As the 2025 shipping season at the Port of Green Bay comes to an end, preparation is already underway for the 2026 season. The 2026 First Ship Contest sponsored by Discover Green Bay has returned and is officially open for community participation.

Anyone who wishes to participate in the First Ship Contest is asked to share their predictions on the date and time the first ship will arrive in the Port of Green Bay this spring through Discover Green Bay’s official entry form. The individual who guesses the closest date and time of the first ship’s arrival will be the winner and recipient of a prize package from Discover Green Bay and the Port of Green Bay.

This year’s prize package includes:

• A one-night stay at the historic Hotel Northland
• A Port of Green Bay swag bag
• A 200^th Anniversary Brown County Monopoly Game
• Four admission tickets to four N.E.W. museums
  • Including the National Railroad Museum, Heritage Hill State Park, Neville Public Museum and the Door County Maritime Museum sites
• Dinner for two at The Depot

“The opening dates of the shipping season shifts from year to year, sometimes by as much as a month,” shared Dean Haen, Director of the Port of Green Bay. “Conditions such as ice levels on the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway, along with overall water conditions throughout the system, play a major role in determining when operations can begin.

Individuals who would like to participate can submit their official prediction for the arrival of the first ship of the 2026 season here: www.greenbay.com/contests/first-ship-contest/. One entry per person is allowed. If there are multiple correct guesses, the person who submitted their entry first will be chosen as the winner.

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 About the Port of Green Bay: The Port of Green Bay exists to enhance the prosperity of the people of Northeast Wisconsin by providing facilities and infrastructure able to effectively and efficiently move commodities and goods across the nation. As the western-most port of Lake Michigan, the Port of Green Bay offers a direct route for shipping from the Midwest to the rest of the world.

The Port of Green Bay has 14 active terminal operators located along three miles of the Fox River involved in shipping commodities: Ace Marine, C. Reiss Company, Construction Resources Management, Flint Hills Resources, Fox River Terminals, Georgia-Pacific, Graymont, GLC Minerals, KK Integrated Logistics, Holcim, RGL, Sanimax, St. Mary’s Cement and U.S. Venture.