The Port of Salem is a shallow-draft (16 feet) port in the vicinity of the Salem River Cut-Off on the

Salem River The Salem River is a tributary of the Delaware River in southwestern New Jersey in the United States. The course and watershed of the Salem River are entirely within Salem County. Tributaries of the Salem include Game Creek, Mannington Cr ...

Salem, New Jersey Salem is a city in and the county seat of Salem County,New Jersey County Map

in the United States about east of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

and about from the Atlantic Ocean. It was re-designated a port of entry in 1984 and became a

foreign trade zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to ...

(FTZ) in 1987.

Transloading Transloading, also known as cross-docking, is the process of transferring a shipment from one mode of transportation to another. It is most commonly employed when one mode cannot be used for the entire trip, such as when goods must be shipped in ...

operations include the handling of a variety of

bulk cargo Bulk cargo is Product (business), product cargo that is transported packaging, unpackaged in large quantities. Description Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate (as a mass of relatively small solids) form, ...

, notably of

construction aggregate Construction aggregate, or simply aggregate, is a broad category of coarse- to medium-grained particulate material used in construction. Traditionally, it includes natural materials such as sand, gravel, crushed stone. As with other types of ag ...

break bulk cargo In shipping, break-bulk, breakbulk, or break bulk cargo, also called general cargo, are goods that are stowed on board ships in individually counted units. Traditionally, the large numbers of items are recorded on distinct bill of lading, bil ...

, and

containers A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...

for clothing, fishing apparel, agricultural

produce In American English, produce generally refers to wikt:fresh, fresh List of culinary fruits, fruits and Vegetable, vegetables intended to be Eating, eaten by humans, although other food products such as Dairy product, dairy products or Nut (foo ...

, and other

consumer goods A final good or consumer good is a final product ready for sale that is used by the consumer to satisfy current wants or needs, unlike an intermediate good, which is used to produce other goods. A microwave oven or a bicycle is a final good. W ...

, and has at times involved lighterage. It is operated under the auspices of the South Jersey Port Corporation. The port is envisioned as being a component of the supply chain for the development of windpower in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New Jersey.

Salem waterfront

Major Reybold at Salem Wharf with caption

The

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

was the territory of the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

. European settlement of the region around today's Salem began in 1638 when the colony of

New Sweden New Sweden () was a colony of the Swedish Empire between 1638 and 1655 along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a g ...

was established and the Salem River was called Varkens Kill or Hogg Creek. Tradition holds that ethnic Finns settled inland from Finns Point in 1638. In 1641, a group from the

New Haven Colony New Haven Colony was an English colony from 1638 to 1664 that included settlements on the north shore of Long Island Sound, with outposts in modern-day New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. The colony joined Connecticut Colony in 16 ...

settled around Varkens Kill. In 1655, it was re-claimed by

New Netherland New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...

and in 1664 it became part of the

Province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial history of the United States, Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1776. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherla ...

. In 1675, a land patent was given to John Fenwick, who founded the town. Originally, Salem's wharves were located along Fenwick Creek and Salem Creek, and received calls from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, it was occupied by the British to prevent supplies from reaching American troops. Steamer service between Salem and Philadelphia began in 1825. The Salem Railroad opened in 1863. The Salem River Cut-off, which bypasses a large bend in the river at the port, was authorized in 1925. For much of the 20th century, the waterfront along the Salem River Cut-off and Fenwick Creek was dominated by industries centered around glass manufacturing, food processing, and mineral/oil storage. From 1905 to 1978,

H. J. Heinz Company The Kraft Heinz Foods Company, formerly the H. J. Heinz Company and commonly known as Heinz (), is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 186 ...

operated a large processing plant along Fenwick Creek. Mannington Mills, Anchor Glass, and AluChem are located proximate to the port, as well as the South Jersey Farmers Exchange in nearby Woodstown.

