The Port of Salem is a shallow-draft (16 feet) port in the vicinity of the Salem River Cut-Off on the Salem River in Salem, New Jersey in the United States about east of the Delaware River and about from the Atlantic Ocean. It was re-designated a port of entry in 1984 and became a foreign trade zone (FTZ) in 1987. Transloading operations include the handling of a variety of bulk cargo, notably of construction aggregate, break bulk cargo, and containers for clothing, fishing apparel, agricultural produce, and other consumer goods, and has at times involved lighterage. It is operated under the auspices of the South Jersey Port Corporation. The port is envisioned as being a component of the supply chain for the development of windpower in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New Jersey.
Salem waterfront
The Delaware River estuary was the territory of the Lenape. European settlement of the region around today's Salem began in 1638 when the colony of New Sweden was established and the Salem River was called Varkens Kill or Hogg Creek. Tradition holds that ethnic Finns settled inland from Finns Point in 1638. In 1641, a group from the New Haven Colony settled around Varkens Kill. In 1655, it was re-claimed by New Netherland and in 1664 it became part of the Province of New Jersey. In 1675, a land patent was given to John Fenwick, who founded the town. Originally, Salem's wharves were located along Fenwick Creek and Salem Creek, and received calls from Philadelphia, Boston and the Caribbean. During the American Revolutionary War, it was occupied by the British to prevent supplies from reaching American troops. Steamer service between Salem and Philadelphia began in 1825. The Salem Railroad opened in 1863.
The Salem River Cut-off, which bypasses a large bend in the river at the port, was authorized in 1925. For much of the 20th century, the waterfront along the Salem River Cut-off and Fenwick Creek was dominated by industries centered around glass manufacturing, food processing, and mineral/oil storage. From 1905 to 1978, H. J. Heinz Company operated a large processing plant along Fenwick Creek. Mannington Mills, Anchor Glass, and AluChem are located proximate to the port, as well as the South Jersey Farmers Exchange in nearby Woodstown.
Port of entry and foreign trade zone
Salem was originally designated a port of entry in 1682 by royal commission of the British Crown.
The City of Salem established a municipal port authority in 1982. In 1984, the port resumed international shipping operations and the United States Customs Service granted it status as a water port of entry, the first such designation made since the 1930s. It is now a port of entry in United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) District 21, which is headquartered in Newark and covers New Jersey.
Along with Millville Municipal Airport, portions of the port have been part of foreign trade zone #142 since 1987. Subzones associated with FTZ142 are located at the Port of Paulsboro and other locations in South Jersey.
Shipping channels and lighthouses
The Delaware and Salem rivers are tidal. The Delaware River Main Channel has been maintained at a depth of . Dredging to a depth of was completed in 2017. Reach C, which includes the entrance to the Salem Port, was completed in 2010. The shipping channel of the Salem River is much shallower, making the city a shallow draft port, which prohibits use by Handymax class ships. The Salem River and Cut-Off were first channelized in 1925 to a depth of . The river is entered though Salem Cove about from the Atlantic Ocean at the entrance of the Delaware Bay. The channel travels along the southeast side of the cove for and continues another to the Cut-Off and to the head of navigation at the first bridge crossing (Route 49).
The Delaware River is served by various range lights. Reedy Island is approximately southwest of the mouth of the Salem River. Reedy Island Front Light works in conjunction with the Reedy Island Range Rear Light for navigation of the Salem reach of the river. The Finns Point Range Light upstream of the Salem River was deactivated in 1950. From the Delaware River, entrance to the port is guided by the Salem River Range Lights, the Salem River Directional Light (), and 11 other lighted navigational aids.
Rail and road
The city and county of Salem have a long history of glass manufacturing, along with the site of the first successful glass production facility in North America. Adjacent to the port is the oldest manufacturing facility for glass containers in the United States, established in 1863 and long known as Anchor Glass, once owned by Anchor Hocking and now part of the Ardagh Group.