Major Ports Of The World

Port of New Orleans, USA

2022-05-01T08:50:00.005+05:30

The Port of New Orleans is located in the State of Louisiana in the United States. Lying between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain about 180 kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico, the Port of New Orleans is about 220 kilometers west-southwest of the Port of Mobile in Alabama and over 360 kilometers east of Port Arthur in Texas. The Port of New Orleans is the State's largest city and an important deep-water port. Named after Phillippe II, Duc d'Orleans and Regent of France, the Port of New Orleans is known for its multi-lingual, multi-cultural heritage, architecture, and cuisine. Being the birthplace of American jazz, it is the home to many celebrations and festivals, including Mardi Gras and lively celebrations by more than a million people on Bourbon Street. In 2007, over 239 thousand people lived in the Port of New Orleans, and more than 1.1 million lived in the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner metropolitan area.

The Port of New Orleans is one of the biggest and busiest ports in the world and the center of a busy maritime community. It is a fundamental transportation and distribution hub for water-borne commerce with many shipping, shipbuilding, freight forwarding, logistics, and commodity brokerage companies either headquartered in or otherwise located in the Port of New Orleans. The Port of New Orleans region accounts for much of the country's oil refining and petrochemical production, including corporate headquarters for on-shore and off-shore producers of natural gas and petroleum. It is home to two of the four Strategic Petroleum Reserve facilities and to 17 petroleum refineries with a combined capacity to distill almost 450 thousand cubic meters of crude oil per day. The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) serves ultra-large oil tankers, and the Port of New Orleans contains many major pipelines that supply the United States (Chevron, Exxon, BP, Shell, Texaco, and many others). Many other energy-related companies are located in the Port of New Orleans. The Port of New Orleans is also an important center for the healthcare industry and supports a busy and productive manufacturing sector. Tourism and conventions are a vital part of the Port of New Orleans's economy, accounting for as much as 40% of the city's tax revenues. The United States' government has many facilities in the Port of New Orleans area, including NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, USDA's National Finance Center, the US Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, and the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In August 2005, the Port of New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina when the city's levees were breached and much of the city was flooded, killing hundreds and forcing an evacuation of the city. Called by some the "worst civil engineering disaster in US history," as much as 80% of the Port of New Orleans was flooded. While the city was not destroyed, it was hit hard. Historians think it may be the worst disaster in the United States since the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. Fortunately for visitors to the Port of New Orleans, the city's historic, cultural, and business districts are on slightly higher ground and fared relatively well in the storm. In 2009, tourism returned to the Port of New Orleans. Transportation, including the popular New Orleans street cars, is available for visiting the city's popular attractions, many of which have reopened. Public services in the Port of New Orleans are still struggling to return to normal, and the city is experiencing an increase in crime. However, the city is passionate about rebuilding, and the future is bright for the Port of New Orleans.

In 1717, John Law's Company of the West based in Paris decided to establish the Port of New Orleans a year after France took control of Louisiana. The founders envisioned the new settlement as a transshipment and trade center for goods from upriver in the Mississippi River Valley. Jean-Baptiste le Moyne de Bienville was responsible for the city's beginnings when the brush was cleared in 1718. Many problems beset the engineers in charge of the development of the Port of New Orleans ? supply shortages, convict labor, two heavy hurricanes, and mosquito-infested swamps. The first dwellings were crude, constructed of reeds and bark.

The Port of New Orleans's first citizens were a diverse mix of back-woodsmen from Canada, craftsmen and troops from John Law's Company, convicts, prostitutes, slaves, and wanderers. In 1721, a census revealed a population of 470 people that included 277 whites, 172 blacks, and 21 Indian slaves. In 1722, the Port of New Orleans became the Louisiana colony's capital. After 1731, more reputable colonists started coming to the Port of New Orleans even though the city still suffered many difficulties. In its early years, the Port of New Orleans economy relied on the export of tobacco and indigo and the import of rice and vegetables. Unfortunately, the value of goods did not justify the use of France's ships, and growth was slow.

France ceded the unprofitable Port of New Orleans, together with the Louisiana Territory west of the Mississippi River, to Spain through the 1763 Treaty of Paris. Despite initial rebellion, the Port of New Orleans prospered under Spanish rule. Port of New Orleans' trade grew with British colonies in the New World despite the limitations Spain imposed. During this period, English-speaking colonists began to move west, creating settlements along the Mississippi and its tributaries. Called "Kaintucks," they started moving their cargoes down the Mississippi to the Port of New Orleans during the decade of the American Revolution. Unhappy with the conduct of the Americans in New Orleans, the Spanish suspended their rights to deposit goods in New Orleans several times.

Louisiana and the Port of New Orleans were returned to Napoleonic France by secret agreement in 1800. By 1803, Napoleon sold the territory to the United States. In 1803, some eight thousand people lived in the Port of New Orleans, half of them white. Over 2500 residents were slaves, and some 1300 free people of color were included in the population.

In 1803, the exports from the Port of New Orleans were bound primarily for United States ports in the east. That year, the value of exports was almost $2 million, revealing the city's prosperity as a new United States territory. The Port of New Orleans was incorporated as a municipality in 1805, and it began to grow beyond its original boundaries. It annexed the Faubourg (suburb) Sainte Marie, which became the "American section" of the city. New suburbs grew up north and south of the Port of New Orleans and across the river that were taken into the Port of New Orleans in the 1870s.

The British threatened to invade the Port of New Orleans during the War of 1812, approaching the city by sea from the Gulf of Mexico. General Andrew Jackson led an army of local volunteers and frontiersmen against the invaders and saved the Port of New Orleans (although the war had already ended).

The early half of the 19th Century was the Port of New Orleans's golden age, as it was a very important port for cotton, the southern states' major product. In 1835, the Port of New Orleans achieved a total $54 million in commerce. By 1840, some 400 steamboats traveled the Mississippi River. The same year, the Port of New Orleans was considered to be the world's fourth busiest port.

