130 



Table IV.2.5 also shows arrivals and departures for the major U.S. 

 ports for 1964. The traffic indicated by these statisics demonstrates 

 the competition for water surface and navigation channels. In New 

 York, for example, there are between two and three arrivals or de- 

 partures every hour. Portland, the 11th ranking port in the estuarine 

 zone, has an arrival or departure every 2 hours. There is very little 

 information giving a breakdown in vessel types. Statistics for the 

 year 1964 for the port of New York show 18,682 dry cargo or passen- 

 ger arrivals and departures and 5,098 tankers. 



TABLE IV.2.5.— ESTUARINE USE BY WATERBORNE COMMERCE, 1964 



Biophysical region 



Number Number 

 of of 



ports terminals Major port 



Combined Estimated 



arrivals and numbers of 



departures watercraft 



Boston -. 4,168 2,084 



New York 24,580 12,290 



Philadelphia 13,791 6,895 



Hampton Roads 11,353 5,676 



Baltimore 10,734 5,367 



Charleston. 



Savannah 



Jacksonville 



Miami 



San Juan 



New Orleans 10,400 5,200 



Houston.... 8,372 4,186 



Los Angeles-Long Beach 9,467 4,733 



San Francisco 9,081 4,540 



Seattle 4,171 2,085 



Portland.... 4,081 2,040 



Anchorage. 



Honolulu 



Reference: The National Estuarine Inventory. 



Data Source: Maritime Administration and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 



The estuarine ports also serve as essential elements of the national 

 defense system. The deep water terminals exert a significant influence 

 on the location of defense installations, as well as of the indusitrial com- 

 plexes necessary for logistical support of the defense effort. A direct 

 indication of the use of estuaries by the naval vesels is the total number 

 of ships in commission. During the fiscal year 1967 this number was 931 

 with a planned increase to 960 in the fiscal year 1969. 



In addition to those commissioned ships, in fiscal year 1967 there 

 were 1,071 merchant ships in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. These 

 ships are stored in the estuarine areas as shown in table IV.2.6. 



Waterborne transportation in the estuaries is not a completely free 



TABLE IV.2.6.— FISCAL YEAR 1967, NATIONAL DEFENSE RESERVE FLEET (MERCHANT SHIPS) 



Location 



Ships not 

 maintained 



Ships main- 

 tained in 

 retention 

 status 



Total 



Hudson River. 

 James River. 



Mobile 



Beaumont 



Suisun Bay... 

 Olympia 



Total.. 



443 



628 



1,071 



