Nome seaport (Port Code:USNOM) is used by freight ships and cruise ships, located at 64° 30’ N and 165° 24’ W on the southern side of the Seward Peninsula in Norton Sound. The port, until recently, was solely a lighterage port but the development of the oil exploration industry in Alaska has brought an influx of investment enabling construction of land based facilities. Max size: Largest vessel handled: Fuel barges of LOA 121m, draught 5.7m.
The Corps of Engineers completed the Nome Harbor Improvements Project in the summer of 2006 adding a 3,025 ft (922 m) breakwater east of the existing Causeway and a 270 ft (82 m) spur on the end of the Causeway making it to a total of 2,982 feet (909 m). The opening between the new breakwater and the Causeway (Outer Harbor Entrance) is approximately 500 feet (150 m) in width and serves as access to both Causeway deep water docks and the new Snake River entrance that leads into the Small Boat Harbor. The old entrance along the seawall has been filled in and is no longer navigable. Buoys outline the navigation channel from the outer harbor entrance into the inner harbor. The Nome Small Boat Harbor has a depth of 10 feet (MLLW) and offers protected mooring for recreational and fishing vessels alongside 2 floating docks. Smaller cargo vessels and landing craft load village freight and fuel at the east, west and south inner harbor sheet pile docks, east beach landing and west barge ramp for delivery in the region.