The Port of Stockton Today | Overview

To give you an overview, it only takes eight hours to traverse the more than seventy nautical miles between the Pacific Ocean and the Port of Stockton, and once there you will find yourself at the heart of commercial transportation. In addition to our ocean access, we are situated at the hub of several major freeways, as well as two transcontinental railroads.

Accommodate Large Vessels

This is an overview of a cargo ship reaching Port of Stockton

The Stockton Deepwater Ship Channel has an average depth of 35 feet (10.6 meters), and reaches an average of 40 feet (12.2 meters) at high tide. Vessels in between 45,000 and 55,000 DWT, and even some wide-beam 60,000 DWT ships, can easily navigate the passage with a full load, while up to 80,000 DWT vessels can make the trip with a partial load. The channel does not have a width restriction, and ships up to 900 feet (275 meters) LOA are capable of reaching the Port of Stockton.

Handle Diverse Cargo

An overview of workers unloading long metal pipes with a port crane at the port of stockton.

At the Port of Stockton we feel that if we aren’t flexible then we aren’t doing our job right. With that in mind, if you need to ship it then we need to move it. That is why we have two massive Liebherr 550 mobile harbor cranes, each with a 144 metric ton capacity. We project cargoes here at the Port, and are more than comfortable moving heavy machinery like steel presses, transformers, and windmill blades. But don’t forget that our specialty is bulk, break bulk and liquid bulk products. We have more than eighty years’ experience moving and storing all kinds of commodities from bagged rice, to prilled sulfur, to molasses.

And don’t forget that the Port of Stockton is an operating port. That means that we aren’t here to regulate your business from a distance; we’re here to help you get things done. We have a fleet of 30,000 to 60,000 lb. forklifts, equipped with slings, spreaders, coil rams, or whatever else your loading/unloading may require, and we provide stevedoring services so that our clients don’t have to worry about managing them. Our facilities are equipped with a flexible and ever growing network of conveyors and hoppers to help in the handling and storing of your products, as well as an extensive onsite rail system that connects our docks right to the BNSF and UP transcontinental lines for quick and efficient maritime to overland transitions.