During the 1840s, many immigrants came to the Port of New Orleans from Ireland and Germany. By 1850, more than 116 thousand people lived there. Unfortunately, the population faced health threats from polluted drinking water, inadequate drainage, and frequent flooding. The decade of the 1850s was marred by outbreaks of yellow fever and cholera. In 1853, over eight thousand people died of yellow fever in the Port of New Orleans.

The Confederate States did not fully appreciate the value of the Port of New Orleans's strategic position during the American Civil War. In 1862, a Union fleet under Admiral David Farragut captured the city and placed it under military command. Local Port of New Orleans officials were removed from office, and the next years became known for Commander Nathaniel Banks' poor treatment of the people. During Reconstruction from 1865 to 1877, Carpetbaggers and Scalawags controlled local and state politics, helped into office by black voters, and drove up considerable debt for the municipality.

In 1872 when amnesty was given to ex-Confederates, local whites in the Port of New Orleans once again took control of the city government even though city policy and the state government remained firmly under Radical Republican control until the later part of the decade. In the last two decades of the 19th Century, the Port of New Orleans slowly paid off its debts and attempted to recover from Civil War hardships.

The modern Port of New Orleans was born in 1879 when jetties were constructed in South Pass, creating an approach channel of some 12 meters that allowed sea-going vessels to enter and leave the Mississippi River. In 1896, the State legislature created the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans and took control of wharf facilities from private contractors to the "Dock Board." Even so, by 1900, the Port of New Orleans had dropped from the 4th to the 12th busiest port in the United States. During the latter part of the 1800s, yellow fever was better controlled, and it was eradicated by 1906.

In 1908, the Port of New Orleans Dock Board was able to issue bonds to improve Port of New Orleans facilities. Public wharves were rebuilt an expanded. The 9-kilometer Industrial Canal was constructed, linking the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain and the Intracoastal Waterway.

Just before World War I, the Port of New Orleans had reached a low point. Steamboats on the Mississippi could not complete with railroads, and most of the goods moving to the East were carried by rail. With the introduction of barges that could carry large volumes of cargo and towboats, however, the Port of New Orleans's competitive position improved. By the end of World War II, the Port of New Orleans had recovered to hold the second position among United States ports.

During the 1950s, city infrastructure improvements were made in the Port of New Orleans. A new rail terminal and a huge civic center were built. The petrochemical industry began moving into town. In 1963, a ship channel (called the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet) was opened, shortening the trip to the gulf by 64 kilometers.

In the 1970s, many oil refineries were constructed in the Port of New Orleans area. The oil crisis of the 1980s brought a serious slow-down to the Port of New Orleans's economy. Middle-class residents began to move to the suburbs, and modern urban problems of crime plagued the inner city. By the middle 1990s, the Port of New Orleans' reputation was suffering, with police corruption added to the list of ills. The Port of New Orleans took changing its reputation very seriously, and the latter half of the 1990s saw a positive change as the tourism-based economy grew.

The hurricanes of 2005 brought unheard of problems to the Port of New Orleans and surrounding area. While a few wards evaded serious damage, large areas of the city were destroyed. Many Port of New Orleans buildings were left unusable due to the serious flooding. Most of the city's population had to move elsewhere temporarily, and many decided not to return to the Port of New Orleans. Reconstruction efforts have been slow and difficult, and many questioned whether the city was viable.

Since the early 1980s, bulk exports from the Port of New Orleans have grown substantially. The Port of New Orleans is an important grain port for the country and the world. It also exports raw and processed agricultural products, chemicals, fabricated metals, textiles, tobacco, paperboard, and petroleum and petroleum products. From the decade of the 1980s, the Port of New Orleans has been the world's lighter aboard ship (LASH) cargo and Seabee barge capital. It is responsible for over 160 thousand jobs in the Port of New Orleans area, some $8 billion in earnings, $17 billion in spending, and $800 million in taxes across the state.

Port of Manila, Philippines

2022-04-30T08:25:00.001+05:30

The Port of Manila is the capital city and chief port for the Philippines. It lies on the mouth of the Pasig River in western Luzon Island and stretches along Manila Bay's eastern shores. The Port of Manila is about 645 nautical miles southeast of the Port of Hong Kong and about 880 nautical miles east-northeast of Saigon Port. The Port of Manila is also the country's main economic, cultural, and political center. Metropolitan Manila contains 17 cities and municipalities, including the Port of Manila. One of the world's most densely populated cities, the Port of Manila was home to almost 1.6 million people in 2000, but the metropolitan area had a populating of over 9.9 million souls.

The Port of Manila has a diverse economy. In addition to housing the Philippines' major seaport, it is an important center for publishing and manufacturing. Products manufactured in the Port of Manila include textiles, chemicals, clothing, electronics, watches, leather goods, shoes, and iron and steel. Local businesses process commodities for export, including plywood, rope, refined sugar, coconut oil, and copra. The food, beverages, and tobacco sectors employ many of the city's residents.

With more than a million visitors each year, tourism is a thriving and important economic sector in the Port of Manila. Except for the Port of Manila, every district in the city has its own public market where local commerce is busy, particularly in the early morning. The urban renewal program includes refurbishing some of these markets. The Port of Manila also has plenty of modern shopping malls and chain stores.

Called Seludong or Sleurung under the Malay aristocracy, historians believe that the future Port of Manila was the capital of the Ancient Tondo. With busy trade relations with China, the kingdom flourished during China's latter Ming Dynasty. The local Tondo rulers had the status of kings, rather than chieftains. The Namayan, a confederation of barangays, began to peak in the late 12th Century, and their territory stretched from Manila Bay to Laguna de Bay. Their capital in Sapa is called Santa Ana today.

