PORT GUIDE · FOR OFFICERS, MASTERS AND SHORE TEAMS
New Orleans
Pilot
updated Oct 2016- Mississippi River New Orleans Pilot boards29°57.3′N 090°03.5′W
Associated Branch Pilots station is located at Venice, approx 10nm above Pilottown; pilotage is provided 24 hours a day. Vessels should send an ETA with draught, DWT and available speed 24 hours prior to arrival off Southwest Pass Entrance Bell buoy SW or the MR-GO sea buoys. If the original ETA changes by more than 2 hours, an amended ETA is required 12 hours in advance of arrival, or if the arrival time is later than the original ETA, 12 hours prior to original ETA. Associated Branch Pilots' boats have white superstructure with either red or black hulls.
The Crescent River Port Pilots have an office in New Orleans that is manned 24 hours a day, year round. Vessels requiring a Crescent River Port Pilot shall provide an ETA at least 24 hours prior to arrival off Southwest Pass or the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Sea Buoys. If the original ETA changes by more than 2 hours, an amended ETA is required 12 hours in advance of arrival, or if the arrival time is later than the original ETA, 12 hours prior to original ETA. Vessels arriving without the required notice may be delayed if a pilot is not available in addition to the penalties specified in the tariff. Vessels may notify the Crescent pilots, 24 hours a day: Tel: +1 504 392 7598 or Telex: 673 7841. The river pilots board vessels off Pilottown about 2.3 miles above Head of Passes Light. The pilot station, on the E side of the river at Pilottown, maintains a lookout and is equipped to handle radio traffic on VHF Ch 09 and 67. The Crescent River Port Pilots have fast white motorboats with the names "Pilot, River Pilot, Port Pilot or Crespilot" in red on the sides. The Crescent River Port Pilots would normally take vessels from Pilottown upriver to New Orleans and from Light 78 on the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Canal to New Orleans. However, the Gulf Outlet Canal is now closed to maritime shipping following flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina and a permanent storm surge barrier has been built across it.
New Orleans-Baton Rouge Steamship Pilots are located in Metairie and available 24 hours. Vessels requiring a pilot shall provide an ETA at least 24 hours prior to arrival off Southwest Pass. If the original ETA changes by more than 2 hours, an amended ETA is required 12 hours in advance of arrival, or if the arrival time is later than the original ETA, 12 hours prior to original ETA.
Associated Federal Pilots and Docking Masters of Louisiana LLC are located at Metairie and available 24 hours. Vessels are requested to send ETA 12 hours prior to arrival off Southwest Pass.
Note: Should a vessel have a freeboard greater than 9.15m, an accommodation ladder 6.1m above water is required. Pilot boards at Sea Buoy, requires pilot ladder 1.8m above water level.
Key data
updated Jun 2019Size limits
Harbour: Draught 14.3m, LOA 365.76m, beam 48.77m, 159,149DWT.
Offshore (buoy mooring): Draught 14.0m, LOA 230m, beam 32.26m, 82,787DWT.
Water density
New Orleans is a fresh water port.
Tides
Seasonal, river level varies up to 5m. For further details please refer to the entry for Mississippi River.
St Bernard Port: Range 0.6m on the outlet mouth of the river tide except during severe weather. No tides reach the harbour during severe weather.
At New Orleans the maximum tidal range is about 0.2m. Although the tide is usually diurnal, there is no periodic tide at New Orleans when the river is at high level.
