Cargo Ports and Marine Transportation
Maine continues to follow the Three Port Strategy that was first implemented in the late 1970s to preserve the coast of Maine's resources while at the same time encouraging needed industrial port development.
The strategy promotes cargo port development in Maine's three ports of Eastport, Searsport, and Portland. The ports have shown steady, consistent growth. In 1980, only a small amount of dry cargo was handled at the Port of Searsport and none in Eastport and Portland. Today the three ports collectively handle over 1.5 million tons of dry cargo. Additionally, Portland and Searsport also handle roughly 125 million barrels of petroleum products.
Over the years, MaineDOT has invested significantly in each of the three ports to help promote this growth. In Eastport, a $20 million facility was completed in 1998. In Searsport, a $20 million investment in a public/private partnership with Sprague Energy resulted in a new terminal being completed in 2003. And in Portland, improvements to the International Marine Terminal, such as the purchase of a new container crane and additional land, has ensured that the Port of Portland remains competitive.
History of Ports and the Maritime Industry in Maine
- Maine Maritime Academy in Castine is a college specializing in ocean and marine-oriented programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and continuing education for mariners. Each year they place better than 95 percent of their graduates in professional employment, a figure unsurpassed by any other college in New England and by few others in the entire nation.
- Founded in 1962, Maine Maritime Museum in Bath collects, preserves, and interprets materials relating to the maritime history of Maine. Maine's maritime heritage is told through gallery exhibits, a historic shipyard site, adult and children's educational programs, special events, and narrated excursions along the rivers and coast to points of historic significance and scenic beauty.
- Visit the Penobscot Maritime Museum in Searsport to discover your maritime past at Maine's oldest maritime museum.
Other Cargo Port Links
- Maine Port Authority
- Maine Pilotage Commission
- Maine Maritime Academy
- American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA)
Commodity Studies
Port Feasibility Studies
Funding Opportunities
Small Harbor Improvement Program (SHIP) - SHIP promotes economic development, public access, improved commercial fishing opportunities and works to preserve, and create infrastructure at facilities in tidewater and coastal municipalities. The SHIP program assists municipalities in improving or creating facilities, such as public wharves, piers, landings and boat ramps. There is a required 50% local share under this program. The SHIP program can provide up to $250,000 in assistance towards eligible projects. For more information about the SHIP program and how to apply, please visit the Small Harbor Improvement Program Grant page
Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) – BIG is a program funded in partnership with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for projects that provide benefit transient vessels that are 26 feet or greater in length. For more information about the BIG program, please visit our Grants homepage