By Jennifer Babson, Globe Correspondent
Ships arriving at the Port of Boston carry two main kinds of cargo, and they don't always coexist comfortably.
The container ships and tankers carry tons of freight, including fuel such as gasoline and oil; the cruise ships carry tourists in search of a memorable backdrop and idle pleasures.
As the Massachusetts Port Authority likes to boast, more than $50 million in capital improvements have been poured into the port over the past decade - hard-won dollars considering the massive amount Massport has spent to propel Logan Airport into prominence.
But reconciling the tummy-and-trolley needs of tourists with the less glamorous but equally important requirements of the shipping industry remains a challenge.
Petroleum and container shipping still account for most of the port's activity, but cruise services are growing at a faster clip, with more ships docking each year and projected demand continuing to rise.
In 1997, the port handled over 1 million tons of containerized cargo, worth more than $5 billion - much of it through Conley Terminal in South Boston. Located within sight of Logan's runways, Conley is New England's largest container terminal.
And though it is still not the most significant source of the port's revenue, the container business has grown, with Massport reporting a 30 percent rise in tonnage for the first half of 1998 as compared to the first half of 1997.
In May, in a move justified as necessary to ensure ``the survival of the port,'' Massport moved all container operations to Conley and consolidated automobile shipping at Charlestown's 50-acre Moran Terminal on the Mystic River, deep within Boston Harbor.
``The port business is a very competitive business, and I think in Boston and the Port of Boston, we need to become very, very efficient in our operations,'' says Michael Leone, acting port director at Massport.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, which is closer to Europe and has a highly efficient railway system, has emerged in recent years as the principal competitor to East Coast ports such as Boston.
At Conley, principal bulk cargo includes goods such as frozen fish, footwear, lumber, beer, and wine. They are typically shipped into Boston from all over the world, unloaded, and then placed aboard trucks or trains.
One of the advantages of Conley - located at the mouth of the harbor - is that its berths are deeper than other parts of the harbor, and thus more accessible to ships. Shallow waters elsewhere have hampered Boston's competitive position for years and is the main reason for the consolidation at Conley.
While the principal entrance and main ship channels into port are about 40 feet deep, some of the terminals are only about 35 feet deep, leaving some larger ships at the mercy of the tides. A decade-long dredging project, now in its final phase, is supposed to remedy this problem by removing 2.5 million cubic yards of sediment and debris from the harbor floor.
Cruise ships, meanwhile, are coming in growing numbers: In 1997, more than 100,000 passengers on 62 ships came through the Black Falcon Terminal in South Boston, a 65 percent increase over the previous year. That traffic, say Massport officials, pumped about $30 million into the local economy last year.
But the terminal, an unglamorous warehouse that Massport converted from an army building 10 years ago, is a stark contrast to the brick-and-gaslight Boston many tourists are expecting. ``Right now, it's an industrial park that is not conducive to walking,'' says Patrick Moscaritolo, president of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau. ``There are no outdoor cafes.''
And pledges by city officials to transform the Seaport District into a ``24-hour area'' will hinge in part on the ability of city officials to stimulate residential development.
Moscaritolo, among others, would like to see the city's passenger terminal moved to a more visually pleasing stretch of the waterfront - say, somewhere between Rowes Wharf and Charlestown.
And others predict the demands of tourists will clash with the realities of the working cargo port, where ships are loaded and unloaded from dawn till past midnight. ``There will ultimately be a conflict,'' warns Vivien Li, executive director of the Boston Harbor Association. ``If you have luxury housing or people in hotels, they don't want to hear the trucks.''
Globe correspondent Jennifer Babson covers business and economic development.