The Port of Manila pre-dates the Spanish invasion of the Philippine islands. Going back as early as the 9th Century, the Port of Manila had trade relations with China, Japan, India, and modern Malaysia and Indonesia. The Port of Manila traded often with Arab merchants, even after Spanish rule, although the Spanish Port of Manila most often traded with Mexico, Spain, and China.

Built atop older towns, the Port of Manila was well fortified with a trading quarter on the Pasig River in the 13th Century. In the late 15th and early 16th Centuries, the Kingdom of Tondo's was attacked by the Sultanate of Brunei in an attempt to break the Port of Manila's trade with China. Under the Salalila, a new dynasty arose to challenge the Tondo rulers.

In the middle of the 16th Century, the area of today's Port of Manila belonged to the maritime Muslim Rajahs. Rajah Lakandula reigned over the Tondo, Hundu-Buddhist communities north of the Pasig River. Muslim communities south of the river united into the Kingdom of Maynila. The Malay-speaking city-states had diplomatic ties with the Bolkiah Dynasty of Brunei (today's Borneo).

Portuguese pirates drove the Spanish Governor General, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi , from Cebu Island to Panay Island in the late 1560s. Hearing rumors of great wealth in Luzon, the governor sent an expedition to Luzon to the south of Manila Bay. His envoys sent messages of friendship to Maynila. While Rajah Sulayman would accept friendship, he would not submit to Spanish rule, and he went to war against the Spaniards. In 1570, Spanish forces attacked Maynila, capturing the city.

With the Kingdom of Maynila under assault, the remaining Rajah Matanda formed an alliance with the Lakandula of Tondo in 1571. However, powerful city-states began to challenge the long-standing rule of the Tondo and the Maynila. In the early 1570s, Governor Legazpi led the full force of Spanish troops as they returned to the island. When the natives saw them coming, they burned the city and escaped to Tondo.

The Spanish took what was left of Maynila and established a settlement. In 1571, Legazpi titled the Colony of Manila a city, and the Spanish crown affirmed the status in 1572. The Port of Manila became a colonial trading post for the Spanish. A Viceroyalty of New Spain was established that governed the Philippines, and the Governor-General ruled from Port of Manila but was subordinate to the Viceroy in Mexico City. From 1571 until 1815, the galleon trade route between the Philippines and Mexico flourished, and the Port of Manila became famous.

The Chinese population in the Port of Manila was subjected to Spanish commercial laws and restrictions, and they had to pay tribute to Spanish officials. In 1574, 62 Chinese warships and some three thousand men attacked the Port of Manila in rebellion against the Spanish. They were easily defeated. In order to prevent future rebellions, the Spanish made Chinese merchants and residents move into a separate district.

In 1591, Governor-General Legazpi began building a fort at the Port of Manila and began to court Rajah Lakandula of Tondo. The Rajah was eventually converted to Christianity, and local nobles sold their loyalty to the Spanish for privileges and titles. Soon, Augustinian monks came to the Port of Manila to spread Roman Catholicism , and they were followed by Franciscans , Dominicans , and Jesuits in the later centuries.

In 1595, the Port of Manila was named the official capital of the Philippines, and a municipal government was established with a Spanish-style community called Intramuros within fortified walls. Today, it is the oldest district in the modern Port of Manila.

During the 17th Century, the Chinese again revolted against the Spanish several times. They even threatened to capture Intramuros. In the middle 17th Century, a conspiracy arose to kill all the Spaniards in the Port of Manila, ending in the eviction of the Chinese form the city and country. However, the Chinese community continued to exist over the following years.

The British occupied the Port of Manila for two years in the early 1760s during the Seven Years' War between France and Britain. Fleeing from the British, the Spaniards destroyed many valuable historic documents. Even though the British occupied the Port of Manila, it continued to be the capital of the Philippines under a provisional British governor. The Philippines were returned to the Spanish Crown, by omission, under the provisions of the Peace of Paris signed in 1763.

By the middle of the 19th Century, the Port of Manila was opened to trade with all foreign ports. In the late 19th Century, the Port of Manila became a hotbed of anti-Spanish sentiment and propaganda. In 1886 a novel by Jose Rizal planted the seeds of revolution. Although the author was exiled to Dapitan , organizations were formed with the goal of ending Spanish rule. Open rebellion broke out in 1896. Rizal was made a martyr to the revolution when the Spanish executed him by firing squad. After months of fighting, a revolutionary government was formed, but it did not survive.

During the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War , troops from the United States invaded the Port of Manila in 1898. Spain was defeated, and the United States took control of the Port of Manila and the Philippine islands in a brutal assault. Under Admiral George Dewey , the American Navy defeated the Spanish in the Battle of Manila Bay. Spain transferred the islands and the Port of Manila to the United States in the 1898 Treaty of Paris , ending over three centuries of Spanish rule.

The Filipinos did not want to accept rule by the United States, having just won independence from Spain. Emilio Aguinaldo declared the First Philippine Republic , but the United States did not recognize the new republic. War broke out in 1899 between the Filipinos and the Americans. In 1901, General Aguinaldo surrendered. The Americans immediately invaded and occupied the islands and the Port of Manila.

The Filipinos continued to resist US control and undertook a guerrilla resistance with limited success. General Douglas MacArthur was brought in to suppress the rebellion. Rumors of brutality and bloody suppression by the Americans continue today.

In 1901, a civil government was established for the Port of Manila. The Philippine-American War continued until 1903, with many Port of Manila lives lost. In 1935, the US government agreed to grant Philippine Independence after a 10-year period that was extended by one year due to World War II.

