Ocean Gateway International Marine Passenger Terminal

{{Short description|Cruise ship terminal in Portland, Maine, US}}

File:Ocean Gateway, Portland, ME IMG_1891.JPG, Maine]]

The Ocean Gateway International Marine Passenger Terminal is a cruise ship terminal in Portland, Maine, United States. It was built in two phases: Phase 1 being a new terminal building that in 2008 replaced the original "International Marine Terminal" and phase 2 being a new berth and docking facility for large cruise ships known as Ocean Gateway Pier II.{{cite web |date=2 May 2008 |title=Cat deal made to weather storm |url=http://www.pressherald.com/archive/cat-deal-made-to-weather-storm_2008-05-02.html |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612031207/http://www.pressherald.com/archive/cat-deal-made-to-weather-storm_2008-05-02.html |archivedate=12 June 2012 |accessdate=28 October 2011 |work=Portland Press Herald}}{{Cite web |title=Ocean Gateway |url=https://www.portlandmaine.gov/1167/Ocean-Gateway |website=City of Portland}}

Plans for the new passenger terminal were made as early as 2003, when the Portland city council presented an early design for the facility, including two buildings — a {{convert|5000|ft2|adj=on}} receiving building and a {{convert|16000|ft2|adj=on}} terminal building — built at the end of a pier.{{cite web |title=City shows off designs for Ocean Gateway |url= http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/City-shows-off-designs-for-Ocean-Gateway/10150/ |work=Working Waterfront |accessdate=28 October 2011 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306123604/http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/City-shows-off-designs-for-Ocean-Gateway/10150/ |archivedate=6 March 2016 |url-status=dead |date=1 November 2003}} Construction began in September 2005, after the Reed and Reed construction company won the contract in June.{{cite web |title=Ocean Gateway: State selects a contractor, developers spar over rail rights |url= http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Ocean-Gateway-State-selects-a-contractor-developers-spar-over-rail-rights/10895/ |work=Working Waterfront |accessdate=28 October 2011 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315032020/http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Ocean-Gateway-State-selects-a-contractor-developers-spar-over-rail-rights/10895/ |archivedate=15 March 2016 |url-status=dead |date=1 August 2005}}

The main terminal building is built over the water, and is a two-story structure, with customs facilities for international passengers on the first floor and a waiting area on the second. The terminal building is connected to the receiving building, located about {{convert|300|ft|m|-1}} away on shore, by a pair of pedestrian ramps. In addition to the receiving building, shore facilities include a {{convert|3.5|acre|adj=on}} parcel of land for parking cars and boarding buses, both local and tour.

Building the terminal facility cost about $20.5 million, of which $9 million came from a bond issue by the state of Maine, $6 million from the federal government and the remainder from a mix of local, state and federal sources.{{cite web|title=Ocean Gateway 'just beautiful' |url= http://www.pressherald.com/archive/ocean-gateway-just-beautiful_2008-02-24.html |work=Portland Press Herald |accessdate=28 October 2011 |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20120612031218/http://www.pressherald.com/archive/ocean-gateway-just-beautiful_2008-02-24.html |archivedate=12 June 2012 |url-status=dead |date=24 February 2008}}

The building was formally opened on 2 May 2008 in a ceremony attended by about 200 people. Commercial shipping traffic began calling at the facility on 30 May, when {{ship|HSC|The Cat||2}}, operated by Bay Ferries, began its seasonal service to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

Ocean Gateway is also used as rental venue for functions such as weddings, conventions and other public events, a use which grew in importance after The Cat service was canceled following the 2009 season, which meant a loss to the city of Portland of $150,000 per year in rent which Bay Ferries paid for use of the facility. The city estimated that rentals brought in about $90,000 a year since the ferry service ended.{{cite web |title=Ocean Gateway building a reputation |url= http://www.pressherald.com/news/its-building-a-reputation_2011-04-21.html |work=Portland Press Herald |accessdate=28 October 2011 |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20120612031232/http://www.pressherald.com/news/its-building-a-reputation_2011-04-21.html |archivedate=12 June 2012 |url-status=live |date=21 April 2011}}

The second phase of the terminal project is Ocean Gateway Pier II, a deep-water pier for large cruise ships that opened in September 2011, allowing more and larger cruise ships to dock in the city.{{cite web |title=Ocean Gateway Complete; Mega-berth Yet to Come |url= http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Ocean-Gateway-Complete-Mega-berth-Yet-to-Come/12056/ |work=Working Waterfront |accessdate=28 October 2011 |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090421203145/http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Ocean-Gateway-Complete-Mega-berth-Yet-to-Come/12056/ |archivedate=21 April 2009 |url-status=dead |date=1 March 2008}}{{cite web |title=Portland's new pier for cruise ships opens |url= http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/story/2011-09-15/Portlands-new-pier-for-cruise-ships-opens/50413046/1 |work=USA Today |accessdate=28 October 2011 |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20120406112429/http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/story/2011-09-15/Portlands-new-pier-for-cruise-ships-opens/50413046/1 |archivedate=6 April 2012 |url-status=live |date=15 September 2011}}