Max draft per terminal
| Terminal | Max draught | Max LOA | Berths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kinder Morgan Harvey Terminal | — | 195 m | 4 |
| St Bernard Port | 14.00 m | 292 m | 6 |
| BWC Terminal Gretna | 13.72 m | 250 m | 1 |
| PBF Energy - Chalmette Terminal | 13.72 m | 277 m | 5 |
| Nashville Ave Terminal | — | 337 m | 3 |
| John W. Stone Oil Distributor (Gretna) | — | 119 m | 3 |
| Domino Sugar - Chalmette Refinery | — | 169 m | 1 |
| Violet Port Dock Inc | 13.20 m | — | 5 |
| Cargill Westwego Grain Elevator | 12.80 m | 229 m | 1 |
| IMTT Avondale Terminal | — | 186 m | 2 |
| Governor Nicholls | — | — | 1 |
| Perry Street Terminal | 12.00 m | 200 m | 1 |
| Henry Clay Ave Refrigerated Terminal | — | 145 m | 1 |
| Seaonus Stevedoring - New Orleans (SSNO) | — | 143 m | 1 |
| Buckeye Terminal Marrero | 11.58 m | 229 m | 3 |
All 34 terminals
| Terminal | Max draught | Max LOA | Berths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valero - Meraux Refinery | 11.43 m | 244 m | 1 |
| Jourdan Road Terminal | — | 326 m | 2 |
| First Street | — | 194 m | 1 |
| Louisiana Ave Complex | — | 238 m | 3 |
| Napoleon Container Terminal | — | 337 m | 2 |
| New Orleans Terminal | — | — | 3 |
| Poland Avenue Terminal | — | 294 m | 1 |
| Vertex Energy Terminal | — | — | 1 |
| Gulf Gateway Terminal (GGT) | — | — | 2 |
| Erato Street Cruise Terminal | — | 300 m | 1 |
| France Road Container Terminal | — | — | 1 |
| Avondale Global Gateway | 8.10 m | 204 m | 4 |
| Kinder Morgan Seven Oaks Terminal | — | 171 m | 1 |
| Rain CII Carbon | — | — | 3 |
| Southern Scrap Materials | — | — | 1 |
| Wood Resources - Waggaman | — | 230 m | 3 |
| Blackwater Midstream - Harvey Terminal | — | 184 m | 1 |
| National Gypsum - Westwego Terminal | — | 183 m | 1 |
| Cornerstone Chemical Terminal | — | 180 m | 2 |
Deepest first. The draught is the largest any of the terminal's berths states; a dash means the source gives none.
Approach
updated Apr 2020Approach
The main port area of New Orleans is approached from a number of different directions.
From the NW via Mississippi River from Baton Rouge and from the N, through the Inner Harbour Navigation Canal. The Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal (MRGO) was closed after Hurricane Katrina. A 2.9km surge barrier has been constructed spanning the MRGO and the Intracoastal Waterway approx 1nm downstream from the point where they join, and the Bayou Bienvenue approx 650m before it crosses the MRGO from the NE.
Vessels entering the port from the Gulf of Mexico, and bound for berths up the Mississippi River, use the 12nm length South Pass or the 18nm length South West Pass; both well marked with navigational aids. Depth in the South Pass, 9.1m (not presently maintained); in the South West Pass, 13.7m. Both these require annual dredging by the US Army Corps of Engineers to maintain this depth, who can supply up to date information on depth and navigation conditions in the Mississippi River and its Passes.
Directions for entering main harbour area: From New Orleans E port limit, close below Twelve Mile Point Light (green square mark on framework tower, on piles) (29°52.1'N 089°54.9'W) the track continues to follow the centreline of the river to the W port limit or to designated harbour berths.
Caution: Hazardous floating debris including logs may be encountered at all times along the river.
Note: Water depths in the Mississippi River are continually subject to change. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operate their Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS) service for calculating max real time draught. In an effort to prevent collisions and groundings, the waters from South Pass and Southwest Pass up to 233.9M AHP (the N boundary of Baton Rouge) have been designated a Regulated Navigation Area under US Department of Commerce, Code of Federal Regulations - Title 33.
Port limits
The port limits include both rivers side banks between 81 and 115 miles AHP, including those of the city of New Orleans and several outlying parishes
Traffic schemes and VTS
VTS Monitoring Areas.
Anchorages
Anchorages may be found below and above New Orleans port district.
Restrictions
The Mississippi River has constantly changing river conditions. New Orleans is low lying and strong levees protect built up areas from flooding. Following severe weather (Hurricane activity) the port area, and its access channels, may be subject to severe damage and extensive flooding.
Logs and floating debris are likely to be found in the River at any time of year so vessels should maintain a lookout at all times. Night navigation by smaller craft is now recommended. Vessels should contact the Port Authority and River Pilots for latest information on depths and navigation conditions.
Bar pilots advise that for the SW pass, inbound vessels with draughts over 11.5m will be restricted to daylight transit.
Crescent River Port Pilots Assoc is requesting advance notice of vessels deeper than 13.1m transiting the Pilottown/Cubit's Gap area (approx Mile 3 AHP) until further notice, due to shoaling in the area.
SW Pass to Pilottown (controlling depth to New Orleans):
13.4m (FW) for vessels less than 100,000DWT.
13.1m (FW) for vessels 100,000DWT or greater.
Pilottown to New Orleans:
14m (FW) for vessels less than 100,000DWT.
13.7m (FW) for vessels 100,000DWT or greater
New Orleans to Mile 180:
13.7m (FW) for all vessels.
Mile 180 to Baton Rouge:
12.1m (FW) for all vessels.
These restrictions will fluctuate with varying river and seasonal conditions.
