiative took an exclusive guided bus tour of the Port of Richmond on Friday, May 17th. Members had the chance to learn about the Port’s maritime history, its critical operations, and future plans directly from Port Director, Charles Gerard, who joined the City of Richmond in 2023 with 35 years of maritime industry experience supervising marine terminal operating systems for more than 400 terminals worldwide.
The Port of Richmond is Northern’s California’s most diversified cargo handler. With its roots in petroleum and liquid bulk cargos, the Port has expanded its dry bulk, and break-bulk capabilities and has increased its automobile processing facilities. The Port is also home to critical maritime service providers including Foss and Sause Brothers tugboat companies, Dutra dredging and engineering, as well as the Marine Spill Response Corp. (MSRC) and others. Today, the Port of Richmond ranks number one in liquid bulk and automobile tonnage among ports on San Francisco Bay. On the tour, attendees learned that the Port transports more than 80,000+ vehicles annually from Asia greatly in part to the Honda Port of Entry Project that broke ground in 2009. The project built a new state-of-the-art rail line for auto loading, along with creating hundreds of jobs and generating millions for the local economy. Representatives from the Consulate General of Japan and Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China attended the tour to learn more about this rich history between our countries.
Opportunities Ahead
If you’ve been over by the Richmond Ferry Terminal recently, you might’ve also noticed a large construction project underway on the Port of Richmond’s Terminal 3. Being developed by CA Ventures, a leader in the development of light industrial and supply chain logistics, about 20 acres of land will be transformed into a manufacturing complex for Moxion Power, a pioneer of mobile energy storage products currently operating at the nearby Ford Point Assembly Building and a major employer in Port Richmond. Their industrial expansion was made possible by the latest round of the State of California’s Cal Competes Tax Credit, which awarded the company $25 million in tax credits.
The Port of Richmond is focused on continued development and is exploring options to participate in the development of offshore wind in California by providing Operations and Maintenance facilities and potentially additional light manufacturing. The Port is open for business!