In December 1941, the Port of Manila was declared an open city, and American troops were ordered to withdraw from the city in hopes of sparing the Port of Manila destruction at the hands of the invading Japanese. The Japanese bombed the Port of Manila nonetheless. On January 2, 1942, the Japanese Imperial army marched into the Port of Manila. The Japanese gave the Port of Manila leaders three choices as to how they would be governed. They chose government by commission selected by Filipinos and established the Philippine Executive Commission that would manage greater Manila; however, this was later extended to the whole Philippines.

In October 1944, General Douglas MacArthur fulfilled his promise to return to the Philippines. After a terrible battle at the Port of Manila's Intramuros district, a devastated Port of Manila was liberated by American and Filipino troops. However, they did not arrive in the Port of Manila soon enough to stop the Manila Massacre . The city was nearly destroyed, having received more damage than any other city during World War II except for Warsaw . On July 4, 1946, the Philippine flag was raised for the first time ever in Rizal Park.

From 1972 until 1981, the Port of Manila and the country were under Martial Law declared by President Ferdinand Marcos . During his rule, the local economy disintegrated, and corruption was rampant. Tens of thousands of Filipinos disappeared or were imprisoned if they opposed Marcos' martial law. When he was deposed in 1986, claimants against Marcos were awarded over US$500 million in compensation.

When opposition leader Benigno Aquino arrived in the Port of Manila in 1983, he was killed as he de-boarded the airplane. The people of the Philippines increasingly opposed the rule of Ferdinand Marcos. When the People Power Revolution succeeded in 1986, Aquino's widow, Corazon , was installed as president, and she survived six unsuccessful coup attempts. Since the early 1990s, the Port of Manila's mayors have worked hard to fight crime, provide education, improve social welfare, and marshal urban renewal projects.

In the early 1970s, there were almost 600 national and municipal ports and 200 private ports scattered throughout the Philippine islands. The Bureau of Public Works was responsible for maintaining ports and harbors, but the need for coordination and long-range planning was overwhelming. The Bureau of Customs proposed a new government agency to integrate port operations and development, and the World Bank made creation of a port authority a condition of a 1973 port development loan.

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) was created by Presidential Decree in late 1975 to plan, develop, finance, operate, and maintain ports and port districts for the nation. A National Ports Advisory Council was created to facilitate cooperation between government and private interests. In 1987, the PPA was given financial autonomy and the additional responsibility for construction port facilities.

Port of Chennai, India

2022-04-28T08:05:00.004+05:30

Formerly known as Madras, the Port of Chennai is called by many the "Gateway to South India." Located on India's southern Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal, the Port of Chennai is about 565 kilometers northeast of the Port of Cochin and some one thousand kilometers southeast of the Port of Mumbai. The Port of Chennai is an important cultural and administrative center and the capital of India's Tamil Nadu state. In 2001, over 4.3 million people lived in the city, and over 6.5 million lived in the urban area of the Port of Chennai.

The Port of Chennai is one of the oldest and biggest commercial ports in India. It was an important port for travelers before taking on its role in maritime trade. The Port of Chennai is a vital part of Tamil Nadu's growing economy, particularly for the growth in South India's booming manufacturing sector. Its major industries include factories that produce vehicles, rubber, and fertilizers as well as electrical engineering and a refinery. The major exports leaving the Port of Chennai are iron ore, leather, and cotton textiles. The major imports entering the Port of Chennai are wheat, raw cotton, machinery, and iron and steel.

The region surrounding the Port of Chennai has been an important military, administrative, and economic center since the 1st Century AD under the rule of many South Indian dynasties, including the Pallava, the Pandya, the Chola, and the Vijaynagar dynasties. The Christian apostle Thomas preached in the area between 52 and 70 AD.

The ancient town of Mylapore, which is now part of the Port of Chennai, was an important port for the Pallavan dynasty that reigned from the 6th to 9th Centuries. In 1522, the Portuguese built a port on the site of today's Port of Chennai, naming it Sao Tome after St. Thomas.

The Dutch arrived at Pulicat, some 33 kilometers north of the Port of Chennai, in 1613. In 1639, the British East India Company bought a band of coastline from Peda Venkata Raya, the Vihayanagara King, and the regional ruler, Damerla Venkatapathy, gave permission to the British to build a warehouse and factory on the site. The next year, the British established a colony called Madras and built Fort St. George on the site of the future Port of Chennai.

In 1746, French forces captured and plundered Madras, Fort St. George, and surrounding villages. Three years later, the Port of Chennai and town were returned to the British under the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. They then strengthened the fort to defend the Port of Chennai from the French and from the increasingly powerful Sultan of Mysore.

Most of the southern India region had been conquered by the British by the late 1700s, and they established the Madras Presidency with Madras/Chennai as its capital. The future Port of Chennai flourished under British rule, becoming an important naval base and urban center.

At the time, the natural harbor was so shallow that ships had to anchor over a kilometer offshore, and cargo was delivered to and from the Port of Chennai shore in Masula boats. Cargo losses were high, and a 335-meter pier capable of berthing larger vessels was built in 1861. A cyclone destroyed the pier in 1881, and it was rebuilt in 1885.

In the late 19th Century, India's new railways connected the Port of Chennai to other important cities, like Bombay (Mumbai) and Calcutta (Kolkata), in the British colony. With stronger communications and trade routes, the port continued to grow.

In 1904, a new north-eastern entrance was added to control siltation in the basin. New quays were built in the Port of Chennai over the following decades. The South Quay opened in 1913. Five West Quay berths began operating between 1916 and 1920.

The Port of Chennai was the only city to be attacked by the Triple Alliance powers during World War I. A German cruiser, the SMS Emden, shelled the oil depot in 1914, and it raided vessels using the Indian Ocean shipping lanes, disrupting trade.

Between the world wars, the Port of Chennai gained new facilities. In the inner harbor, the North Quay was built in 1931, and South Quay II started operating as the Dr. Ambedkar Dock in 1936.

In 1947 when Indian won its independence, the Port of Chennai was made the capital of the Madras State, which was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969.