Port of entry and foreign trade zone

Salem was originally designated a

port of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border control, border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not impo ...

in 1682 by royal commission of the British Crown. The City of Salem established a municipal

port authority A port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body (or bodies) to operate ports and other transportation infrastructure. ...

in 1982. In 1984, the port resumed international shipping operations and the

United States Customs Service The United States Customs Service was a federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. federal government. Established on July 31, 1789, it collected import tariffs, performed other selected border security duties, as well as conducted criminal in ...

granted it status as a ''water port of entry'', the first such designation made since the 1930s. It is now a

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and Immigration to the United States, immigration system. History ...

(USCIS) District 21, which is headquartered in Newark and covers New Jersey. Along with

Millville Municipal Airport Millville Executive Airport is in Millville, in Cumberland County, New Jersey. The airport, southwest of the Millville city center, is owned by the Delaware River and Bay Authority (DRBA) and the City of Millville. It was dubbed "America's ...

, portions of the port have been part of

#142 since 1987. Subzones associated with FTZ142 are located at the Port of Paulsboro and other locations in

South Jersey South Jersey, also known as Southern New Jersey, comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located between Pennsylvania and the lower Delaware River to its west, the Atlantic Ocean to its east, Delaware to its south, ...

Shipping channels and lighthouses

The Delaware and Salem rivers are tidal. The Delaware River Main Channel has been maintained at a depth of .

Dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...

to a depth of was completed in 2017. Reach C, which includes the entrance to the Salem Port, was completed in 2010. The

shipping channel In physical geography and hydrology, a channel is a landform on which a relatively narrow body of water is situated, such as a river, river delta or strait. While ''channel'' typically refers to a natural formation, the cognate term ''canal'' de ...

of the Salem River is much shallower, making the city a shallow draft port, which prohibits use by

Handymax Handymax and Supramax are naval architecture terms for the larger bulk carriers in the Handysize class. Handysize class consists of Supramax (50,000 to 60,000 DWT), Handymax (40,000 to 50,000 DWT), and Handy (<40,000 DWT). The ships are used f ...

class ships. The Salem River and Cut-Off were first channelized in 1925 to a depth of . The river is entered though Salem Cove about from the Atlantic Ocean at the entrance of the

Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States, lying between the states of Delaware and New Jersey. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltw ...

. The channel travels along the southeast side of the cove for and continues another to the Cut-Off and to the

head of navigation The head of navigation is the farthest point above the mouth of a river that can be navigated by ships. Determining the head of navigation can be subjective on many streams, as the point may vary greatly with the size or the draft of the ship b ...

at the first bridge crossing ( Route 49). The Delaware River is served by various

range lights Leading lights, also known as range lights in the United States, are a pair of light beacons used in navigation to indicate a safe passage for vessels entering a shallow or dangerous channel; they may also be used for position fixing. At night ...

. Reedy Island is approximately southwest of the mouth of the Salem River. Reedy Island Front Light works in conjunction with the Reedy Island Range Rear Light for navigation of the Salem reach of the river. The Finns Point Range Light upstream of the

was deactivated in 1950. From the Delaware River, entrance to the port is guided by the Salem River Range Lights, the Salem River Directional Light (), and 11 other lighted navigational aids.

Rail and road

The city and county of Salem have a long history of glass manufacturing, along with the site of the first successful glass production facility in North America. Adjacent to the port is the oldest manufacturing facility for glass containers in the United States, established in 1863 and long known as Anchor Glass, once owned by

Anchor Hocking Anchor Hocking Company is a manufacturer of glassware. The Hocking Glass Company was founded in 1905 by Isaac Jacob (Ike) Collins in Lancaster, Ohio, and named after the Hocking River.

and now part of the

Ardagh Group Ardagh Group is a Luxembourg-based producer of glass and metal products that has "grown in the past two decades into one of the world’s largest metal and glass packaging companies". As of 2012, the company operated 89 facilities in 22 countrie ...

. The rail line serving the port is called the Glass House Running Track and is an extension of the Salem Branch. On the verge of abandonment by

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...

, the southern section of the route from Swedesboro to Salem was purchased by the county in 1983 and is leased to

Southern Railroad of New Jersey The Southern Railroad of New Jersey is a small short-line railroad company based in Winslow Township, New Jersey. The railroad operates freight service in two areas in Southern New Jersey. In the Winslow area, trains operate out of Winslow Junc ...

