Seattle Maritime 101:
A Celebration of a Five Star Working Waterfront
10
Economic Impact: A Second Century of Maritime Success
at the Port of Seattle
For over 100 years, the Port of Seattle has played a key role in growing and
enhancing Seattle’s maritime economy. From cargo and cruise terminals to fish
harbors and industrial lands, the port provided much of the real estate, capital
and leadership that made Seattle a center of trade, transportation and tourism.
It all started with Fishermen’s Terminal – the port’s first operational facility – which
is celebrating its centennial this year. In 1912, the Puget Sound Purse Seine
Fishermen’s Association asked the port to create a homeport for local fishing
boats. The facility opened in 1914 and today it remains the home of the North
Pacific fishing fleet. It’s also a hub of vessel maintenance and repair activity that
brings vendors and suppliers together with a network of fishing- and seafood-
related businesses.
All of the port’s facilities and business are interconnected. For instance, many
of the boats homeported at Fishermen’s Terminal catch fish in Alaskan waters.
Much of that fish comes to Seattle in frozen containers aboard barges that call at
terminals on the Duwamish River. The fish is then exported through port facilities.
In fact, seafood was the port’s third largest international export commodity in
2013, with a value of $637 million.
The region’s diverse maritime economy generates 148,000 jobs. Those jobs pay
an average of $70,000 a year – $20,000 more than the state’s median wage.
Maritime jobs also tend to be stable. From 2007 to 2012 – the height of the Great
Recession – the total number of maritime jobs in the state decreased by just
500. The stability and income provided by those jobs gives our economy greater
diversity and resilience. As the port enters its second century, it is positioned to
continue to bring economic benefits to the entire region and ensure that maritime
industrial activities play a prominent role in our economy. For more information
visit
PortSeattle.org
.
What kinds of vendors and
suppliers do you think work
at Port of Seattle facilities?
How do you think careers in
the maritime industry will
change in the next century?
