Newport News is a major commercial and naval shipbuilding port located along the James River near its entrance to Hampton Roads and the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. Ship traffic includes bulk carriers, container ships, general cargo vessels, naval ships, tugs and other working vessels operating throughout the harbor. The city's waterfront is particularly notable for its extensive shipbuilding facilities and coal export terminals, which contribute to a steady flow of commercial and military maritime activity.

Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is one of the most important naval shipyards in the United States and the nation's only builder of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. The facility also constructs nuclear-powered submarines and performs maintenance and overhaul work on major U.S. Navy vessels. Aircraft carriers, submarines and other naval ships may be visible around the shipyard, although military vessel movements are not always displayed on public AIS tracking systems.

The Newport News ship tracker also captures vessels traveling through Hampton Roads, one of the busiest natural harbors on the U.S. East Coast. Commercial ships moving between the Chesapeake Bay and nearby ports such as Norfolk and Portsmouth share the waterways with naval vessels, harbor tugs, pilot boats and other marine traffic, creating a diverse maritime environment.

Track ship arrivals and departures in the Port of Newport News, Virginia. Real-time live ship traffic in the Port of Newport News, Virginia is now centered in the port tracker map below.