(SRNJ). Long neglected, it is in poor condition and travel speeds are very slow. The line is undergoing upgrades to the rail bed, trackage, a trestle at Oldman's Creek, and other work. At Swedesboro, SRNJ

interchange Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...

s with

Conrail Shared Assets Operations Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) is the commonly used name for modern-day Conrail (reporting mark CRCX), an American railroad company. It operates three networks, the North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit Shared Assets Are ...

to reach

Pavonia Yard Pavonia Yard is a Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) rail yard in Camden, New Jersey. The yard begins just north of where the Vineland Secondary tracks cross the Cooper River near the intersection of State and Federal Streets, and continu ...

, the regional rail center. Route 45 and Route 49 provide access to Interstate 295, the

New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although ma ...

and the nearby

Delaware Memorial Bridge The Delaware Memorial Bridge is a dual-span suspension bridge crossing the Delaware River. The toll bridges carry Interstate 295 and U.S. Route 40 and is also the link between Delaware and New Jersey. The bridge was designed by the firm o ...

. In 2005, the Route 49

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- o ...

built in 1927 over the Salem River was replaced with a fixed bridge that can be converted to a

vertical lift bridge A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck. The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swin ...

and has been dedicated the ''Veteran’s of Salem County Memorial Bridge''.

Commercial shipping

The Salem Municipal Port Authority was established in 1982 with the intention to revitalize and coordinate shipping in the

port district A port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body (or bodies) to operate ports and other transportation infrastructure. ...

. In 2005, the Salem City Industrial District Brownfield Development Area was created to spur re-use of

brownfield Brownfield is previously-developed land that has been abandoned or underused, and which may carry pollution, or a risk of pollution, from industrial use. The specific definition of brownfield land varies and is decided by policy makers and l ...

s, including numerous properties within and adjacent to the port district, which is located along the southern

banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. As banks ...

of the river between the Salem River Cut-Off and the Route 49 bridge just outside the downtown area. It encompasses several terminal and wharf facilities for

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

s and

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...

s for bulk and

, and

shipping containers A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes. In the context of ...

. In 2006, the municipal port authority described the typical

making use of the port as carrying 150 containers and taking approximately 12 hours to unload and reload. The ''Bermuda Islander'', a Dutch-flagged container ship, calls regularly at Salem. In 2022 the port received funding for lengthening of its wharf and other improvements.

Salem Terminal

The South Jersey Port Corporation operates three terminals at the Port of Camden and is expanding operations to the Port of Paulsboro. The agency owns and operates the Salem Terminal, which had been publicly operated as the Salem Municipal Wharf and privately operated by Salem Terminals Ltd. and Del Stevedoring. It includes berth-side truck access to of berthing space with of beam (breadth). There is of covered shed and warehouse storage space. The terminal handles barges and container ships for

, clothing, fishing

apparel Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

motor vehicles A motor vehicle, also known as a motorized vehicle, automotive vehicle, automobile, or road vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on rails (such as trains or trams), does not fly (such as airplanes ...

, agricultural

, seafood, and

Mid-Atlantic Shipping and Stevedoring

Mid-Atlantic Shipping and Stevedoring relocated from Maine to Salem in the 1980s to be closer to the source of products they export and utilize the newly established port facilities. In 1990, they opened the Mid-Atlantic Shipping and Stevedoring Wharf, a small wharf terminal that is also utilized by several other shipping companies and located approximately above the entrance of the Salem River at 128 Tilbury Road on the east side of Barber's Basin marina, to handle bulk and break bulk cargo, and shipping containers. It has of berthing space with water depth. It includes of open storage space and utility connections for refrigerated containers. While the wharf is currently owned by Bermuda International Terminals, it is operated by Mid-Atlantic. Mid-Atlantic also operates the Tilbury Road Associates owned wharf with of berthing space, utility connections for refrigerated containers, and of open storage space on the west side of Barber's Basin.

Port Inland Distribution Network

The Port Inland Distribution Network involves new or expanded transportation systems for redistribution by barge and rail for the shipped goods and containers that are delivered at area ports in an effort to curtail the use of trucks and their burden on the environment, traffic, and highway systems. The

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ) is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...

