Ships are getting bigger, and the largest U.S. ports already have deeper water: Baltimore; Norfolk, Va.; and Oakland, Calif., are dredged to 50 feet. Charleston, S.C., is at 45 feet. Los Angeles soon will be deepened to 53 feet, and Long Beach, Calif., to 76 feet. The Port of New York and New Jersey is being deepened to 50 feet from 45.