Fall River's harbor has always been one of its great assets. Second only to Boston in terms of cargo volume, the Port of Fall River stands ready to service your shipping needs.
The port facilities are located on the exact site of the Old Fall River Line steamship service on the southern coast of Massachusetts. Fall River is recognized as a safe, natural harbor accessible through a protected channel in beautiful Narragansett Bay. The port offers a variety of shipping opportunities, with two deep-water berths, three rail spurs and a 96,000-square-foot storage terminal on 10 acres of adjacent land.
The Fall River Line Pier, the terminal operator, opened for business in 1954, servicing the needs of the general cargo and break-bulk industry. Over its history, the port has handled various types of cargo, including wood pulp, bananas, fresh and frozen fish, wallboard, newsprint, paper, chemicals and lumber. Fall River continues to specialize in break-bulk cargoes and currently handles Kraft liner board, lumber, paper products, frozen fish and chemicals.
The exporting of vehicles and equipment has become a major source of port activity in Fall River. To accommodate this industry, the port facilities include a Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro/Ro) ramp to provide timely loading and turnaround for oceangoing vessels. Vehicles are loaded and delivered to foreign locales, including Colombia, the Dominican Republic and other destinations in the Caribbean Basin.
To increase its port activities, Fall River has developed a strong transportation infrastructure, including direct, on-dock connections to three rail tracks for freight shipping. The seaport also has truck terminal and storage facilities easily accessible to major metropolitan areas via Route 24 (Boston) and I-95 (New York City and Providence, Rhode Island).
Several improvement projects are being developed to expand port activities in Fall River, including upgrading of the terminal building to accommodate modern cruise ships and developing its waterfront for port operations and industry.
Tourism is another area of future growth in Fall River. Attractions such as Battleship Cove, Heritage Park, the Fall River Carousel and the Fall River Mill Outlets draw thousands of visitors to the area each year. Efforts continue to increase the region's tourism base and attract additional cruise activity to the port.