Commencement Bay, Tacoma’s working waterfront.
My home is just a few blocks north of Commencement Bay in Tacoma, Washington. I drive around the edge of Commencement Bay sometimes several times a week when I’m out doing chores or visiting friends or exploring the surrounding area.
Most of the land around Commencement Bay is part of the City of Tacoma, except for a significant portion of the north shore of Commencement Bay that is owned by the Puyallup Tribe. Most of the industrial complexes and shipping concerns around the bay are located on the eastern and estuarian end of Commencement Bay where several rivers empty into the bay.
It’s a very large bay in which several huge ocean-going ships can anchor all at the same time. Commencement Bay is BIG!
Above, the OSMARINE (a bulk cargo ship, not a grain ship) at anchor in Commencement Bay waiting for her turn at a loading dock so she can be loaded with exports from the USA. She is 740 feet long and 105 feet wide.
When most folks think about a commercial shipping port in the Pacific Northwest of the USA, they likely think of Seattle. But Tacoma is a healthy commercial port in its own right and, in some areas, has surpassed Seattle in exports/imports, in drydock and repair facilities, and in other aspects of a working port.
The POLARIS ACE, a vehicle carrier.
Puget Sound (Seattle and Tacoma together) is the second largest port that exports grain in the USA. #1 is South Louisiana which exports most of the grain from the midwest region of the USA after it comes down the Mississippi River by barge or it arrives by train. Importantly, Puget Sound is #2 in grain exports in the USA, with all grain arriving by train, then being shipped out to many ports around the world, mostly to countries on the rim of the Pacific Ocean.
Above, a grain ship being loaded from grain stored in the silos at the Tacoma grain dock. The aft holds of the ship have been filled; the forward holds have yet to be filled.
Tacoma also receives, and then ships, grain from Canada. When I drive by these grain silos that are on the south side of Commencement Bay, I often see one long train with railroad cars full of grain from the Canadian midwest, although most trains are from the USA. The exports are grains, soybeans, vegetables, and other agricultural products. The #1 destination for all of these agricultural products is Korea, with Japan running 2nd. Most of Tacoma’s agricultural imports come from China.
Above, the container ship ZIM Djibouti makes its way into Commencement Bay with Foss tugs as escorts.
Container ships dock in Tacoma too, to export and import all manner of goods. In addition to these container ships, other types of ocean going ships import and export cars and trucks, off-road and mining equipment, toys, and electronics. China is Tacoma’s largest trading partner. Each year, the Port of Tacoma handles between 17 and 19 million tons of cargo and more than $52 billion of commerce.
Barge service from Tacoma to Nome, Alaska.
The Port of Tacoma handles more than 70 percent of all commerce moving by water from the lower 48 states to Alaska. The Washington State Ferries have two drydock facilities in Tacoma used to haul huge ferries out of the water for maintenance. There are large staging areas on Commencement Bay for log booms for the logging industry. Foss Maritime Company in Tacoma is the largest tugboat company on the west coast of the USA. It was founded in Tacoma in 1889 by Thea Foss and still operates out of Tacoma. Their famous green and white tugs are each named after a Foss family member.
Shelley Foss tugboat, built in 1970 at 84.4 feet in length.
There are many marinas in Commencement Bay for moorage of privately owned recreational boats as well, with a number of haul-out and repair facilities for those boats too. There are at least two new-boat building companies on the Tacoma waterfront. There are restaurants, museums, offices, numerous parks, condominiums, wildlife areas, and other commercial and recreational facilities all around the edges of Commencement Bay … not to mention many hundreds of homes and, of course, the City of Tacoma itself.
Chinook Marina for privately-owned recreational vessels.
Commencement Bay and Tacoma have become home to one of the world’s most active commercial and recreational ports.
There is so much to see and do here! In future blog posts, I will visit wildlife areas or commercial enterprises or other interesting things around the bay and will report on my findings. If there is anything in particular that you would like more information about, just say the word.
I love that first picture. It would make a beautiful post card. Or enlarged and framed.
You live in an interesting place, so much to see and do.
Isn’t that picture pretty? Thank you Ginger. It was taken this past summer, and was taken from a parking lot up on a bluff that overlooks the working end of Commencement Bay. Mt. Rainier was out in all of her glory, which would help ANY photo. There are often people in that parking lot taking photos. It’s such a great view of the bay.
Looking forward to all your posts . Love the big ships . Years ago worked some at petroleum barge terminals on the Mississippi river in Ia & Mo. Looking at your pictures is a lot more enjoyable than working on them .
I can imagine the conditions working on petroleum barge terminals. Probably not the most comfortable or cleanest or healthiest places to work … hot in the summer, always breathing bad air, etc. But I’m glad you were there to do that because that means the rest of us have things that were created because of the petroleum industry. (As much as I’m troubled by the fossil fuel industry today, still it provided us with many comforts that we wouldn’t have had otherwise.) I bet you have stories to tell, Vernon. I bet you could write a book!
Thea Foss was an amazing woman. Maybe you’ll write more about her and Tugboat Annie?
Indeed, the story of Thea Foss is quite interesting! Sounds like you know the story. Basically, she started the Foss company when her husband was away, traveling. Neighbors of Thea Foss needed a small boat, and she knew how to build one, so she built one for them. Pause! Note! I have deleted the three full subsequent paragraphs that I originally wrote here because they are too long, and because I can’t include photos in this comment section. Tell you what, let me gather up some info and I’ll make a full blog post about the Foss Tug company and how Thea Foss started it … and I’ll include photos of the original classic boat “Thea Foss”. There is a “Thea Foss” on the water today, but it is not the original. Stay tuned!
Is there a campground around there that we could watch the ships go by? Or where is the best viewing area.
Hi Sally! Thanks for commenting and asking questions. The answers could be long, but I’ll keep them short-ish. 🙂 There is only one campground that comes to mind from which you can see the shipping lanes that those big ships use to come down Puget Sound … the Point Hudson RV Park, in Port Townsend, WA, on the Olympic Peninsula. Port Townsend is a wonderful, historic town that would be worth exploring as well. However, it’s not as though you will see a parade of ships passing close to shore. My estimate is that one ship passes maybe about once an hour, and they will be about 2 miles away, out in the middle of Puget Sound. Keep in mind that Puget Sound is about 100 miles, north to south, and about 8 miles wide at its widest point, tho usually only 2-3 miles wide. So you won’t be up close and personal with any commercial ships. There are LOTS of nice private, city, state, or federal campgrounds around Tacoma. Pick one that’s close to Puget Sound, and then drive to all of these many wonderful things to see, including the Port of Tacoma. Get a map and spend a full day exploring Commencement Bay … from Browns Point on the east to Point Ruston south across the bay … you won’t be bored! Hint: stop at the Cliff House Restaurant near Browns Point for a meal or a beverage and take a few photos from their parking lot.
Good info. Thanks for replying. I bookmarked the page for when/if we get there. That’s a long way from MI!
Indeed, Michigan is a bit of a drive from Tacoma. 🙂 But Michigan is a fine state! My dad was born in Kalamazoo. If you folks ever do head this way, Sally, please let me know. I would be happy to give you lots of ideas of things to see and do.
Very interesting. The Weather Channel reported that Mr Rainier has received 700 inches of snow this winter. It looks beautiful!
Hi Geno. Nice to have you here! Wow, that sounds like a lot of snow. Mt. Rainier is one tall mountain. Even those of us who were born and raised here continue to be impressed with “the mountain”. When we say “the mountain”, we all know what we mean.