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{{Infobox Port
| name = Port of Houston
| image = GreensPortIndustrialPakr-BuffaloBayou (34933182210).jpg
| image = Port of Houston Authority.png▼
| image_size= 300px
| imagesize=100px▼
| image_caption = Aerial view of the Greens Point Industrial Park at the port
| caption = Logo of the Port of Houston Authority▼
| country = United States
| location = [[Houston]] (Texas, USA)
| coordinates = {{coord|29|43|N|95|15|W|display=inline,title}}<ref name="fap-1">{{cite web |title=Port of Houston, U.S.A. |url=https://www.findaport.com/port-of-houston |website=www.findaport.com |publisher=Shipping Guides Ltd |access-date=24 March 2021}}</ref>
| locode = USHOU<ref name="Locode-1">{{cite web |title=UNLOCODE (US) - UNITED STATES |url=https://service.unece.org/trade/locode/us.htm |website=service.unece.org |accessdate=24 March 2021}}</ref>
| opened =
| operated = Port of Houston Authority
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| arrivals =
| cargotonnage = 212 million (2006)<ref name="POHA: Fast facts"/>
| containervolume = 1.
| cargovalue =
| passengertraffic =
| revenue = US$168 million (2006)<ref name="POHA: Fast facts">{{cite web | url=http://www.portofhouston.com/bondfacts/bondfacts.html | title=PHA and Bond Fast Facts | publisher=Port of Houston Authority |
| profit = US$42 million (2006)<ref name="POHA: Fast facts"/>
| blankstatstitle1 = [[Economic value]]
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| blankstats3 = 45 feet
| website = http://www.portofhouston.com
}}
The '''Port of Houston''' is one of the world's largest ports and serves the metropolitan area of [[Houston|Houston, Texas]]. The port is a
The Port of Houston is a cooperative entity consisting of both the [[port authority]], which operates the major terminals along the [[Houston Ship Channel]], and more than 150 private companies situated along [[Buffalo Bayou]] and [[Galveston Bay]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.portofhouston.com/geninfo/overview1.html | title=Overview | publisher=Port of Houston Authority |
==History==
[[File:Lifting towers at Port of Houston.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Lifting towers at the port of Houston in the late 19th or early 20th century.]]
The original Port of Houston was located at the confluence of [[Buffalo Bayou]] and [[White Oak Bayou]] in downtown Houston by the {{nowrap|[[University of Houston–Downtown]]}}. This area is called "[[Allen's Landing]]" and is now a park.<ref>{{cite magazine | title=On the Waterfront | page=88 |
Shipping points grew at multiple locations on Buffalo Bayou including the port of [[Harrisburg, Houston|Harrisburg]] (now part of Houston) and the docks on the [[Allen Ranch]]. By the end of the 19th century Buffalo Bayou had become a major shipping channel with traffic beginning to rival Galveston.<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=Houston Ship Channel | id=rhh11 | retrieved=February 1, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref>
The citizens of [[Harris County, Texas|Harris County]] approved creation of the modern port in 1909, believing that an inland port would better serve the region after the destructive [[1900 Galveston hurricane|Galveston Hurricane of 1900]]. [[United States President|President]] [[Woodrow Wilson]] officially opened the port to traffic as the World Port of Houston and Buffalo Bayou on November 10, 1914.<ref>{{cite web|title=WELCOME TO PASADENA, TEXAS !|publisher=Pasadena Chamber of Commerce|
In 1911, there was a campaign persuading voters to approve a $1.25 million bond to raise money for dredging the waterway. The campaign was successful and voters approved the bond issuance and creation of the Harris County Houston Ship Channel Navigation District that is called Port of Houston Authority (POHA) today.