(PANYNJ),

New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transport ...

(NJDOT), and

Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) is the metropolitan planning organization for the Delaware Valley. Created in 1965 by an interstate compact, DVRPC is responsible for transportation and regional planning in the greater Phi ...

(DVRPC), are involved in initiatives to review and develop this network. While it was determined that Salem was not an ideal location within the program for handling

container shipping Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers, or ISO containers). Containerization, also referred as container stuffing or container loading, is the process of uni ...

for

intermodal freight transport Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation (e.g., rail, ship, aircraft, and truck), without any handling of the freight itself when changing ...

, a private sector service provider began in 2010 the

short sea shipping The modern terms short-sea shipping (sometimes unhyphenated), marine highway and motorways of the sea, as well as the more historical terms coastal trade, coastal shipping, coasting trade and coastwise trade, all encompass the movement of cargo and ...

of aggregate products with a

service between Salem and Tremley Point, Linden on the

Arthur Kill The Arthur Kill (sometimes referred to as the Staten Island Sound) is a tidal strait in the New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary between Staten Island (also known as Richmond County), New York, and Union and Middlesex counties, New Jersey. It ...

in the

Port of New York and New Jersey The Port of New York and New Jersey is the port district of the New York metropolitan area, New York-Newark metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. It includes the sy ...

. It addresses a critical missing link in multimodal freight transport between ports in the

Delaware Valley The Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as Greater Philadelphia and informally called the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia tri-state area, and locally and colloquially Philly–Jersey–Delaware, is a major metropolitan area in the Nor ...

and the Northern New Jersey's urban

Gateway Region The Gateway Region is the primary urbanized area of the northeastern section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The region is anchored by Newark, the state's most populous city, and constitutes part of the New York metropolitan area. The area enc ...

. America's Marine Highway is a similar

US Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...

initiative to capitalize on US waterways for the transport of goods for which NJDOT applied and received approval for review and potential development of their initiative into a federally supported project. Salem would be considered for increased transportation by shipping vessels to customers along the East Coast.

Ferry and boating

Barber's Basin is a

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

between the two wharfs operated by Mid-Atlantic Shipping and Stevedoring. It is home to the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

Small Salem Station, a seasonal unit in operation from late May to mid-October. In 2013, the Coast Guard reduced staffing from daily to weekend operations. The private docks of the Salem Boating Club, across the river in Pennsville, also serve

pleasure craft Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

Delaware River and Bay Authority The Delaware River and Bay Authority (DRBA) is a bi-state government agency of the United States, U.S. states of Delaware and New Jersey established by an interstate compact in 1962. The authority operates the Delaware Memorial Bridge, Delaw ...

's Three Forts Ferry Crossing was renamed the Delaware City–Salem Ferry in 2013 to reflect changes in service due to

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy) was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late ...

damages. The seasonal service, rather than traveling to Fort Mott, departs from Barber's Basin with service across the river to

Delaware City Delaware City is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 1,885 as of 2020. It is a small port town on the eastern terminus of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and is the location of the Forts Ferry Crossing to ...

, which has the nearby Fort DuPont State Park, with connecting service to

Fort Delaware Fort Delaware is a former harbor defense facility, designed by chief engineer Joseph Gilbert Totten and located on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River.Dobbs, Kelli W., et al. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Union / Unite ...

Pea Patch Island Fort Delaware State Park is a , Delaware state park on Pea Patch Island in the mid channel of the Delaware River near its entrance into Delaware Bay. It is a low, marshy island in New Castle County, Delaware, facing Delaware City on the Dela ...

effective May 4, 2013 for the summer seasonal service. The ferry returned to serving Fort Mott on its previous route (instead of Salem) in 2015 and is now called the

Forts Ferry Crossing The Forts Ferry Crossing (formerly Delaware City–Salem Ferry and Three Forts Ferry Crossing) is a ferry system on the Delaware River that serves Forts DuPont and Delaware in Delaware and Fort Mott in Pennsville Township, New Jersey. It is oper ...

. Salem has been an occasional port of call for promotional and educational functions for the A. J. Meerwald, the New Jersey State Tall Ship.