The Port of Galveston lies on the northeastern shores of Galveston Island off the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast of Houston, Texas. It is an important deep-water port on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the South United States. In 2007, over 57 thousand people called the Port of Galveston home.

In September 2008, Hurricane Ike did considerable damage to the Port of Galveston. Many parts of the city were flooded with seawater, and some of its most popular landmarks were destroyed. While many businesses and hotels have reopened, full recovery will take some time.

Tourism accounts for almost one-third of all jobs in the Port of Galveston. The Port of Galveston is also home to one of the State of Texas' biggest teaching hospitals and one of the biggest life insurance companies in the United States. The Port of Galveston, which is also called the Galveston Wharves, handles all types of cargo and has a busy cruise ship terminal that serves cruise lines operating in the Caribbean. It is homeport to two Carnival Cruise Lines vessels and the Royal Caribbean International's Voyager of the Seas.

Juan de Grijalva discovered Galveston Island in 1519. Historians believe that Spanish explorer Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca shipwrecked on Galveston Island in 1528. René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, visited the island in 1686, but it remained occupied only by the indigenous Karankawa peoples into the 18th Century.

In 1777, Spanish troops occupied the island for a brief time, naming it Galvez after the governor of Spanish Louisiana. Mexico's governor for Texas sent French privateer Louis-Michel Aury to create a port on Galveston Island in 1816 from which Mexican ships could attack royalists towns on the coast and Spanish ships in the Gulf.

The island was headquarters to pirate Jean Laffitte from 1817 until 1821. Laffitte created a fortified village, Campeche, with pirate huts, a large slave market, a shipyard, boarding houses, and gaming establishments and saloons. He also built himself a mansion in the settlement.

By 1825, the Port of Galveston was a small trading post. The city was established by an act of the Congress of Mexico in 1825 when the land was still part of Mexico. The site of the future Port of Galveston was long reported as the best natural harbor in the Texas colony, and it became the oldest port in the Gulf of Mexico to the west of New Orleans. Mexico's Congress designated the Port of Galveston as a port and customs entry point and established a customs house there in 1831.

In 1835 after the Texas Revolution, the Texas Navy made the Port of Galveston its homeport, and it became a port of entry to the Republic of Texas in 1837. For a brief time, it was the capital for the new republic. Texas became a State in the United States in 1845.

In 1836, Canadian Michel B. Menard bought a plot of 18.6 square kilometers from the Austin Colony to establish what would become the modern city of Galveston. In 1839, the City of Galveston was incorporated into the Republic of Texas.

The State of Texas chartered the Galveston Wharf and Cotton Press Company in 1854, consolidating the privately-owned docks and warehouses in the Port of Galveston. At that time, trains unloaded cargoes onto ferries to transport goods to the Port of Galveston. In 1860, a railroad bridge was finished, and railroads could serve the docks directly.

The Port of Galveston was an important supply port for the Confederate States during the American Civil War. It was captured for a few months during 1862 by a Union fleet. In 1865, the nationally-celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the US, Juneteenth, began when Union forces brought the new of the Emancipation Proclamation to the Port of Galveston.

In 1889, the US Congress approved improvements at the Port of Galveston, including deepening the natural channel and building a system of protective jetties. The Port of Galveston got its first grain elevator in the 1890s.

During the 19th Century, the Port of Galveston was the site of many firsts for the State of Texas. The first post offices and the first naval base were established in 1836. The first Roman Catholic Cathedral was built there in 1839. The first Texas chapter of the Masons began in 1840. The first cotton compress appeared in 1842, and the first parochial school opened in 1847 (Ursuline Academy). The first insurance company opened its doors in 1854, and the first gas lights were introduced in 1856. The State's first Jewish Reform Congregation came to town in 1868, and the first orphanage began operating in 1876. Galveston had the first telephone (1878) and the first electric lights (1883). It was home to the first nursing school (1890) and the first medical college (1891).

By 1900, the Port of Galveston was a fast-growing urban center with a population of 37 thousand. It was the country's biggest exporter of cotton and the third biggest exporter of wheat in the United States. During the early 20th Century, Imperial Sugar Company began to operate on the Port of Galveston docks to import sugar from Cuba.