In 1961, the Port of Chennai's Jawahar Dock was inaugurated by India's Prime Minister, Bahadur Shastri. The Bharathi Dock was built in the outer harbor to handle vessels with as much as 16.2 meters draft. In 1970, an oil jetty was constructed to handle imports of crude oil destined for the Manali Oil Refinery (today the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited). In 1974, the Iron Ore berth was added to the Port of Chennai for exports to Japan and other countries in the Far East. Another oil jetty was added in 1985 to meet increasing demands for crude oil and petroleum products.

The Port of Chennai began handling containerized cargoes in the 1970s. A container terminal was built at the Bharathi Dock with a 380-meter quay, a 51 thousand square meter container yard, and a six thousand square meter container freight station. In 1991, the Port of Chennai's container terminal quay was lengthened by 220 meters. In 2001, the container terminal and back-up area was privatized through a 30-year concession with Chennai Container Terminal Private Limited. Continually increasing container traffic resulted in another 285-meter extension of the quay in 2002.

In 1996, the city of Madras was renamed Chennai, and the Madras Port Trust was renamed as Chennai Port Trust. In 2000, the Port of Chennai began to handle pure-car-carrier shipments of automobiles.

The 2004 tsunami devastated the shores of the Port of Chennai, taking many lives and permanently changing the face of the coast.

Port Of Da Nang, Vietnam

2013-06-14T09:05:00.005+05:30

Da Nang Port lies at the south end of a bay off the South China Sea in east central Vietnam some 622 kilometers north-northeast of Saigon Port in Ho Chi Min City. One of the country's biggest cities, Da Nang Port has an excellent harbor enclosed to the east by the Tien Sa Peninsula and Cape Da Nang. In 2008, about 900 thousand people lived in Da Nang Port.

In addition to being one of the country's major container ports, Da Nang Port is an industrial city with a fast-growing economy. The major products produced in Da Nang Port's 4900 factories are seafood, furniture, household goods, and clothing. Tourism is also important to the local economy.

Da Nang Port was first ceded to France in 1787, but it was not part of the French protectorate. Called Tourane by the French, Da Nang Port was, however, a French concession outside the protectorate. When Vietnam was partitioned in 1954, Da Nang Port grew in importance.

In the 19th Century, the Nguyen Dynasty ruled that all western cargo vessels could only trade at the Han estuary, making Da Nang Port a center for foreign trade. Da Nang Port also benefited from the silting up of the Co Co River, ending the advantage of the commercial port at Hoi.

Under orders from Napoleon III, French troops landed in Da Nang Port in 1858, beginning the French colonial occupation of the city. It was soon one of five major cities in Indochina.

During the United States' Vietnam War, the city held a major US air base, and Da Nang Port facilities were expanded by the Americans.

In the 1960s, a new modern textile mill was added to the traditional textile and silk-spinning facilities in Da Nang Port. Beverage-making plants and machinery appeared in Da Nang Port in the 1970s. In 1976, a new hospital and polytechnic college were established in the city, and Da Nang Port was linked to Ho Chi Minh City (previously Saigon) by both highway and rail.

Until 1997, Da Nang Port was part of Quang Nam-Da Nang province. In 1997, the city became Vietnam's fourth independent municipality, being separated from Quang Nam Province.

After a century of growth and development, Da Nang Port has become the busiest port in central Vietnam and a vital component of the regional and national economy. Recognized by the government for its outstanding performance, Da Nang Port has also become one of the country's most modern ports. As the gateway to trade for the East-West Transport Corridor that includes Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, Da Nang Port is an import-export center serving central Vietnam and the country's highlands.

The Vietnam National Shipping Lines is the port authority for Da Nang Port. Da Nang Port occupies 1.2 thousand hectares with a depth of from 10 to 17 meters at Danang Bay. Surrounded by the Son Tra Peninsula and Hai Van Mountain, the harbor is well protected with a breakwater that facilitates anchorage and cargo-handling throughout the year. Located hear the Danang International Airport and the national railroad station, Da Nang Port has easy access to the nation's transportation networks and the hinterland.

In 2008, Da Nang Port handled a total of 2.7 million tons of cargo, including 1.2 million tons of exports, 525.9 thousand tons of imports, and 985.6 thousand tons of domestic cargo. Cargoes included 61.9 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo. Da Nang Port also served 29.6 thousand passengers in 2008, a significant increase over prior years.

Da Nang Port contains a total of 1493 meters of berths in two major areas: Tien Sa Terminal and Song Han Terminal. Da Nang Port has capacity to handle up to five million tons of cargo per year.

The approach channel to Da Nang Port's Tien Sa Terminal from the pilot station is eight nautical miles long with a channel depth from 10 to 17 meters. The annual throughput capacity at Tien Sa Terminal is 4.5 million tons.

All berths at the Tien Sa Terminal at Da Nang Port have alongside depth of 3.7 meters. Berths 1 through 4 are each 185 meters long, and Berth 5 is 225 meters long. The 450-meter long breakwater allows berthing throughout the year, free from the affects of waves and monsoons.

The Tien Sa Terminal is a natural deep-water port with depths from 10 to 12 meters. Its berths total 965 meters at one wharf with two finger piers. The Tien Sa Terminal can accommodate general cargo vessels to 45 thousand DWT, container vessels to two thousand TEUs, or passenger vessels to 75 thousand GRT.

The approach channel to Da Nang Port's Song Han Terminal is 12 nautical miles long from the pilot station, and the channel depth is from 6 to 7 meters, and it can accommodate vessels to five thousand DWT.

The Song Han Terminal at Da Nang Port has capacity to handle one million tons of cargo per year. The terminal offers five berths at a total 528 meters long and a draft of 0.7 meters. Berth 1 is 140 meters long. Berths 2 and 3 are each 100 meters long, and Berth 4 is 90 meters long.