Bridges and cables: Cross the Mississippi (with positions from Algiers Point (29°57.3'N 090°03.3'W)):
Greater New Orleans Highway Fixed Bridges (1.1nm S), with a vertical clearance of 45m over a central 229m width. Fixed green lights mark the channel centreline, while red lights mark the outer edges of the channel.
Two overhead power cables (4.5nm W) with safe vertical clearances of 47.2m and 53.6m.
Huey P. Long Bridge (6.0nm W), a combined road and rail bridge, with a vertical clearance of 40.5m through the W span width of 229m.
Overhead cable (7.0nm W) with a vertical clearance of 45.4m.
Eight Bridges and a power cable cross the Inner Harbour Navigation Canal. Their least vertical clearance is 36.6m.
Caution: USCG advises mariners to keep mast height data under constant review to take into account the changing river stages. It is recommended that bridge clearance data be ascertained and kept available on the bridge of the vessel. Such data can be obtained from USCG for the various river stages.
In an effort to prevent collisions and groundings, the waters from South Pass and Southwest Pass up to 233.9M AHP (the N boundary of Baton Rouge) have been designated a Regulated Navigation Area under US Department of Commerce, Code of Federal Regulations - Title 33.
PORTS system: The PORTS program for calculating max draught is in use at this port. Data providing real time information for tides, currents, and temperatures is available for the lower Mississippi to Baton Rouge online and via toll free tel: 888 817 7767.
Mooring
St Bernard Port:
Dockside Linesmen, Tel: +1 504 737 8747,
Crescent Mooring, Tel: +1 504 366 1521,
US Mooring Services, Tel: +1 504 279 7789
Port Main office Tel: +1 504 277 8418, Fax: 504 277 8471.
Charts and publications
US 11364, 11368, 11369, 11371, 11374. US Coast Pilot Vol 5 (Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands).
BA 3382, 3884, 8057. Admiralty Pilot NP69A, NP286(5).
Reporting before arrival
updated Jun 2018ETA and pre-arrival notices
Vessels arriving in first US port: Please see country information.
Advise agents of ETA at Sea Buoy 48 hours in advance.
Vessels arriving in first US port are required to send to USCG and ships agent Notice of Arrival (NOA) and crew/passenger lists at least 96 hours prior to arrival.
Communications
VHF: Port of New Orleans: Ch 16. (Also monitored by Mississippi River pilots). Port Tel: +1 504 522 2551, Fax: +1 504 524 4156, Email: [email protected], Website: http://www.portno.com.
Inner Harbour Industrial Canal: Ch 14, 16, 24 hours. Makes connections with terminals, bridges, tugs, pilots and police.
Bridges: Ch 16, 13.
Inner harbour canal Lock: Ch 14, 16, 24 hours.
Associated Branch Pilots:
VHF: Ch 16, 06, 09, 67
Tel: +1 504 831 6615 (Metairie office) +1 504 524 0844 (Venice office)
Fax: +1 504 831 4536 (Metairie office) +1 504 522 7929 (Venice office)
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.barpilot.com
Crescent River Port Pilots' Association:
VHF: Ch 09, 67
Tel: +1 504 392 8001, Fax: +1 504 392 7598
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.crescentpilots.com
New Orleans-Baton Rouge Steamship Pilots Association:
VHF: Ch 67
Tel: +1 504 832 1199, Fax: +1 504 455 4328
Website: http://www.neworleansbatonrougepilots.com
Associated Federal Pilots & Docking Masters of Louisiana LLC:
VHF: Ch 16, 06, 09, 67, 79A
Tel: +1 504 456 0787, Fax: +1 504 456 0987
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.federalpilot.com
VTS New Orleans Traffic:
VHF Ch 05A, 11, 12 (Call "New Orleans Traffic").
Tel: +1 504 589 2780 and +1 504 589 2811.
Email: [email protected]
St Bernard Port Harbor and Terminal District:
Tel: +1 504 277 8418, Fax: +1 504 277 8471 (Services available 24hrs).
Website: http://www.stbernardport.com
St Bernard Port, Pilots: Contact SW Pass Pilots Ch 16, 09, 30-40nm from entrance to river.
St Bernard Port, Stevedoring transfer of cargo via dock and midstream: Contact Associated Terminals.
Notice of readiness
As per Charter Party agreement. Agent will handle.
Documents
Please see country information for details of documentation requirements.
The agent will advise SW Pass pilots of vessel's ETA.
Cargo documentation: Ocean/domestic Bill of Lading; Cargo Manifest and Letter of Credit (where applicable).
