Port

A port is a maritime facility which may comprise one

or more wharves where ships may dock to load and
discharge passengers and cargo. Although usually
situated on a sea coast or estuary, some ports, such as
Hamburg, Manchester and Duluth, are many miles
inland, with access to the sea via river or canal. Because
of their roles as a port of entry for immigrants many
port cities such as London, New York, Shanghai, Los
Angeles, Singapore and Vancouver have experienced
dramatic multi-ethnic and multicultural changes.[1]

Today, by far the greatest growth in port development is The Port of New York and New Jersey grew from
in Asia, the continent with some of the world's largest the original harbor at the convergence of the
and busiest ports, such as Singapore and the Chinese Hudson River and the East River at the Upper New
ports of Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan. York Bay.

Contents
Ancient ports
Modern ports
Types
Dry port
Fishing port
Inland port
Seaport, a 17th-century depiction by
Seaport
Claude Lorrain, 1638
Cargo port
Cruise home port
Smart port
Port of call
Warm-water port
Environmental impact
World's major ports
Africa
Asia
Europe
Shanghai Port is the world's busiest
North America container port
Oceania
South America
See also
Other logistics hubs
Lists
References
External links

Ancient ports
Whenever ancient civilisations engaged in maritime trade, they
tended to develop sea ports. One of the world's oldest known
artificial harbors is at Wadi al-Jarf on the Red Sea.[2] Along with the Port of Kaohsiung is the largest port
in Taiwan.
finding of harbor structures, ancient anchors have also been found.

Other ancient ports include Guangzhou during Qin Dynasty China

and Canopus, the principal Egyptian port for Greek trade before the
foundation of Alexandria. In ancient Greece, Athens' port of Piraeus
was the base for the Athenian fleet which played a crucial role in the
Battle of Salamis against the Persians in 480 BCE. In ancient India
from 3700 BCE, Lothal was a prominent city of the Indus valley
civilisation, located in the Bhāl region of the modern state of
Gujarāt. Ostia Antica was the port of ancient Rome with Portus
established by Claudius and enlarged by Trajan to supplement the
nearby port of Ostia. In Japan, during the Edo period, the island of
Dejima was the only port open for trade with Europe and received Port of Hamburg
only a single Dutch ship per year, whereas Osaka was the largest
domestic port and the main trade hub for rice.

Nowadays, many of these ancient sites no longer exist or function as

modern ports. Even in more recent times, ports sometimes fall out of
use. Rye, East Sussex, was an important English port in the Middle
Ages, but the coastline changed and it is now 2 miles (3.2 km) from
the sea, while the ports of Ravenspurn and Dunwich have been lost
to coastal erosion.

Modern ports The port of Piraeus

Whereas early ports tended to be just simple harbours, modern ports

tend to be multimodal distribution hubs, with transport links using
sea, river, canal, road, rail and air routes. Successful ports are
located to optimize access to an active hinterland, such as the
London Gateway. Ideally, a port will grant easy navigation to ships,
and will give shelter from wind and waves. Ports are often on
estuaries, where the water may be shallow and may need regular
dredging. Deep water ports such as Milford Haven are less common,
but can handle larger ships with a greater draft, such as super
tankers, Post-Panamax vessels and large container ships. Other
businesses such as regional distribution centres, warehouses and Port of Klaipėda
freight-forwarders, canneries and other processing facilities find it
advantageous to be located within a port or nearby. Modern ports
will have specialised cargo-handling equipment, such as gantry cranes, reach stackers and forklift trucks.
Ports usually have specialised functions: some tend to cater mainly
for passenger ferries and cruise ships; some specialise in container
traffic or general cargo; and some ports play an important military
role for their nation's navy. Some third world countries and small
islands such as Ascension and St Helena still have limited port
facilities, so that ships must anchor off while their cargo and
passengers are taken ashore by barge or launch (respectively).

In modern times, ports survive or decline, depending on current

economic trends. In the UK, both the ports of Liverpool and
Southampton were once significant in the transatlantic passenger
liner business. Once airliner traffic decimated that trade, both ports
diversified to container cargo and cruise ships. Up until the 1950s
the Port of London was a major international port on the River
Thames, but changes in shipping and the use of containers and larger
ships, have led to its decline. Thamesport,[3] a small semi-automated
container port (with links to the Port of Felixstowe, the UK's largest
container port) thrived for some years, but has been hit hard by
competition from the emergent London Gateway port and logistics Port of Seattle
hub.

In mainland Europe, it is normal for ports to be publicly owned, so

that, for instance, the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam are owned
partly by the state and partly by the cities themselves. By contrast, in
the UK all ports are in private hands, such as Peel Ports who own the
Port of Liverpool, John Lennon Airport and the Manchester Ship
Canal.

Even though modern ships tend to have bow-thrusters and stern-

thrusters, many port authorities still require vessels to use pilots and
Port of Haifa, Israel
tugboats for manoeuvering large ships in tight quarters. For instance,
ships approaching the Belgian port of Antwerp, an inland port on the
River Scheldt, are obliged to use Dutch pilots when navigating on
that part of the estuary that belongs to the Netherlands.