Song Han Terminal is located on the Han River near Da Nang city. With a total of 528 meters of berths, it serves customers in the city of Da Nang.

Da Nang Port contains a total of 229.3 thousand square meters of storage area including 29.2 thousand square meters of warehouse space and 183.7 thousand square meters of yards.

The Tien Sa Terminal contains 13.7 thousand square meters of warehouses, including a 2.2 thousand square meter Container Freight Station, and 138.3 thousand square meters of yards. The Song Han Terminal contains 3.3 thousand square meters of warehouses and 16.3 thousand square meters of yards. In addition, the Quang freight warehouse station contains 12.2 thousand square meters of warehouses and 29.1 thousand square meters of yards.

The City of Da Nang is a picturesque city on Vietnam's eastern coast. With beautiful natural surroundings, Da Nang Port is at the heart of three world cultural heritage sites: the ancient capital of Hue, ancient Hoi An town, and the holy land of My Son. Da Nang Port is a popular tourist destination with many attractions that visitors will want to check out.

The Son Tra peninsula that protects Da Nang Port is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and the peninsula is surrounded by scenic alluvial plains. The beautiful Han River is a source of pride for the people of Da Nang Port. The Han River bridge is a symbol of the new life of the city and its prosperous future. With long clean beaches, Da Nang Port is one of Vietnam's favorite vacation spots.

Being the landing point for the French colonial invasion, many reminders of the colonial period remain in Da Nang Port. There are also many reminders of the "American War" in Da Nang Port. The ruins of a military base remain on China Beach, with helicopter hangars reminding visitors and residents of the city's recent stormy past.

While many tourists miss the charms of Da Nang Port, it is one of the best places for backpackers in all of Vietnam.China Beach is now home to guest houses and shops. With some of Vietnam's most isolated and beautiful beaches, it is the perfect detonation for tourists on a budget.

While the province was not friendly to foreigners in the past, the local government has eagerly pursued tourism and foreign investment since the 1990s. Over the past decades, the city has grown quickly. Today, it sports multi-story buildings and modern beach resorts. The downtown area of Da Nang Port is relaxed and quiet, with several attractions that include a zoo, a water park, tennis courts, pool halls, and a soccer stadium as well as many night clubs.

During the relatively dry summers, temperatures can reach 36 °C (97 °F) from July to August. Tropical storms are common in October and November.

The Marble Mountains, about nine kilometers south of Da Nang Port, are a fascinating place where Buddhist temples hide in caves and grottoes and pilgrims still journey. Am Phu cave offers a steep climb from caverns filled with statues of sinners being punished to a magnificent view and many sacred sculptures from the top of the mountain. Guides are available for hire, and visitors are advised to wear climbing or walking shoes.

Ba Na Hill Station is a 1920s French Resort about 40 kilometers west of Da Nang Port that used to house villas, restaurants, and clubs enjoyed by the French colonials. In the midst of an unspoiled forest and with a temperate climate, the Ba Na Hill Station offers breathtaking views of the South China Sea and Lao mountain range. While the roads are difficult, demanding 4-wheel drive, the site is also reachable by a new cable system that takes visitors to the top of Mount Chua.

The 1915 Cham Museum in Da Nang Port contains a collection of stone sculptures that were made by the Hindu Cham civilization that lived here from about 1000 B.C. to the 14th Century AD. While the sandstone sculptures have been weathered badly, they show the skills of the artists who made them. Statues depict Shiva, garudas, nadas, and animals holy to the Hindu religion. The collections were taken from the disintegrating Cham ruins before they could be taken by looters.

So beware!!!

Port Of Vladivostok, Russia

2013-06-10T23:54:00.002+05:30

The Port of Vladivostok is Russia's most southeastern seaport and the administrative center of the Primorsky territory near the country's borders with China and North Korea. Lying on the shores of the Golden Horn Bay (Zolotoy Rog) off the Sea of Japan, the Port of Vladivostok is almost 470 nautical miles north-northwest of Japan's Port of Sakai and about 510 nautical miles north-northeast of the Port of Busan in Korea. The Port of Vladivostok is an important cultural and educational center for the Russian Far East, and students are a major group within the city's population. In 2005, over 586 thousand people lived in the Port of Vladivostok.

The economy of the Port of Vladivostok is largely based on maritime-oriented activities that include shipping, fishing, and the Russian Navy. Commercial fishing contributes most of the Port of Vladivostok's commercial output. The Port of Vladivostok is also home to the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet. The Port of Vladivostok imports food products, clothing and footwear, medicines, automobiles, household items, and ships. Its main exports include fish, timber, metals, and ships.

The land supporting the Port of Vladivostok has belonged to many powers that included the ancient Korean Balhae Kingdom, Manchu Dynasty ancestors (the Jurchen), the Mongols, and China. Russia took control of the area in 1858 under the Treaty of Aigun with China.

Founded as a military outpost by Russia in 1960, the Port of Vladivostok's geographic location made it an important strategic base for Russia's Navy. In 1872, the Port of Vladivostok began to grow when the country's main naval base was located there.

The arrival of the Chinese Eastern Railway in 1903 connected the Port of Vladivostok to Manchuria and gave the port a better connection to the rest of the Russian Empire and enhanced its importance as a major center in eastern Russia. The Port of Vladivostok was important as a military port that received supplies from the United States during World War I.

When the Russian Revolution of 1917 began, the Port of Vladivostok was occupied by foreign forces, primarily the Japanese, who stayed there until the early 1920s. After they left the city, the Port of Vladivostok became important to the new Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) government.

The Port of Vladivostok continued to be the home of Russia's Pacific Fleet after the USSR took control. It grew considerably after World War II as a military base, and the Port of Vladivostok was closed to foreign shipping between the late 1950s and the end of the Soviet era in the early 1990s.

