# Loop Terminal (US LO9)

**UN/LOCODE:** US LO9  
**Country:** United States  
**Water Body:** Gulf of Mexico; North Atlantic Ocean  
**Harbor Size:** Large  
**Harbor Type:** Open Roadstead  
**GPS:** 28.8833, -90.0167

Up to 1.2 million barrels of crude oil move through Loop Terminal each day – around 13% of US crude imports – making the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port the largest waterborne crude import facility in the United States. Sitting about 30 kilometres off the Louisiana coast near Port Fourchon in the Gulf of Mexico, its single point moorings handle the very largest tankers, up to 700,000 deadweight tonnes, at offloading rates reaching 100,000 tonnes per hour. Pipelines connect LOOP to refineries representing roughly half of US processing capacity, with crude stored in salt caverns inland at Clovelly. As the only US port able to fully load a VLCC, LOOP also exports US crude on these largest vessels, letting inbound ships leave loaded rather than empty. This is strictly a crude oil operation – there are no container, RoRo or general-cargo facilities here. Forwarders with boxed or breakbulk freight should look instead to New Orleans or Houston. For alternative crude gateways, Corpus Christi and Houston are the main options.

## Transit Times & Routes

- [Los Angeles → Shanghai](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/los-angeles-shanghai)
- [Los Angeles → Shenzhen](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/los-angeles-shenzhen)
- [Los Angeles → Guangzhou](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/los-angeles-guangzhou)
- [Los Angeles → Hong Kong](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/los-angeles-hong-kong)
- [Los Angeles → Tokyo](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/los-angeles-tokyo)
- [Los Angeles → Busan](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/los-angeles-busan)

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*Freight Academy — Seaport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/seaports/loop-terminal-port-us-lo9](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/seaports/loop-terminal-port-us-lo9)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/seaports/en/loop-terminal-port-us-lo9](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/seaports/en/loop-terminal-port-us-lo9)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/seaports/loop-terminal-port-us-lo9/llm-summary?lang=en*