In 1940, the citizens of the Port of Galveston voted to purchase the private holdings of the Galveston Wharf Company, and the port became a public port known as the Galveston Wharves.

In 1951, the Port of Galveston set the national record for exports, largely due to exports from Elevator B. In 1954, a rail and auto causeway connected Galveston and Pelican Island. In 1965, the Port of Galveston was honored by receiving the President's award for Export Trade Development due to its contributions to increases in US foreign trade.

The 1970s was a time of growth for the Port of Galveston. Duval Corporation opened a large sulfur exporting facility in the Port of Galveston in 1970, and the port's container terminal opened in 1972. The first cruise ships docked at the Port of Galveston in 1974, and the port bought over 40 hectares of land on Pelican Island for expansions. In 1976, the Port of Galveston Channel was deepened from 11 to 12.2 meters. Foreign Trade Zone #36 was created on Galveston and Pelican Islands in 1978.

In 1984, the Port of Galveston recorded its highest tonnage volume ever. The port established its first sister port relationship in 1986 with the Port of Valparaiso in Chile. In 1989, the first day-cruises began, and the new $2 million Galveston Cruise Ship Terminal was dedicated in 1990. In 1995, the Port of Galveston celebrated its 170th anniversary with an event on the waterfront that showcased the port's contribution to the maritime industry.

During the 1990s, the Port of Galveston's international relationships grew. The Mexican Consulate opened a branch office at the Port of Galveston. In 1998, a container alliance that included the Port of Galveston, the Port of Houston, and China Ocean Shipping Company selected PHA Container Terminal in the Port of Galveston as a base for their operations. In 1999, Wallenius Lines and Wilhelmsen Lines formed the biggest roll-on/roll-off carrier in the world with Port of Galveston as their new regional headquarters.

In 1997, the Port of Galveston signed a lease agreement with the Port of Houston that allowed Houston to operate the container terminal in Galveston. The following year, the Del Monte Fresh Fruit facility held a ribbon-cutting to celebrate its $1 million investment to improve the facility. In 1999, the Port of Galveston signed a five-year lease agreement with Deepsea Flexibles, Inc., to develop a flexible pipe manufacturing facility in the Port of Galveston.

In 2000, the Port of Galveston broke ground for a $10 million renovation project on the Texas Cruise Ship Terminal on Galveston Island, and the port signed an agreement for the development of a new multi-service terminal on Pelican Island. In 2001, the Port of Galveston cruise business doubled when the Carnival Cruise Lines began home-porting a second cruise ship in the port. In 2001, the Port of Galveston was the 7th busiest cruise port for the Caribbean region based on the number of passengers using the port, and the Port of Galveston began to refurbish Cruise Terminal #2 in 2002.

In 2003, the Port of Galveston signed an agreement with River Materials LLC to develop a general-purpose bulk terminal on the site of the earlier Imperial Sugar's bulk sugar terminal. The same year, Lloyd's Cruise International ranked the Port of Galveston as the 18th top cruise port in the world and the 6th top cruise port in the Caribbean region. Also in 2003, the Port of Galveston imploded Grain Elevator B to make way for an expansion of cruise operations in the port. Later that year, the Port of Galveston signed an agreement with Cuba's largest food importer to provide food to Cuba's 11 million residents.

In 2004, Celebrity Cruises announced it would operate 11- and 12-day cruises from the Port of Galveston to the Panama Canal, and the port started a $7 million refurbishment effort for Cruise Terminal 2. That year, the one millionth passenger since 2000 passed through the Port of Galveston.

Today, the Port of Galveston economy depends on shipping, resorts, food processing, and oil refining. The major exports leaving the Port of Galveston are cotton, sulfur, and grain, and its major imports include sugar, bananas, and tea. The Port of Galveston shipyards offers repairs for all types of vessels, including nuclear-powered vessels. In addition to being the home of the University of Texas ' medical teaching hospital, the Port of Galveston houses Texas A&M University 's marine sciences and maritime resources branch.

