Marine Trades

Marine Trades are a critical part of the regional economy and the Port had developed a brochure detailing the strong marine trades support services available in Whatcom County.  According to a report published by the Center for Economic and Business Research at Western Washington University, 6,033 jobs are created or supported by the marine trades representing 7% of Whatcom County's total workforce. Working waterfront businesses are a diverse and very skilled set of contractors and trades people that provide family-wage jobs and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual economic revenue.  Marine trades include:

  • Shipwrights: manufacturing, boat yards, shipyards, boat storage
  • Boat services / outfitters: marine supplies, sails, rigging, fuel, repair services, dive services
  • Boat sales and brokers, tours and charter companies, boating clubs
  • Commercial fisherman, fish buyers, processors, aquaculture services
  • Transportation services including tug and barge, ferry, shipping/receiving, cold storage, warehousing 
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The Port owns and manages many of the properties where Marine Trades businesses operate and is making significant investments to upgrade Whatcom County's working waterfront infrastructure and promote economic growth. Significant projects that are planned or have been recently completed include:   

  • Hilton Avenue
    • Developing a new boat building facility and in-water infrastructure to support the expansion of All American Marine
  • Fairhaven Shipyard
    • Performing a multi-million dollar replacement of the timber portion of the shipyard pier to eliminate heavy load restrictions
    • Reconfiguring the shipyard and providing additional upland work areas to support expansion of the shipyard and to improve operational efficiency
    • Cleaning up historic contamination
    • Improving utility services
  • Bellingham Shipping Terminal
    • Dredging for increased navigation depth
    • Repairing the main pier
    • Repairing the roofs on Shipping Terminal warehouses
    • Increasing the amount of surrounding upland work areas
    • Improving utility services including stormwater, paving and power
    • Performing structural upgrades to the rail span and stub pier
    • Increasing sales and marketing efforts
  • C- Street Terminal and Whatcom Waterway
    • Removing derelict structures and cleaning up historic contamination 
    • Building a new barge terminal which includes new bulkheads, moorage dolphins, haul-out floats, a heavy loading area and a loading ramp 
    • Upgrading the marine terminal area by installing new utilities, removing overhead power lines, installing a storm water system, and upgrading the parking area
  • Fairhaven Marine Industrial Park
    • Repairing the Haul Out Pier
    • Upgrading fire systems
    • Installing energy efficient lighting
  • Blaine Marine Industrial Area
    • Bulkhead and pier restoration
    • Removing a building to support increased operational efficiency by the working waterfront
    • Cleaning up historic contamination
  • Squalicum Waterway
    • Working with the Army Corps of Engineers to perform overdue maintenance dredging in the Squalicum Waterway federal navigation channel
  • Squalicum and Blaine Harbors
    • Working with the commercial fishing fleet and maritime businesses to promote harbor facilities and increase commercial fishing vessel occupancy
    • Structural repairs to the commercial fishing piers
    • Revitalize the commercial fishing storage lockers (Weblockers)