The Port of Oakland is bringing back its free harbor sunset tours starting in May, the Port announced.

The tours give curious participants an up-close view of the Port’s shipping operations as the boat cruises the Oakland Estuary and San Francisco Bay amid cargo ships and the hustle and bustle of one of the Pacific Coast’s largest ports.

“These tours are a great opportunity for the community to better understand the Port’s major role in the regional economy,” said Port of Oakland Chief Engagement Officer Matt Davis in a statement release by the Port. “Seeing iconic giant container cranes and huge ships provides a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the Port as seen from the water. It brings to life just a few of the nearly 100,000 local jobs that the Port supports locally.”

The first tour takes place on Friday, May 9 at 6:45 p.m., according to the Port. Each cruise departs from the Oakland Ferry Terminal at the foot of Clay Street in Jack London Square. There will be one cruise each month, always on a Friday evening.

Cranes unload cargo from a ship berthed at the Oakland International Container Terminal against a backdrop of the San Francisco skyline, Golden Gate and San Francisco-Oakland Bay bridges during a Port of Oakland harbor tour on May 10, 2024. Tickets for this year’s first monthly cruise on May 9 go on sale Monday at 8 p.m. (Ray Saint Germain/Bay City News)

The tours include live 90-minute narration that covers the Port’s history, environmental goals and its daily operations.

Tickets (which usually sell out quickly) for the May 9 cruise go on sale beginning Monday, April 28, at 8 p.m. Tickets are first come, first served, the Port said. Each trip can hold about 250 passengers.

For the rest of the tour season, tickets are available at 8 p.m. on specific dates.

UPCOMING CRUISES AND WHEN TO RESERVE TICKETS

  • June 6: 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., register for tickets on May 27 at 8 p.m.
  • July 11: 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., register on June 30 at 8 p.m.
  • Aug. 8: 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., register on July 28 at 8 p.m.
  • Sept. 12: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., register on Sept. 2 at 8 p.m.
  • Oct. 17: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., register on Oct. 6 at 8 p.m.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.