Ports · June 23, 2026
Not a container terminal. EB1 is where the cars, the heavy-lift pieces and the breakbulk come ashore in Tacoma — and the move off the dock looks nothing like a standard dray.
Most of the Port of Tacoma's name recognition comes from its big container terminals — Husky, WUT and PCT. But the South Harbor also runs East Blair One (EB1), a specialized terminal on the Blair Waterway built for the cargo that doesn't fit in a stacked box: automobiles, roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) freight, breakbulk and heavy-lift pieces. If your cargo rolls, can't be containerized, or is simply too heavy for a standard chassis, EB1 is often where it lands.
EB1 sits at 2940 E Alexander Ave in Tacoma and is operated as part of the Northwest Seaport Alliance's terminal portfolio. It's a 26-acre facility with a single 1,200-foot berth and deep water (about 51 feet at mean lower low water), so it can take large RoRo and breakbulk vessels. Unlike the container terminals, EB1 is set up for cargo that's driven, rolled or lifted off — not lifted in a box by a ship-to-shore crane.
EB1 has an on-dock rail spur, so cargo can transfer directly between the terminal and rail without a separate drayage move to an off-dock ramp. For the right shipment, that's one less handling step and one less place for time to leak out.
The cargo at EB1 doesn't leave on a standard container chassis. Autos move on car carriers; breakbulk and heavy-lift pieces move on flatbeds, step-decks and multi-axle configurations, often under oversize permits. That's heavy-haul and project-cargo territory, not container drayage. A carrier who works both sides of the port can pull your boxes off Husky, WUT or PCT and handle your rolling or oversize freight off EB1, without you lining up a separate specialist for each. (See the container side in our Port of Tacoma terminals guide, the broader Tacoma drayage page, and breakbulk up north at the Port of Everett.)
EB1 — East Blair One — is a 26-acre Port of Tacoma / Northwest Seaport Alliance terminal on the Blair Waterway that handles autos, roll-on/roll-off (RoRo), breakbulk and heavy-lift cargo rather than containers.
Automobiles and RoRo freight, breakbulk cargo, and heavy-lift/project pieces — it's used by major auto carriers such as EUKOR, Hyundai-GLOVIS, "K" Line, MOL, NYK and Wallenius Wilhelmsen.
Yes — EB1 has a 120-by-110-foot heavy-lift pad rated to 2,000 PSF, with the general pier rated to 1,000 PSF, plus on-dock rail.
Not on a standard container chassis. Autos move on car carriers; breakbulk and heavy-lift pieces move on flatbeds, step-decks or multi-axle equipment, often under oversize permits — heavy-haul and project-cargo transport.