Port of Wilmington, Delaware

The Port of Wilmington, Delaware is a full-service deepwater port and marine terminal handling over 400 vessels per year with an annual import/export cargo tonnage of 5 million tons.



Located at the confluence of the Delaware and Christina Rivers, 65 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, the Port is owned and operated by the Diamond State Port Corporation, a corporate entity of the State of Delaware.



Since it was founded in 1923, the Port of Wilmington has been a major Mid-Atlantic import/export gateway for a wide variety of maritime cargoes and trade.

The first inbound port along the Delaware River, the Port of Wilmington, is located at the mouth of the Christina River, approximately 65 miles from the Atlantic shipping lanes. The Port offers 4000’ marginal berthing with a 38-foot project depth on the Christina River, and a new 875-foot dedicated auto carrier berth on the Delaware River. The Port presently covers 350 acres, and future expansion is anticipated. The Port area is sheltered from sea conditions and experiences a moderate climate and light traffic density, thereby allowing the handling of ocean carriers with speed and efficiency.

The Port of Wilmington has modern, state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, and can handle all types of containerized, breakbulk and bulk cargoes. The Port has two 50-ton container cranes, which are capable of handling bulk cargoes as well. In addition, there is a Clyde Gantry crane with a 90-ton hook capacity and a Hyle-Patterson bulk unloader for ores and dry bulk. A fleet of forklifts with lifting capacities from 5,000-80,000 pounds is used to handle cargoes from shipside into dockside warehouses and to load trucks and railcars for delivery offport.

More then 2 million square feet of open space is available for storage of import vehicles, steel and containers. In addition, 200,000 square feet of covered warehouse storage is available for storage of dry cargoes such as lumber, paper, woodpulp and bagged goods. Modern refrigerated warehouses are located at dockside adjacent to Berths 5 and 6, offering 10 (700,000 sq. ft.) million cubic feet of temperature-controlled storage space for fresh fruits, frozen meats, and juice concentrates. In addition, the refrigerated warehouses include 16,000 sq. ft. with controlled atmosphere capabilities.

The Port is located within one-quarter mile of Interstate 495 for immediate access to East Coast markets, and is 25 miles from I-76, one of the region’s major east/west arteries. Rail access to the Port is available via Norfolk Southern and the CSXT, with railcar loading docks located next to every terminal warehouse.

The Port of Wilmington currently handles 5 million tons of waterborne cargo annually, including the following: bananas and tropical fruits; import and export vehicles; frozen meat and seafood; frozen and fresh juice concentrates; fresh fruits; lumber; steel; linerboard; gypsum; salt; petrolcoke, various bulk ores and minerals, and liquid bulk petroleum products. The Port of Wilmington is currently the nation’s largest banana port, and the USA’s number one port for fruit, produce and juice concentrate imports.

The Port of Wilmington offers potential savings over neighboring ports because of reduced vessel transit time to and from the Atlantic Ocean and due to high labor productivity with economical handling rates.