Ports with international traffic have customs facilities.

Port of Barcelona, one of Spain's
Types largest ports

The terms "port" and "seaport" are used for different types of port
facilities that handle ocean-going vessels, and river port is used for
river traffic, such as barges and other shallow-draft vessels.

Dry port

A dry port is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by

road or rail to a seaport and operating as a centre for the
transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations.[4]
Port of Busan, Korea

Fishing port
A fishing port is a port or harbor for landing and distributing fish. It
may be a recreational facility, but it is usually commercial. A fishing
port is the only port that depends on an ocean product, and depletion
of fish may cause a fishing port to be uneconomical.
Port of Montreal, Quebec.
Inland port

An inland port is a port on a navigable lake, river (fluvial port), or

canal with access to a sea or ocean, which therefore allows a ship to
sail from the ocean inland to the port to load or unload its cargo. An
example of this is the St. Lawrence Seaway which allows ships to
travel from the Atlantic Ocean several thousand kilometers inland to
Great Lakes ports like Toronto, Duluth-Superior, and Chicago.[5]
The term "inland port" is also used for dry ports.

The Port of Duluth-Superior, the

Seaport largest freshwater port in the world

A seaport is further categorized as a "cruise port" or a "cargo port".

Additionally, "cruise ports" are also known as a "home port" or a
"port of call". The "cargo port" is also further categorized into a
"bulk" or "break bulk port" or as a "container port".

Cargo port

Cargo ports, on the other hand, are quite different from cruise ports,
because each handles very different cargo, which has to be loaded
and unloaded by very different mechanical means. The port may
Cargo port in Hilo, Hawaii
handle one particular type of cargo or it may handle numerous
cargoes, such as grains, liquid fuels, liquid chemicals, wood,
automobiles, etc. Such ports are known as the "bulk" or "break bulk
ports". Those ports that handle containerized cargo are known as container ports. Most cargo ports handle all
sorts of cargo, but some ports are very specific as to what cargo they handle. Additionally, the individual
cargo ports are divided into different operating terminals which handle the different cargoes, and are
operated by different companies, also known as terminal operators or stevedores.

Cruise home port

A cruise home port is the port where cruise ship passengers board (or embark) to start their cruise and
disembark the cruise ship at the end of their cruise. It is also where the cruise ship's supplies are loaded for
the cruise, which includes everything from fresh water and fuel to fruits, vegetables, champagne, and any
other supplies needed for the cruise. "Cruise home ports" are very busy places during the day the cruise ship
is in port, because off-going passengers debark their baggage and on-coming passengers board the ship in
addition to all the supplies being loaded. Cruise home ports tend to have large passenger terminals to handle
the large number of passengers passing through the port. The busiest cruise home port in the world is the
Port of Miami, Florida, closely followed behind by Port Everglades, Florida and the Port of San Juan, Puerto
Rico.

Smart port
A smart port uses technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and
blockchain to be more efficient at handling goods.[6] Smart ports usually deploy cloud-based software as
part of the process of greater automation to help generate the operating flow that helps the port work
smoothly.[7] At present, most of the world's ports have somewhat embedded technology, if not for full
leadership. However, thanks to global government initiatives and exponential growth in maritime trade, the
amount of intelligent ports has gradually increased. This latest report by business intelligence provider
Visiongain assesses that Smart Ports Market spending will reach $1.5 bn in 2019.[8]

Port of call

A port of call is an intermediate stop for a ship on its sailing itinerary. At these ports, cargo ships may take
on supplies or fuel, as well as unloading and loading cargo while cruise liners have passengers get on or off
ship.

Warm-water port

A warm-water port is one where the water does not freeze in wintertime. Because they are available year-
round, warm-water ports can be of great geopolitical or economic interest. Such settlements as Dalian in
China, Vostochny Port,[9] Murmansk and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Russia, Odessa in Ukraine, Kushiro
in Japan and Valdez at the terminus of the Alaska Pipeline owe their very existence to being ice-free ports.
The Baltic Sea and similar areas have ports available year-round beginning in the 20th century thanks to
icebreakers, but earlier access problems prompted Russia to expand its territory to the Black Sea.

Environmental impact
There are several initiatives to decrease negative environmental impacts of ports. These include SIMPYC,
the World Ports Climate Initiative, the African Green Port Initiative and EcoPorts.[10]

Many seaports (e.g. container ports, cruise ports) endeavour to enhance energy efficiency and decrease
negative environmental impacts of ports. Many ports started harnessing renewable energy and using
innovative technologies, alternative fuels (e.g. LNG, hydrogen, biofuel), smarter power distribution systems,
energy consumption measurement systems. Operational strategies (e.g. peak shaving, demand side
management), technology usage (e.g. electrification of equipment, cold ironing, energy storage systems),
renewable energy, alternative fuels and energy management systems (e.g. smart grid with renewable energy)
are gaining popularity.[11]

World's major ports

Africa

The busiest port in Africa is Port Said in Egypt.

