Howland Hook Marine Terminal

Port overview

The Howland Hook Marine Terminal, operating as Port Liberty New York, is a container port facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey located at Howland Hook in northwestern Staten Island, New York City. It is situated on the east side of the Arthur Kill, at the entrance to Newark Bay, just north of the Goethals Bridge and Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge. Built by American Export Lines, the site originally housed a B & O coal dumper, which was completed in 1949. The facility had a capacity of 100 cars per eight-hour shift. The dumped coal was delivered via barge to utilities in the harbor. It was in the process of being dismantled by mid-1965. The terminal was purchased in 1973 by the New York City government for $47.5 million, and United States Lines moved its container port operation there that year. In 1985, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) leased the terminal for 38 years. The PANYNJ took full ownership of Howland Hook Marine Terminal in 2024. The PANYNJ currently contracts CMA CGM to operate a container terminal on the site. The facility is 187 acres (76 ha) in size, but there have been plans for expansion with the acquisition in 2001 of the adjacent 124-acre (50 ha) Port Ivory, a former shipping port operated by Procter & Gamble. The terminal operates a 3,012 feet (918 m) long wharf on the Arthur Kill, with three berths for container ships. The wharf depth is 50 feet (15.24 meters) for 1,200 feet (365.76 meters); 41 feet (12.50 meters) for 1,100 feet (335.28 meters); and 35 feet (10.67 meters) for 700 feet (213.36 meters). A fourth 1,340 feet (410 m) long berth with 50 feet (15.24 m) depth is planned on the old Port Ivory site. Facilities include container storage, a deep-freeze refrigerated warehouse and United States Customs Service inspection. The facility is also used to transfer containerized municipal waste from barges to trains, handling roughly half of New York City's barged trash volume. The terminal includes an on-site seven-track ExpressRail intermodal facility that connects via the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge to New Jersey and the national rail network. Two tracks are used for transferring waste containers. The rail facility opened in mid-2007 and uses part of the once-abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway, which leads into the Arlington Yard, and the Travis branch, along the West Shore.

Cruise visitors arriving at Howland Hook Marine Terminal disembark into a port that has been progressively expanded to handle larger ships and quicker turnaround. From the pier you can typically expect covered passenger processing, a clearly signed ground-transport area, and a transfer of just a few minutes to the principal in-town attractions. The exact walking distance from gangway to historic centre depends on the day's berth assignment, so checking the daily port map at guest services is worthwhile before you leave the ship.

Shore excursions in Howland Hook Marine Terminal break down into three useful brackets. Short half-day options keep you within the immediate city or coast, a manageable choice if you want a guaranteed early return to the ship. Full-day tours reach inland or up the coast (the usual mix of viewpoints, vineyards, archaeological sites or beach clubs) and are best when the ship is in port for at least nine hours. A growing number of independent travellers also book private guides through reputable local operators, which gives faster transitions and more flexibility than the ship-organised tour buses.

Independent travellers often combine a self-guided walk through the historic core of Howland Hook Marine Terminal with a short transit ride or taxi hop to a viewpoint. Local food markets, neighbourhood cafés and small museums consistently provide the most memorable stops between the headline sights. If you have a strong walker in your group, plotting a 90-minute morning loop on the way out and saving the harbour-side promenade for the end of the day works well.

Within walking distance of the cruise berth, Howland Hook Marine Terminal typically offers a compact historic core of two or three landmark buildings, a working market, a waterfront promenade and one or two small museums. A pre-call review of the local tourist office's website will surface any temporary exhibitions, festivals or street markets that align with your call day.

Practical considerations for Howland Hook Marine Terminal include the local currency (US Dollar (USD)), the working language (English) and a tipping convention where 15-20% restaurants, $2-3/bag porters. Confirm shuttle availability if your berth is more than a kilometre from the city centre, plan your re-boarding window with at least a 60-minute buffer before the all-aboard call, and keep your ship card and a printed itinerary copy on you throughout the day.

Beyond the standard cruise itinerary stops, Howland Hook Marine Terminal has a quieter character that rewards passengers who venture even a few blocks beyond the obvious tourist arteries. Residential streets, working fishing quays, secondary plazas and small religious or civic buildings often hold the architectural and cultural details that turn a routine port call into a richer experience. Even a brief detour from the announced excursion path can transform the day.

For navigation reference, Howland Hook Marine Terminal sits at approximately 40.6383° latitude, -74.1883° longitude, useful for cross-checking the port against weather services, ship trackers and itinerary planning tools.

Top shore excursion ideas

Below are the most useful ways to spend a day ashore at Howland Hook Marine Terminal, ordered roughly by how productive they are for a typical cruise call. Costs are USD per person and exclude tips.

Practical info for cruise visitors

Getting back to the ship

Most cruise calls at Howland Hook Marine Terminal end the same way they began: a short transfer (or walk) back to the cruise berth, security re-screening, and a return up the gangway with your ship card. Taxis, ride-share (Uber/Lyft), some transit. If your excursion is taking you any meaningful distance from the port, take a screenshot of the cruise berth on a map and the ship's name in the local language. It shaves time off the return trip if you have to ask for directions.

Independent travellers should also note the location of the nearest hospital, the local emergency number, and the cruise line's port-agent details (printed on the daily programme). For all but the most polished ports, this small habit avoids one of the few genuinely stressful cruise scenarios: being separated from a tour group with no easy way back to the ship.