Early supporters would prove to be correct; the port has grown to be one of the world's largest. By 1961,
==The port today==
[[File:Usports tonnage.svg|thumb|400px|left|The Port of Houston handles the second largest amount of shipping, in tonnage, of all U.S. Ports, with only [[Port of South Louisiana|South Louisiana]] handling more.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}]]
Approximately {{Convert|215
The Port Authority offers a 90-minute free cruise aboard the ''M/V Sam Houston'', details of which can be found on its website. Since the Houston Ship Channel is closed to recreational traffic, this is the only means by which the general public can view port operations, and thus the tours are highly popular.<ref>{{cite magazine |
Most [[Volkswagen]] (and [[Audi]]) automobiles sold in North America pass through the port of Houston.<ref>{{cite news | title=Factbox: Five facts about the Port of Houston | work=Reuters | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BD04Q20091214 | date=December 13, 2009}}</ref>
The Port is operated by the Port of Houston Authority, an independent political subdivision of the State of Texas governed by a seven-member commission. The City of Houston and the Harris County Commissioners Court each appoint two commissioners; these two governmental entities also jointly appoint the chairman of the Port Commission. The Harris County Mayors and Councils Association and the City of [[Pasadena, Texas|Pasadena]] each appoint one commissioner. Daily operations are overseen by an
A renovation project for the Port's Turning Basin Terminal began in 2010 and is expected to take 10 years.{{Update after|2021}} The Turning Basin Terminal is a multipurpose complex with open wharves and 37 docks that are used for direct discharge and loading of breakbulk, containerized, project or heavy-lift cargoes.<ref>
===Trade data===
[[File:Houston Ship Channel Barbours Cut.jpg|thumb|The [[Barbours Cut Terminal]]]]
The Port of Houston is a major point of international trade for the United States. The following is the trade volume by world region reported by the Greater Houston Partnership as of 2006.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.regione.sicilia.it/Cooperazione/internazionalizzazione/info_paese_usa/Texas/Presentazione_Texas.ppt#280,30,Houston’s
* Europe 31%
* Latin America 22%
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===Foreign Trade Zone===
The Port of Houston Authority manages [[Foreign trade zones of the United States|Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) No. 84]], which includes many privately owned and port-owned sites located throughout Houston and Harris County, Texas. The Houston Zone offers users special benefits. For example, customs duties on imported goods entering the FTZ can be delayed until the cargo is removed from the zone. No duty is paid if the merchandise is exported directly from the zone.<ref>{{cite web
The following Sub Zones are a part of The Port of Houston FTZ No. 84:<ref>{{cite web
* 84E Gulf Coast Maritime
* 84F [[Valero Refining Co.]]
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* 84M Hydril USA Manufacturing LLC
* 84N [[Pasadena Refining System]], Inc.
* 84O [[
* 84P [[Houston Refining]] LP
* 84Q Equistar Chemicals
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===List of firsts===
Despite being one of the youngest major ports in the world (the port reached its 100th birthday in 2014) it has already racked up an impressive list of firsts.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.portofhouston.com/pdf/pubaffairs/POHA-firsts.pdf | title=Firsts | publisher=Port of Houston |
Notable firsts include:
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* First direct shipment of cotton to Europe (November 1919 via the ''M/V Merry Mount'')
* First [[double-stack rail transport|double-stack]] container train (1981)
* When the [[Baytown Tunnel]] was removed in 1997 to allow deepening and widening of the Houston Ship Channel (it was replaced by the [[Fred Hartman Bridge]]), it was the largest tunnel so removed ({{Convert|35
* First port to conduct air emissions testing of its off-road equipment (2000)
* First port to meet [[ISO 14001]] standards for environmental excellence (2002), and the first port to be recertified to [[ISO 14001]] standards (2004)
In 1968 Texas historian [[Marilyn McAdams Sibley]] published ''The Port of Houston: A History''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AMarilyn%20McAdams%20Sibley&field-author=Marilyn%20McAdams%20Sibley&page=1|title=Books by Marilyn McAdams Sibley|
==See also==
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{{Commons category|Port of Houston}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140326170717/http://www.portofhouston.com/ Port of Houston Official Website]
*[http://www.ci.pasadena.tx.us/ City of Pasadena, Texas Official Website]
*View historical photographs of Houston and the Port at the [http://digital.lib.uh.edu University of Houston Digital Library]
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{{Texas}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2012}}
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[[Category:Economy of Houston]]
[[Category:Greater Houston]]
[[Category:Port authorities in the United States]]
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