Brooklyn terminal to be brought back to life

This comes after the US Maritime Administration and US Department of Transportation recognised SBMT’s importance by designating it and nearby Red Hook Container Terminal as part of America’s Marine Highway System, which will make cargo operations in Southwest Brooklyn eligible for future federal support.

Mayor of New York Bill de Blasio says these announcements mark key milestones in ongoing efforts to re-establish Southwest Brooklyn as a vital shipping hub, and they reflect the City’s interest in the long-term phased development of a deep water container port in New York’s harbour.

“This is a big step towards putting our waterfront back to work,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Soon, cargo ships that would have docked in New Jersey will be docking here in Brooklyn, bringing good jobs, taking trucks off our streets and helping spur this growing industrial hub.”

In May, the City Council approved a long-term Master Lease between the City and NYCEDC to activate an industrial maritime facility at SBMT. The project will return maritime service to SBMT and allow for calls from a new generation of cargo ships that import consumer goods and raw materials from around the world.

In addition, upgraded rail connections at the site make SBMT the only marine terminal in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island capable of handling ocean-going vessels, barges and rail on the east side of New York Harbour.

“If we are to remain competitive as a region, we must address the need for additional cross-Hudson transportation capacity,” added Richard Larrabee, Port Commerce director.“This initiative is one of the many solutions to help mitigate the already limited resources used to transport cargo in the New York and New Jersey region. The barge service creates the extra benefit of reducing congestion and the port’s environmental footprint.”

In January 2015, NYCEDC and the Port Authority co-sponsored an application to the US Maritime Administration to designate existing and future barge service across New York Harbor as a segment of the American Marine Highway Programme. The new route will provide access to origins and destinations east of the Hudson River for freight arriving and departing the Port Newark Container Terminal, further enhancing New York Harbour’s cross harbour freight network and supporting existing container-on-barge service between Global Container Terminals in Bayonne and Staten Island.