South Boston, Massachusetts · East Coast
Port of Boston (Conley Container Terminal) container demurrage & detention dispute guide
Massport's Conley Terminal is New England's only full-service container terminal. A short weekday gate window and a 4:15 p.m. inbound cutoff make gate timing central to D&D disputes.
- Authority
- Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport)
- Volume
- About 137,000 containers (boxes, not TEU) processed at Conley Terminal in fiscal 2025, July 2024 to June 2025 (Massport, reported July 2025)
- Container terminals
- 3
The port at a glance
The Paul W. Conley Container Terminal in South Boston is owned and operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority, and Massport describes it as the only full-service container terminal in New England. Massport has invested heavily to handle larger ships: the Boston Harbor deepening was completed in June 2022 (main channel to 47 feet, outer harbor to 51 feet), a new 50-foot berth was built, and three fully electric ship-to-shore cranes were commissioned in fall 2021. The dedicated Thomas J. Butler Freight Corridor carries trucks between the terminal and the highway system. Four services called Boston in 2024, connecting the port to more than 35 ports, and the cargo base is regional: imports for New England consumers and businesses and exports from the region's manufacturers and processors.
With a limited number of weekly services, each vessel call at Conley lands a large share of the week's import volume at once. The terminal gate runs on weekdays only, so arrivals late in the week, holiday weeks and winter storms translate directly into days the cargo owner could not retrieve a container. Drayage capacity in New England is tight, and many containers travel long distances to distribution centers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut, so detention exposure on the return leg is meaningful.
The mistake importers make most often at Boston is overlooking the inbound gate cutoff. A driver who arrives after 4:15 p.m. (3:15 p.m. on Fridays) without an active, time-stamped Yard Pass is not processed. Free time that counts a day on which the container could not be pulled within the gate window, or a detention day on which the return gate had already closed, needs to be tested against the gate rules and the specific dates charged on the invoice under 46 CFR § 541.6.
Container terminals
Paul W. Conley Container Terminal
Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) · 700 Summer Street, South Boston; New England's only full-service container terminal
Conley near-dock chassis pool
Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) · Near-dock chassis pool supporting Conley Terminal
Thomas J. Butler Freight Corridor
Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) · Dedicated truck road linking Conley to the highway system, away from residential streets
Appointments & empty returns
- Conley Terminal is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; the inbound gate closes at 4:15 p.m. (3:15 p.m. on Fridays), and trucks need an active, time-stamped Yard Pass by the cutoff to be processed.
- Transactions require a Massport-assigned trucker code, the move type (FULLOUT, MTINO, MTOUT or FULLIN), container details and, for imports, the last four digits of the master bill of lading; access requires a TWIC and Massport Maritime Credentials.
- Massport publishes container tracking, a holiday gate schedule and text alerts (text CONLEY to 888777) through its Conley Terminal trucker resources.
Chassis
Massport supports Conley Terminal with a near-dock chassis pool, and bare chassis must be interchanged unless clearly marked as owned by the trucking company.
Where D&D builds up at Boston.
Short gate window and early cutoff
The inbound gate closes at 4:15 p.m. on weekdays and 3:15 p.m. on Fridays. A container released in the afternoon may not be retrievable until the next business day. Gate cutoffs matter when testing whether chargeable days were days the container could be moved.
Concentrated vessel calls
With a small number of weekly services, each call lands a large share of the week's volume. Drayage demand spikes after each vessel, and containers can wait for trucks through no fault of the cargo owner.
Winter storms
Nor'easters and blizzards close or delay Conley Terminal and the roads around it. Massport closure notices and text alerts document days with no gate activity.
Holiday schedule
Massport publishes a holiday gate schedule for Conley. Holidays falling inside free time remove gate days, and the invoice should show how the governing rule treats them.
Long-haul drayage and empty returns
Many Boston imports deliver well outside the city, so returning empties within the weekday window takes planning. Any carrier restriction on empty receiving at Conley converts directly into detention days.
Free time and disputes at Boston
Free time at Boston is set by the billing party's governing document: Massport's terminal tariff for terminal storage and the ocean carrier's tariff or your service contract for demurrage and detention. The invoice has to tell you which applies. Section 541.6 requires the tariff and rule number, terminal schedule, or service contract number and section, the free time allowed in days, the start and end of free time, the container availability date and the specific dates charged. A total due with no dates is deficient, and under § 541.5 the billed party has no obligation to pay a charge whose invoice omits required information.
Once the invoice is complete, match each billed day to the Conley gate calendar. Remove days when the terminal was closed for weather or holidays, and check days on which the container became available too late to be pulled before the 4:15 p.m. inbound cutoff. For detention, confirm that the empty could be returned on each billed day, given the gate hours and any carrier receiving restrictions. Charges for days the cargo could not move are what the incentive principle in 46 CFR § 545.5 addresses.
The 30-day clocks run per invoice. Billing parties must issue within 30 calendar days of when the charge was last incurred (§ 541.7), and you have at least 30 calendar days from issuance to request mitigation, refund or waiver (§ 541.8). ATAHSKIA builds relief requests with Conley gate and tracking evidence, tracks the billing party's 30-day resolution deadline, and compiles a 46 U.S.C. § 41310 charge complaint for the billed party to submit if needed.
Boston D&D FAQ
What are the gate hours at Conley Terminal?
Massport lists Conley as open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the inbound gate closing at 4:15 p.m. (3:15 p.m. on Fridays). Trucks need an active, time-stamped Yard Pass by the cutoff.
Can I dispute demurrage for a day when the container became available after the gate cutoff?
A container released too late to be pulled within the gate window was not practically retrievable that day. Document the availability time and the cutoff, and raise it in a relief request within the § 541.8 window under the incentive principle in 46 CFR § 545.5.
Who operates the Port of Boston's container terminal?
Massport owns and operates the Paul W. Conley Container Terminal in South Boston, New England's only full-service container terminal.
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