In the fall of 2008, the Port of Galveston fell prey to Hurricane Ike, bringing winds of 110 miles per hour and waves and a storm surge of over four meters.

The Board of Trustees of the Galveston Wharves was designated to operate the public Port of Galveston by City Charter in 1940. The wharves and terminal properties that the city bought were created as a separate utility within the city and named the Galveston Wharves. The Board of Trustees is responsible for managing the assets of the port and to benefit the local economy of the city and region. Specifically, the Port of Galveston's mission is to be an economic catalyst, generating jobs and income to the economy, and to build, maintain, and either lease or operate public wharf facilities so that they are financially self-sufficient.

The Port of Galveston is strategically located at the mouth of Galveston Bay about one-half hour from the Gulf of Mexico. The Port of Galveston owns and operates public wharves, covered and open storage, transit sheds, warehouses, and freight-handling facilities. Most of the land and facilities is leased to private interests. The Port of Galveston is served by the Galveston Railroad, L.P. that provides rail connections with the Union Pacific Railroad and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad.

Pier 10 in the Port of Galveston has a 410.3-meter dock with two berths and alongside depth of 12.2 meters. The terminal at Pier 10 covers 15.4 hectares, and the dock is served by an on-terminal rail ramp and truck and rail services.

Piers 19-22, the "Window on the Waterfront," is the Port of Galveston's tourist-oriented facility. It is home to the Ocean Star Drilling Rig Museum, the Texas Seaport Museum, the Waterfront Inn, and the 1877 iron-hulled sailing vessel Elissa as well as many restaurants, shops, theaters, and art galleries.

The Port of Galveston's Piers 25-27 contain the two Cruise Ship Terminals operated by the Port of Galveston. The facility contains two berths of 609.6 meters alongside depth of 9.1 meters. The total terminal area is 20.4 thousand square meters, and the terminals are supported by port-operated parking facilities with full security and shuttle services. Houston airports provide air service to over 150 cities, and the port offers shore excursions and motor coach tours near the terminal facility.

Carnival Cruise Lines operates two vessels, the Ecstasy and the Conquest, offering 4- and 5-day cruises to Mexico. Royal Caribbean International operates its largest ship, the Voyager of the Seas, offering 7-day cruises to the Western Caribbean from the Port of Galveston's Cruise Ship Terminals.

The Port of Galveston's Piers 16-18 specialize in handling fresh fruit (mainly bananas) and produce and providing chilled storage. Operated by Del Monte Fresh Produce, the 2-berth dock is 366.7 meters long alongside depth of 10.4 meters. The terminal includes over six thousand square meters of refrigerated warehouse.

Pier 19 in the Port of Galveston serves the Mosquito Fleet and is the marina for commercial fishing boats. The pier serves wholesale seafood businesses and restaurants and berths commercial shrimping and fishing boats as well as deep-sea party boats.

Piers 30-32 at the Port of Galveston contain the Export Grain Elevator. Operated by ADM Grain Company, the 304.8-meter berth has alongside depth of 12.2 meters and storage capacity for 4.8 cubic meters of grain. The facility has capacity to unload railcars of 1.6 thousand metric tons and to load vessels at a rate of two thousand metric tons per hour. The piers have rail and truck services.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics operates the Port of Galveston's roll-on/roll-off cargo terminal, Pier 34. The terminal has a water depth of 11.6 meters and a 4.1 thousand square meter warehouse. It is also served by truck and rail.

The Port of Galveston's Bulk Terminal at Piers 35-36 is operated by Agriliance LLC – Galveston Terminal and handles general dry bulk cargoes, including agricultural, mineral, and fertilizer products. The 195.7-meter berth has alongside depth of 11 meters, and the terminal has capacity to store up to 30 tons of cargo.

The Roll-on/Roll-off Cargo Terminal at the Port of Galveston's Pier 37 is operated by "K" Line. The facility imports and exports rolling stock, machinery, and project cargo. The 353.6-meter long berth has alongside depth of 10.4 meters, and the facility includes an almost 7 thousand square meter warehouse and two hectares of marshalling yards.

