Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula, Mississippi, home of MI's busiest port, is in Jackson County on the southeastern coast of Mississippi. Jackson County is the gateway to the Gulf Coast and Pascagoula is the premier city to buy, trade or sell ships, primarily due to the presence of Northrop Grumman, Mississippi's largest employer. Northrop Grumman is a shipbuilder of major surface ships for the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard and international navies, and for commercial vessels of all types.
Other major employers utilizing Pascagoula's port include Chevron Pascagoula Refinery, Mississippi Phosphates Corp., First Chemical Corp., VT Halter Marine, Signal International, and Gulf LNG Energy, LLC. VT Halter Marine is also a shipbuilding company, producing both commercial ships such as tug boats, tow boats and ocean going barge and tank units and defense ships for the U.S. Navy, Army, NASA, and the Air Force.
The Port of Pascagoula is a major economic stimulus for Pascagoula and Jackson County. The Port’s two harbors include public and private terminals with 42-foot and 38-foot-deep channels. More than 28 million tons of cargo move through the deepwater port each year.
While the Jackson County Port Authority was not established until 1956, the Port of Pascagoula on the Pascagoula River has been a center for maritime activity and trade since the early 1800s. The predominant commodity in the 1800s was cotton, with over one million bales moving down the river.
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources promotes recreational boating safety on Mississippi waterways through marine patrols and maritime law enforcement. The Department of Marine Resources requires an accident report to be filled by the operator of any vessel for any boating accident that results in loss of life, loss of consciousness, or property damages in excess of $100.
The Pascagoula Coast Guard is located at Pascagoula’s Singing River Island facility, formerly Naval Station Pascagoula. As a maritime service unit within the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard provides maritime safety and security to international waters and America's coasts, ports and inland waterways. One of the Coast Guard's main goals is to reduce crew member deaths and injuries on U.S. commercial vessels in an inherently dangerous maritime environment.
Today, Pascagoula, MS is a major industrial city along the Gulf Coast, the eighth largest in Mississippi. Prior to World War II, Pascagoula was a sleepy fishing village of only about 5,000 people along the Pascagoula River. The city's population exploded with the war-driven shipbuilding industry. Shipbuilding and maritime activity continue to define Pascagoula, Mississippi.
