Port officials have announced plans for yet another expansion to Mobile, Ala.'s container terminal, capitalizing on a recently completed project to widen and deepen the Mobile Ship Channel.
The Alabama Port Authority and APM Terminals Mobile have agreed to proceed with construction of a new 1,300-ft. container berth, south of the city's downtown on the west bank of the Mobile River.
When finished, the expansion will allow the terminal to simultaneously handle three ships in the class known as Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs).
According to an Oct. 28, 2025, announcement, the project will cost $131 million and be funded by federal appropriations to the Port Authority and private investments from APM Terminals, an independent division of international shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk.
The new expansion is the fifth phase of a long-running plan to expand the container terminal's capacity, AL.com reported. Components in the works include a 33-acre container yard expansion, a rail capacity upgrade and construction of a new rail flyover bridge that will enable direct on-dock rail access.
"This new berth is a strategic next step in making sure Mobile stays ahead of the growth curve," said Brian Harold, managing director of APM Terminals Mobile. "As cargo volumes grow, we're committed to scaling further in full partnership with the Port Authority and our customers."
Terminal Capacity to Match Growth of Ships, Containers
It was not too many years ago that the terminal had just two container cranes. Another pair were added in the summer of 2017 during the Phase II expansion work. Mobile port officials noted that those cranes were classed as "Super Post-Panamax" units, designed to handle the biggest container ships in the world.
Later, the third phase included an extension of the docks that allowed the terminal to handle two 1,000-ft.-long ships at the same time.
In 2021, the volume at APM Terminals Mobile topped 500,000 TEUs, or standard container units, for the first time. By mid-2022, the Port Authority said that Phase IV work would raise the terminal's capacity to about a 1 million TEUs per year.
More growth followed in the summer of 2024 when an additional pair of mammoth blue cranes were brought to the terminal, bringing the total number to six.
The completion of a long-running project to widen the ship channel and deepen it to 50 ft. was celebrated earlier this fall by a waterfront gathering of state, federal and local officials, according to AL.com. Project backers at the event said the newly enlarged channel gives Mobile a competitive edge over other ports on the Gulf Coast.
Construction of the new berth will begin in 2026 with a two-year timetable and include the addition of a seventh ship-to-shore crane. According to information released Oct. 28, the increased berth capacity, along with increased storage yard acreage, will increase the terminal's capacity to 1.4 million TEUs.
"This expansion is about more than infrastructure — it's about cementing Mobile's position as the Gulf's premier container gateway," said Doug Otto, interim CEO and director of the Alabama Port Authority. "With the channel deepening complete, a new berth under way, the Phase IV expansion in progress, and APM Terminals' continued partnership, we're connecting businesses across Alabama — and across the nation — to global markets faster and more efficiently than ever before."
The most recent announcement from Otto's agency added that the new berth will be located at the south end of the terminal. There, it will be "adjacent to 25 acres of land that could be developed in the future for container handling, value-added logistics, or storage needs," the Port Authority noted.
