Traditionally one of the nation's busiest for marine transfer operations, notably for crude oil and petroleum products, such as jet fuel and asphalt, it is a port of entry with several facilities within a foreign trade zone.

The Paulsboro Marine Terminal, as it is known, is owned by the South Jersey Port Corporation[2] and operated by Holt Logistics.

[3] The first ship to call at the port, the Doric Warrior, carrying steel for NLMK, arrived March 3, 2017, marking the opening of the new facility.

[4][5][6] The port is planned the site for the production the monopile foundations for turbines for offshore wind power in New Jersey.

The 96-acre (38.8 ha) site of Fort Billingsport was the first land purchase by the United States government, made by the Continental Congress on July 5, 1776.

[12] It is a port of entry in United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) District 21, which covers New Jersey.

[43] Its adjacent tank farm, with tanker truck, rail, pipeline, and marine transfer operations, remain active.

[50] In 2008 NuStar sold half its business to Lindsay Goldberg, which bought the company outright in February 2014, renaming it Axeon Specialty Products.

[56] In 2012, Plains All American Pipeline and previous owners settled with NJ DEP to remediate hazardous substances in the soil at the site.

[28][34] In 2019, the New Jersey Attorney General announced it would sue ExxonMobil for releasing toxic waste into Mantua Creek.

[64] In October 2007, another spill took place at the port[65][66] when approximately 1,200 US gallons (4.5 m3) of oil leaked from the Tigani, an 809-foot (247 m) Malta-flagged tanker operated by Cardiff Marine.

[46][47][68] BP constructed the solar power facility, which was designed for 276 kilowatts peak demand and 350,000 kilowatt-hours per year, to showcase the potential for brownfield to brightfield redevelopment.

[69] The agency is working with Gloucester County Improvement Authority (GCIA) to develop a deep water omniport at the confluence of the Delaware River and Mantua Creek.

[76][78] Infrastructure construction work is being completed in phases and installation of the terminal facilities has been delayed further by a lack of commercial clients.

[75] Dole Food Company considered relocating import operations,[73][79] but in August 2013 decided to remain at the Port of Wilmington (Delaware).

[80] In July 2014, SJPC and Holt Logistics announced that the company would possibly move some of their operations to Paulsboro as part of land exchange deal in the Port of Camden.

[93] The terminal site has been raised by up to 10 feet (3 m) with 300,000 cubic yards (230,000 m3) of dredge fill from the river and creek in order to be above the 100-year floodplain and potential for sea-level rise due to climate change caused by global warming.

Shippers and industrial companies can require a different range of wharf specifications, depending on the finished goods, materials, and commodities they handle.

[77] Traditionally, access to various port facilities west of Mantua Creek has been via New Jersey Route 44 over a historic vertical lift bridge at mile point 1.7 built in 1935 and locally known as the Gateway to Paulsboro.

[99] The Gloucester County Improvement Authority is building a new connector, which is funded by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and is expected to be completed by 2014, that would create a gateway from I-295 to the new marine terminal.

New infrastructure at the omniport includes the construction of a rail crossing, turnouts, and 11,000 feet (3,400 m) of track with a balloon loop for dockside accessibility.

Of the four cars that fell into the creek, one was punctured, releasing 23,000 US gallons (87 m3) of highly toxic vinyl chloride,[115][116][117] which required an evacuation in the region and Paulsboro school lock-downs.