The Port of Long Beach is throwing open its docks for free public boat tours on Saturday, September 19, giving visitors a rare, up-close look at some of the largest cargo ships in the world without having to book a seat in advance. Three narrated 90-minute excursions will be offered during the 2-to-4 p.m. event window from Dock 4 near the Aquarium of the Pacific, and the whole thing is first-come, first-served with no reservations required.
According to the Daily Breeze, riders will get close-up views of massive vessels and a chance to snap photos of port machinery and local marine life along the way. Parking is available and validated at the Aquarium of the Pacific parking structure, and the port has posted details on schedules, parking and directions at polb.com/porttours, per the same report.
These free walk-up tours are separate from the port's regular seasonal harbor tour program, which runs each year from May through September with narrated cruises on select Wednesdays and Saturdays. Those standing tours require advance online registration that opens on the second Monday of the preceding month, according to the Port of Long Beach, and, because demand is extremely high, use a lottery and waiting list.
A Port With Global Reach
The September 19 cruise offers a rare window into one half of the largest maritime gateway in the Western Hemisphere. Together with the neighboring Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Long Beach forms the San Pedro Bay port complex, which moves roughly 40% of all containerized U.S. imports and exports, according to a report filed with the LA City Clerk.
The economic scale behind those docked ships is staggering. The port contributes $141.2 billion in value to California's economy, adds $309 billion to U.S. gross domestic product, and supports $176 billion in annual trade-related wages nationwide, per the port's own figures. Trade patterns have also been shifting: cargo tied to China fell from roughly 70% of total port trade in 2019 to 60% in 2025, according to SupplyChainBrain.
Watching a Zero-Emissions Push in Real Time
Passengers aboard the free cruise will also be sailing past visible evidence of the port's environmental ambitions. The Port of Long Beach has stated its goal of becoming the world's first zero-emissions port, according to the Daily Breeze, and it plans to handle 20 million container units annually by 2050. Those long-term goals are backed by hard deadlines: under the San Pedro Bay Clean Air Action Plan, the port must convert 100% of its cargo-handling equipment to zero emissions by 2030 and transition its entire drayage truck fleet to zero emissions by 2035, per the California Association of Port Authorities.
Some of that transition is already underway on the ground. In November 2022 the port opened the nation's first two public charging stations for heavy-duty electric drayage trucks at its Clean Truck Program Terminal Access Center, a partnership with EV Connect, and at the time roughly 17% of terminal cargo-handling equipment had already been electrified. Tour-goers may also spot ongoing construction tied to the $1.5 billion Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility, dubbed America's Green Gateway, which broke ground in July 2024 and will more than triple on-dock rail capacity to 4.7 million TEUs annually by 2032.
Wind Power and New Leadership
Further out, the port is exploring preliminary offshore-wind plans, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Overseeing all of it is port leadership, with a stated focus on expanding zero-emission terminal operations and digital supply-chain tools, per the Port of Long Beach. The free harbor tours offer another avenue for public outreach.
For now, the September 19 event remains simple by design. No sign-up, no fee, no lottery — just three 90-minute rides offered during the 2-to-4 p.m. event window from Dock 4 for anyone who shows up between noon and 4 p.m., with validated parking available at the Aquarium of the Pacific parking structure.