During the Soviet period, the city's industries were diversified. Large ship repair yards were constructed, workshops supporting the railways were added, and a plant making mining equipment was built.

After the "fall of Communism" in Russia, the Port of Vladivostok emerged as a commercial port with links to other eastern Russian ports as well as countries of the Far East. It began to import consumer goods from Japan, China, and other nations. Today, the Port of Vladivostok is the eastern last stop on Russia's Northern Sea Route that stretches from on the country's northeastern shores near Finland. It is the principal base for supplies for Russia's Arctic ports to the east of Cape Chelyuskin.

Much of the fish caught or processed in the Russian Far East is sent to the Port of Vladivostok for distribution to the rest of the country. The Port of Vladivostok exports petroleum, grain, and coal.

Today, the Port of Vladivostok contains light industries that make instruments and radios, veneers and furniture, chinaware, and pharmaceuticals. Food industries are important to the local economy, making fish, meat, and flour. A small building industry also arose in the Port of Vladivostok making prefabricated building panels.

After the Soviet era ended, the Port of Vladivostok's industries began to decline. Only the food processing industry continued to thrive, and mechanical engineering first remained busy. Today, the Port of Vladivostok is the eastern end of the Trans-Siberian Railroad.

The Commercial Port of Vladivostok is a fast-growing Russian transport company. While the Port of Vladivostok was originally founded in 1897 for domestic cargoes, it started handling foreign cargoes in 1991.

The Port of Vladivostok holds a strategically important position at the crossroads of international shipping corridors, and it has a well-developed cargo-handling infrastructure. Its major trading partners include South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Port of Vladivostok strives to promote and develop world trade and local prosperity by creating competitive advantages for its customers and partners. The Port of Vladivostok employs over 3500 people, and it contains almost 60 port-related businesses including stevedores, freight forwarders, shipping agents, surveyors, and other marine-related enterprises.

The Port of Vladivostok has capacity to handle up to 11 million tons of cargo per year. Its major cargoes include containers, metal products, vehicles, pulp, and general cargoes. Serving 16 shipping lines, the Port of Vladivostok supports ten container lines, four roll-on/roll-off lines, and two passenger vessel lines.

The Port of Vladivostok has a total of 4.2 kilometers of quays with alongside depth of up to 15 meters. Each berth is supported by rail tracks, with a total 20 kilometers of railways serving the port. The Port of Vladivostok covers an area of 55.2 hectares, and the harbor approach is from 20 to 30 meters deep. The Port of Vladivostok's railway station has capacity for one thousand wagons. The Port of Vladivostok contains 17 berths for commercial cargoes and passengers.

The Port of Vladivostok contains 63.4 thousand square meters of sheds and open storage area of 17.6 hectares. It contains two refrigerated warehouses, each of five thousand square meters.

The Vladivostok Container Terminal (VCT) is a joint venture between the Commercial Port of Vladivostok and the National Container Company. Operating since 1983, the Port of Vladivostok Container Terminal handles containers, heavy lift cargoes, and vehicles and serves ocean-going vessels, vehicles, and rail wagons. The VCT quay can accommodate two container ships at the same time at its quays with alongside depth of 11.6 meters. The VCT can handle 150 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo per year.

Berths 14 and 15 in the Port of Vladivostok handle containers and general cargo. The quay is 379 meters long with alongside depths of 11.5 and 14 meters, and the berths include warehouse capacity to store 160 thousand tons of cargo. The Port of Vladivostok has redeveloped Berths 14 and 15 into a dedicated container terminal that increased the port's container-handling capacity to 200 thousand TEUs per year.

The Port of Vladivostok Automobile Terminal (VAT) specializes in handling cars and other vehicles for distribution to Russian regions and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. The VAT offers temporary warehouse storage, stevedoring, and logistics services. The VAT has three warehouses for temporary storage, including a ten-story building that can accommodate one thousand cars, and 700 meters of rail tracks served by a two-level ramp.

Currently being rebuilt at Berth 11, the Port of Vladivostok's Oil Terminal is 86.8 meters long with alongside depth of 8 meters. It has capacity for storing 26 thousand cubic meters of oil products. In addition to meeting modern industrial and environmental standards, the Oil Terminal offers state-of-the-art dark oil products discharge technology and, when completed, will handle up to 1.5 million tons of cargo per year.

At Berths 1 and 2, the Port of Vladivostok Passenger Terminal has a 508.9 meter long quay with alongside depth of 9.8 meters. The Port of Vladivostok recognizes a growing need to modernize the existing passenger terminal, especially in light of the 2012 APEC Summit to be held in the Port of Vladivostok.

Aside from these specialized berths, the remaining berths are universal, handling a variety of cargoes that include containers, general cargo as well as bulk and liquid cargoes. Being the terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the Port of Vladivostok is a major transportation center for imports and exports.

The Port of Vladivostok is currently involved in several projects to modernize the port and increase its capacity. It is building an integrated container terminal at Berths 12 through 17 that will be managed by a single operator and will have capacity for 600 thousand TEUs by 2011. Berths 14 and 15 are the first to be reconstructed. The existing Port of Vladivostok Container Terminal will be the core of the new integrated facility.

The Port of Vladivostok is also building a vehicle terminal to handle, store, and forward automobiles and other vehicles. Cars will be distributed to Russia and other CIS countries by railway from the Port of Vladivostok. When construction is completed, the terminal will have capacity for 10 thousand units per year.

The new South Primorye Terminal will serve as a transport logistics complex serving the Russian Far East. It will have two main functions. The dry port cargo terminal will support ports of the Russian South Far East, and the warehousing accumulation and distribution center will provide high-tech integrated handling, storage, and distribution services for imports and exports with the biggest cities of the region.

Projects to create a specialized oil and oil products complex are being planned, and the Port of Vladivostok expects to handle about a million tons of oil-based cargoes per year and have capacity to store 41 thousand cubic meters.

