Galveston County, Texas the end of the 19th century, a group of investors established Texas City directly across the West Bay from Galveston with the hope of making it a competing port city. The port began operations just before the start of the 20th century. The 1900 Galveston Hurricane devastated the county, killing an estimated 6000 people on the island alone and numerous others in the rest of the county. The Port of Galveston was closed for a time during reconstruction, but recovery was swift and profound. By 1910, the county's citizens had developed the commission form of government, constructed the seawall, and
Port of Galveston opened at the port. This was the result of a public-private partnership that the port entered into with Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics Vehicle Services Americas. The new site has the capacity to import 32,500 cars per year, an inventory worth more than $1.3 billion. As of 2017, Galveston is the 4th-busiest cruise ship homeport in North America and one of the top 10 homeports in the world. Over the years, the port has welcomed ships from major cruise lines including Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Disney Cruise Lines, and Norwegian Cruise Lines. In 2017, three Carnival ships