Port of Hueneme uses Navy wharf to ease cargo congestion
The Port of Hueneme and Naval Base Ventura County have activated a joint-use agreement that allows the port to use part of the adjacent naval base to increase its capacity and help relieve the nation’s stressed supply chains.
The joint-use agreement, which dates to 2002, allows for commercial use of Wharf 3 at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, as well as 21 acres of nearby land, two buildings, and up to 10 additional acres of industrial land outside of the Wharf 3 area, according to a statement issued Nov. 22 by the port.
One largo cargo ship has already used the Navy wharf to unload “a large number of 40-foot containers … which is merchandise expected to have direct impact with helping to support holiday supply demands,” Daniel J. Herrera, the naval base’s assistant program director for port operations, said in the Port of Hueneme’s news release.
Congestion has eased slightly in recent weeks at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, but they remain overloaded, and typically have dozens of ships waiting offshore. The Port of Hueneme is not focused on large container ships and has not seen the same level of congestion, though its volume of containerized trade was up 44% year-over-year during the first fiscal quarter of 2021-22, from July through September.
“We are grateful to the base for securing real estate to help stage the backlog of containers, enabling us to take on more cargo, avoid congestion here at the port and get important commodities to market including electronics, furniture, apparel and our traditional agricultural and automobile products,” Port of Hueneme CEO Kristin Decas said in the port’s news release.
