Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point (MOTSU) is one of the largest military terminals in the world. It serves as a transfer point between rail, trucks, and ships for the import and export of weapons, ammunition, explosives and military equipment for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

and is operated by the 596th Transportation Brigade.

Facility description

The terminal lies between the small town of

Boiling Spring Lakes, North Carolina Boiling Spring Lakes is a city in Brunswick County, North Carolina, Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,943 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, up from 5,372 in 2010. History Boiling Spring Lakes was ...

, and the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Caro ...

a few miles upstream of

Fort Johnston (North Carolina) Fort Johnston was a British fort, later a United States Army post, in Brunswick County, North Carolina on Moore Street near Southport, North Carolina. It stands on the west bank of the Cape Fear River, four miles above its mouth. Colonial Before ...

and the small city of

Southport, North Carolina Southport is a city in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States, near the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Its population was 3,828 as of the 2018 census. The mayor is Joseph P. Hatem. Southport is the location of the North Carolina Fourth o ...

. Built in 1951 and opened in 1955, the facility is situated on an Army-owned site on the banks of the Cape Fear River in Brunswick and New Hanover counties of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

approximately south of

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is t ...

. An additional was set aside on Pleasure Island (location of Carolina,

Kure is a port and major shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan ...

, and

Fort Fisher Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear Rive ...

beaches) as a buffer zone around the facility. The terminal is not an open post and access is restricted. The wharfs are also restricted and not accessible to the public (no landing or docking). The Cape Fear River directly in front of the wharfs is restricted and non-military traffic is restricted to transit only (no anchoring). The port can handle up to 6 ships simultaneously and features large cranes for loading and unloading vessels. A network of of railroad tracks move munitions and supplies around the facility.

History

The earliest known use of the area dates to 1725 when

George Burrington George Burrington ( ca. 1682 – 22 February 1759) was a British colonial official who served as the third and fifth governor of North Carolina from 1724 to 1725 and 1731 to 1734. He is noted for opening the lower Cape Fear region to settlement. ...

operated a plantation following his first term as colonial governor of the then

Province of North Carolina Province of North Carolina was a province of Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712(p. 80) to 1776. It was one of the five Southern colonies and one of the thirteen American colonies. The monarch of Great Britain was repre ...

. It later was known as Snows Point when owned by rice planter Robert Snow. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

, the area hosted an artillery battery protecting the

. Its isolation, few structures and access to deep water made it an ideal location as an ammunition transfer point. Sunny Point military logistics center was built in 1951 and opened in 1955.Bryan Mims
Secrets of Sunny Point.
Our State: Celebrating North Carolina. The port has transferred munitions to every major armed conflict since it was established. The facility was especially active during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

with up to six ships being simultaneously loaded. 466,000 tons of cargo was transferred through MOTSU during the

Persian Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

References

External links

Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point Brunswick County, NC
{{NCMilitary, state=collapsed Buildings and structures in Brunswick County, North Carolina Cape Fear (region) Military installations in North Carolina Transportation in Brunswick County, North Carolina

Facility description

History

See also

References

External links