Free L.A. Harbor boat tours will show ‘the entire workings of a major seaport.’

For most people, the Port of Los Angeles is a vast, mysterious enterprise glimpsed from a distance--perhaps on a drive across the Vincent Thomas Bridge or a stroll along the main channel at Ports O’ Call Village.

The gigantic cargo ships and gleaming cruise liners seem to hint at exotic places as they glide past the docks, while towering cranes and hard-working fishing boats testify to the port’s industrial and commercial muscle.

But the sprawling port, which covers 7,500 acres in San Pedro, will become a little less mysterious Saturday and Sunday when the port kicks off its observance of World Trade Week by offering free, hourlong narrated tours that provide water-level views of harbor activities.

The first boat leaves at 10 a.m. each day, and there will be departures on the half hour starting at 11:30 a.m.

“In an hour, people see container ships, passenger liners and commercial fishing boats,” said Mike Levitt, special events coordinator for the port. “They love the fact that they get a ride in the harbor and see things they rarely have ever seen before except on television.”

The port has been offering World Trade Week tours for several years, and Levitt said the World Cruise Center is always popular with visitors.

Visitors also get a sense of awe looking up at 200-foot-high cranes used to move containerized cargo in and out of ships. The port has 34 cranes, which are able to handle up to 40 tons of cargo at a time.

Levitt said everything from electronic goods and food to live animals and classic cars is shipped in the bulky steel containers, which can be 40 feet in length.

For some visitors, Levitt said, sailing under the Vincent Thomas Bridge is the most exciting part of the tour. “It’s something they may have driven over, but they have no idea what it looks like from the down side,” said Levitt, adding that the bridge is 285 feet above the water.

Leaving Berth 84, boats move through the main channel into the open harbor, passing Carbillo Marina, where sailboats mingle with jet skiers and windsurfers.

Boats then turn back through the main channel, pass under the bridge and explore the northern portions of the port.

Said Levitt: “People will see the ships tied up at the docks and ship activities in the port. It’s not uncommon on the weekend to see ships being unloaded.”

Visitors also will catch glimpses of a new container terminal being built on Terminal Island.

Before or after the boat tours, people may walk through the Maritime Museum with its collection of boat models, fishing boats, flags, paintings and trappings relating to ships and seafaring.

Open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Monday, the museum occupies a building that housed the old ferry system that connected San Pedro and Terminal Island until 1963.

Levitt said that World Trade Week, which began in the 1930s, calls attention to the impact that international commerce has on the United States and Southern California.

The port, which can accommodate 85 cargo ships at the same time, led the nation’s ports in gross revenue last year ($153 million) and in the amount of containerized cargo handled (the equivalent of 2.1 million 20-foot container units).

The boat tours are the port’s way of providing what port executive director Ezunial Burts calls a view of “the entire workings of a major seaport.”

Said Burts: “By seeing what occurs here at the harbor, the average citizen gets a better understanding of what takes place in the transportation of imports and exports and develops a better comprehension of the impact that world trade has on individual lives and the entire Southland economy.”

What: Port of Los Angeles Boat Tours.

When: Saturday, Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Where: Berth 84, immediately south of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum, 6th Street and Harbor Boulevard, San Pedro.

Admission: Free.

Information: 519-3508.