Asia

The port of Shanghai is the largest port in the world in both cargo tonnage and activity. It regained its
position as the world's busiest port by cargo tonnage and the world's busiest container port in 2009 and
2010, respectively. It is followed by the ports of Singapore, Hong Kong and Kaohsiung, Taiwan, all of
which are in East and Southeast Asia.
Europe

Europe's busiest container port and biggest port by cargo tonnage by

far is the Port of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. It is followed by the
Belgian Port of Antwerp or the German Port of Hamburg, depending
on which metric is used.[12] In turn, the Spanish Port of Valencia is
the busiest port in the Mediterranean basin.

The port of Visakhapatnam in Andhra

North America Pradesh, India

The largest ports include the ports of Los Angeles and South
Louisiana in the U.S., Manzanillo in Mexico and Vancouver in Canada. Panama also has the Panama Canal
that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, and is a key conduit for international trade.

Oceania

The largest port in Australia is the Port of Melbourne.

South America

According to ECLAC's "Maritime and Logistics Profile of Latin America and the Caribbean", the largest
ports in South America are the Port of Santos in Brazil, Cartagena in Colombia, Callao in Peru, Guayaquil
in Ecuador, and the Port of Buenos Aires in Argentina.[13]

See also
Anchorage (shipping)
Megaproject
Marina - port for recreational boating
Port management
Port operator
Ship transport

Other logistics hubs

Airport
Spaceport
Port of entry

Lists
Lists of ports
List of busiest cruise ports by passengers

References
 1. Caves, R. W. (2004). Encyclopedia of the City. Routledge. p. 528. ISBN 9780415252256.
2. Rossella Lorenzi (12 April 2013). "Most Ancient Port, Hieroglyphic Papyri Found" (http://news.d
iscovery.com/history/ancient-egypt/worlds-oldest-port-and-egyptian-papyrus-uncovered-13041
2.htm). Discovery News. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
3. "Welcome" (http://www.londonthamesport.co.uk). London Thamesport. Retrieved 6 September
2018.
4. "Feasibility Study on the network operation of Hinterland Hubs (Dry Port Concept) to improve
and modernise ports' connections to the hinterland and to improve networking" (https://web.arc
hive.org/web/20080413200609/http://www.inloc.info/internal/wp1/activity_15_feasibility_study_
dry_ports.pdf) (PDF). InLoc. January 2007. Archived from the original (http://www.inloc.info/int
ernal/wp1/activity_15_feasibility_study_dry_ports.pdf) (PDF) on 2008-04-13. Retrieved
2008-03-10.
5. "Seaway System" (http://www.greatlakes-seaway.com/en/). greatlakes-seaway.com.
6. "Smart Ports of the Future: A Digital Tomorrow" (https://www.porttechnology.org/news/smart-po
rts-of-the-future-a-digital-tomorrow/). Port Technology International. 2019-09-17. Retrieved
2019-10-11.
7. "Ports in the Cloud: The Next Step in Automation?" (https://www.porttechnology.org/news/ports
_in_the_cloud_the_next_step_in_automation/). Port Technology International. 2018-11-09.
Retrieved 2019-10-11.
8. " "Smart Ports Market spending will reach $1.5bn in 2019", says Visiongain" (https://www.vision
gain.com/smart-ports-market-spending-will-reach-1-5bn-in-2019-says-visiongain/). Visiongain.
2019-09-05. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
9. "Vostochny Port JSC, Geography, Location" (https://web.archive.org/web/20121129011546/htt
p://www.vpnet.ru/eng/geo/main_geo.htm). Vostochny Port website. 2007. Archived from the
original (http://www.vpnet.ru/eng/geo/main_geo.htm) on 29 November 2012. Retrieved
13 December 2012. "... Vostochny Port is located in the south of Primorsky Region, in the
southeast of Nakhodka bay, in Vrangel bay. This is unique natural harbor is no ice restrictions
even in severe winters. ..."
10. EOS magazine, 6, 2012
11. A review of energy efficiency in ports: Operational strategies, technologies and energy
management systems (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136403211930290
4/) "Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 112, 170-182, 2019"
12. "World Port Rankings 2011" (http://aapa.files.cms-plus.com/PDFs/WORLD%20PORT%20RAN
KINGS%202011.pdf) (PDF). Agência Nacional de Transportes Aquaviários. Antaq, Brazil.
2011. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
13. "Los 10 mayores puertos de América Latina y Caribe en tráfico de contenedores" (https://secto
rmaritimo.es/los-10-mayores-puertos-de-america-latina-y-caribe-en-trafico-de-contenedores).
Revista de Ingeniería Naval (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Asociación de Ingenieros Navales y
Oceánicos de España. September 28, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2017.

External links
Port Industry Statistics, American Association of Port Authorities (http://www.aapa-ports.org/In
dustry/content.cfm?ItemNumber=900&navItemNumber=551)
Information on yachting facilities at ports around the world from Noonsite.com (http://www.noo
nsite.com/Countries)
Social & Economic Benefits of PORTS (http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/esb/?goal=commerce&fil
e=obs/marine/ports/) from "NOAA Socioeconomics" website initiative
Antunes, Cátia: Early Modern Ports, 1500-1750 (http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0159-2010
102547), European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, 2011, retrieved:
November 2, 2011.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Port&oldid=957774759"

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