The Port of Galveston Rail Barge Terminal at Pier 37 is designed to transfer rail cars to and from the rail line to barges. With a water depth of 6.7 meters, the terminal is served by both rail and truck.

The Port of Galveston's Bulk Cement Terminal at Pier 39 is operated by Suderman Contracting Stevedores. Served by rail, the terminal stores and transships bulk cement.

The Bulk Terminal – Galveston Terminals is operated by Pelican Island Storage Terminal, Inc. to store and transship liquid bulk products. With a water depth of 12.2 meters, the terminal has capacity to store over 123 thousand cubic meters of cargo. Serving deep-draft vessels, barges, and intracoastal barges, the terminal provides bunker and diesel fuel.

Pier 14, the Port of Galveston's Marine Repair Facility on Galveston Island, is operated by Malin International Ship Repair & Drydock Inc. for the maintenance and repair of vessels and drilling rigs. The facility includes almost 460 meters of berth space with alongside depths from 7.3 to 7.6 meters and a 3.2 thousand square meter backup space.

The Port of Galveston's Pelican Island Marine Repair Facility is operated by Gulf Copper Drydocks & Rig Repair to maintain and repair vessels and offshore rigs. The 43.3-hectare facility has water depths from 7.6 to 12.2 meters and dry dock lift capacity of 60 thousand tons. The facility offers construction, repair, engineering, modification, and environmental services to the offshore and marine industry. It includes fabrication areas and equipment for modular construction, and the facility can accommodate all kinds of floating structures.

The City of Galveston stands in the shadow of nearby mega-city Houston. However, the Port of Galveston is an important port of entry and popular tourist destination for ships and people from all over the world. Being on an island, the Port of Galveston offers many beaches for fun, sun, and sand. It also holds many beautiful 19th-Century homes, a variety of specialty museums, and endless fun. For information on the many things to see and do at the Port of Galveston, visit the Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau website.

Galveston Island is a barrier island between the Gulf of Mexico and the Texas mainland. To the south and east is the Gulf of Mexico. To the west is West Bay, and to the north is Galveston Bay. The Port of Galveston is hot and humid in the summer and cool in the winter. Spring and autumn are brief and comfortable. Temperatures range from an average high of 32 °C (89 °F) in July and August to an average low of 10 °C (50 °F) in January.

Visitors to the Port of Galveston will want to visit Moody Gardens a non-profit city-owned tourism complex operated and funded by the Moody Foundation. It features three major pyramid attractions that include the aquarium, the rainforest, and discovery/science pyramids as well as an attraction called Palm Beach. The Aquarium Pyramid is one of the biggest in the world and is home to about eight thousand species of fish and other sea life from the Pacific, Antarctic, and Caribbean regions. The Rainforest Pyramid contains tropical plants and animals (like ocelots, coatimundis, etc.) and displays like a bat cave within waterfalls and huge trees and plants. The Discovery Pyramid contains science-oriented activities and exhibits that include computers for kids. Palm Beach is a landscaped area, primarily for children, with sandy areas and freshwater lagoons. The par 72 Moody Gardens Golf Course, not for kids, is a complete re-do of the city's municipal golf course.

The Port of Galveston's Texas Seaport Museum at Pier 21 is home to the 1877 Elissa and several historic ships that visitors can tour. Adjacent to the ships is the museum and theater where visitors learn about immigration and seaborne commerce. The museum contains a computer database with the names of more than 133 thousand people who came to the United States through Houston.

Another must-see in the Port of Galveston is the Strand National Historic Landmark District on the east side of the island. The area contains many old buildings and historic markers, as it was the Port of Galveston's major commercial area during the late 1800s, and many of the buildings that remain have been restored to their original Victorian period beauty. The buildings include homes and businesses from the era, including the 1884 Moody Building built by the famous Colonel W.L. Moody, a cotton broker, banker, and Texas state legislator.

Travelers who want to visit the Port of Galveston by sea can find cruise information on the Port of Galveston's website or a list of scheduled cruises on the Cruise Compete website.