Health
No action initiated unless there is illness onboard.
Ship Sanitation Control Certificates: Please see country information.
US Public Health Service quarantine regulations apply.
The quarantine anchorage, with limits charted in mid-position 29°56.4'N 090°00.4'N, is on the W side of the river at New Orleans. Quarantine inspections take place in the quarantine anchorage or at the designated berth. Quarantine clearance is granted at New Orleans for all ports on Mississippi River and those reached from Mississippi River.
Customs and immigration
For crew not to be detained onboard, vessel each crew member must have a valid US visa in their passport or Seaman's Book.
Notices and regulations
Navigation Rules for the US Inland Waters must be followed inside a line drawn between the heads of the Mississippi entrance breakwaters at Southwest Pass.
Coastguard Vessel Inspection: Please see country information.
Inspections
Port State Control here: US Coast Guard.
Foreign ships are examined by the US Coast Guard. File the Advance Notice of Arrival 96 hours ahead (33 CFR 160).
ISPS
ISPS Designated Authority: United States Coast Guard, Office of Compliance. Address: 2100 Second St, SW, Washington DC, 20593, USA. Tel: +1 202 267 2978. Fax: +1 202 267 4858. Email: [email protected]. For further ISPS information see IMO website http://www2.imo.org/ISPSCode.
Port services
updated Jun 2019Repairs
Available
Bunkers, water and stores
Fresh water: Available.
Bunkering: Available.
Medical
Within city including Tulane University Hospital & Clinic, Touro Infirmary Hospital and West Jefferson Medical Center.
Transport
Nearest airport: There are international flight services from the Louis Armstrong, New Orleans International Airport (MSY), approx 1.5km N of the River at 114miles AHP.
Airport facilities: All facilities available.
Nearest railway: All berths are served, via The New Orleans Public Belt Railroad, by six major railway companies; CSX Transportation, Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Railway, Kansas City Southern Lines, Norfolk Southern Corp, Canadian National Railway Co, and Union Pacific Railroad.
Working hours
Normally 0800-1200hrs, 1300-1700hrs (Mon-Fri). Overtime available on request. Variable schedule available upon request.
About New Orleans
updated Nov 2025Where it is
The port of New Orleans is located on both sides of the Mississippi River approx 81 to 115 miles above Head of Passes (AHP).
The port
The port includes the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal leading N to Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet as far as the surge barrier approx 6.25nm E from the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal turning basin. A substantial amount of cargo is transported by motorised barges.
The port claims the world's longest wharf for the 3.2km quay between Henry Clay Avenue and Milan Street terminals, capable of accommodating 15 vessels simultaneously.
The main cargoes handled are steel, coffee, frozen poultry, forest products, rubber, containerised cargo and copper/aluminium.
To the E, along the N bank of the Mississippi, St Bernard Port area has six bulk cargo berths in Chalmette Slip, the Arabi Mooring Dolphins and the Mereaux and Chalmette Mid-Stream mooring facilities.
Strategically, the port's location gives transhipment access to 14,500 miles of inland waterways along the Mississippi River and its tributaries plus the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway provides direct access along the Gulf Coast. Six Class 1 railway companies provide access to over 133,000 miles of railroad and an average of 2,000 trucks per day haul cargo in and out by road.
Traffic
Approximately 49,000,000t of cargo, 400,500TEU, 260 vessels and 1,150,000 passengers handled annually.
Questions about New Orleans
Where does the pilot board at New Orleans?
The pilot boards at Mississippi River New Orleans, 29°57.3′N 090°03.5′W.
What time zone is New Orleans in?
Local time at New Orleans is UTC−6. Clocks go to UTC−5 on 14 Mar 2027. Back to UTC−6 on 7 Nov 2027.
What is the maximum draft at New Orleans?
The deepest berth listed is at St Bernard Port: 14.00 m maximum draught. The "Max draft per terminal" table gives each terminal's figure.
What is the water density at New Orleans?
New Orleans is a fresh water port.
Who carries out Port State Control at New Orleans?
Port State Control at New Orleans: US Coast Guard.
What is the UN/LOCODE of New Orleans?
The UN/LOCODE of New Orleans is USMSY.
Tips from seafarers
What crews who called at New Orleans say: pilot boarding, the agent's papers, inspections, shore leave. Each tip is shown with the writer's rank and ship type, and an AI summary sits on top once there are three or more.
A planning aid, not for navigation. These facts come from public sources and each section shows how old it is. Check with the port, your agent, your ENCs and official publications. Spotted something wrong? Tell us on the feedback board.