Anticipating the 2012 APEC Summit, the Port of Vladivostok will rebuild its maritime passenger terminal to serve the expected passengers who will visit the port that year.

The City of Vladivostok is not a major tourist destination in itself. However, it is the terminals of the Trans-Siberian Railway and hosts many travelers who are beginning or ending their journeys in the Port of Vladivostok. It offers several attractions for visitors.

The Port of Vladivostok has a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate with bitterly-cold winters and warm summers. September is the most comfortable month of the year with sunshine and fair weather. Temperatures range from an average high of 23 °C (74 °F) in August to an average low of -17 °C (-1 °F) in January.

Visitors to the Port of Vladivostok will enjoy seeing Golden Horn Bay, the home of Russia's Pacific Fleet. At the water's edge, the city center has wide boulevards with ornate hundred-year-old buildings (that need cleaning and restoration). The hills around the bay are steep and support Soviet-style housing for residents.

Waterfront walks are popular with both residents and visitors, and you can see the Pacific Fleet anchored off the coast in Golden Horn Bay. While photographs are allowed, fines are not unusual. While you can't visit the ships of the fleet, you can tour the C-56 submarine, Korabelnaya nab. The interior is well-preserved, and visitors can explore the sub without supervision.

The Port of Vladivostok has several theaters. The Maxim Gorky Academic Theater hosts works by Russian and foreign playwrights, and performances are also offered at the Chamber Theater, the Pacific Navy Theatre, and the Puppet Show. The Philharmonic Society of Primorsky Krai has its own concert hall in an historic Port of Vladivostok building, and it hosts many famous musicians and actors.

The Port of Vladivostok's Museum for Primorsky Krai Regional Studies occupies several buildings downtown and contains exhibits on traditional aboriginal culture, the first settlers, and local extinct and endangered animals. Visitors can enjoy displays of stones, sea shells, coins, ship models, old books and photographs, and antique garments. Monuments throughout the Port of Vladivostok document the city's maritime history. Great day!

Port Of West Sacramento, USA

2013-06-10T18:22:00.002+05:30

The Port of West Sacramento is in the center of one of the world's richest agricultural regions. The Port of West Sacramento is an inland port about 146 kilometers northeast of the Port of San Francisco, and cargo ships get to the Port of West Sacramento by traveling through the San Francisco Bay and up the Sacramento River. The Port of West Sacramento exports bagged and bulk rice, cement, lumber, fertilizers, and project cargoes like wind generators.

The indigenous Maidu people inhabited the region around the Port of West Sacramento before Spanish explorer Pedro Fages arrived there in the 1770s and named the river for Christian religious sacraments.

The Port of West Sacramento became a hub of transportation on the river when John Sutter started a steamer service, and the Port of West Sacramento was a terminus for the Pony Express and the first railroad in California.

The original idea to create an inland port is credited to Major Paul Norboe in 1916. He began to advocate for a deep water channel and harbor with the State and the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce. In the early 1900s, the Sacramento River was dredged, giving ships seasonal access from the Port of West Sacramento to the Pacific Ocean.

In the 1930s, William Stone, the "Father of the Port," continued to push for a deep-water port to bolster the city's economy. He got the US Army Corps of Engineers to take a second look at the potential for a deep-water port, and they proposed to construct a 43-mile channel.

The project was approved by the US Congress in 1946, and the port district was created. Voters created the Sacramento-Yolo Port District, and the groundbreaking took place in 1949. The project was completed in 1960, making the Port of West Sacramento year-round deep-water port.

The City of West Sacramento took over control of the Port of West Sacramento in 2005, renaming it the Port of West Sacramento.

In May 2009, the Port of West Sacramento received $10 million in President Obama's 2010 Budget Request for the purpose of deepening the channel for the Port of West Sacramento.

The Port of West Sacramento is considered one of California's small ports. In 2008, the Port of West Sacramento handled a total of 852.9 thousand tons of cargo.

The Port of West Sacramento specializes in handling bulk, breakbulk, and project cargoes. Major cargoes include bagged rice, cement, wood chips, sand and aggregates, jumbo bags, steel coils, lumber, fiberboard, and project and heavy-lift cargoes.

The City of West Sacramento is a relatively new town. After 1900, three towns – West Sacramento, Bryte, and Broderick – were called "East Yolo." With a population of just 1398 in 1900, the population doubled by 1920. When the Port of West Sacramento was opened in 1963 with completion of the deep-water ship channel, the town of West Sacramento began to grow rapidly.

Port Of Acapulco, Mexico

2013-06-07T23:11:00.004+05:30

On the west coast of Mexico, 300 miles south of Mexico City, a natural harbor is the setting for this beautiful city on the bay. This 4 mile stretch, lined by beaches and framed by mountains offers views that are nothing short of spectacular! Billed as Mexico’s first resort, during the 50’s and early 60’s, Acapulco was THE playground of the rich and famous.

Pollution, over-commercialization and corruption tarnished its image and its popularity declined. In recent years Acapulco has experienced a resurgence, however, and it is once again becoming a popular destination for those who love late night dinners at fabulous restaurants, dancing until dawn at glitzy discos and lounging on sun-drenched beaches all day. Inhabited for thousands of years by Aztecs, Acapulco was originally the center of the fishing and trading industry. Who would have ever imagined it would become a flashy resort city that pulses with 24-7, non-stop energy.

Port of Acapulco is a popular cruise and non-cruise tourist destination. The port is the destination for tourists sailing between Panama and San Francisco and it offers a panoramic view of the beach with a somewhat circular bay where ships dock (even as early as the 16th century). The port is just walking distance away from the best sites in Acapulco which is known for busy nightlife fun (i.e. dancing and drinking). The port is a favorite of celebrities who love the cuisine, non-stop dancing and glittering hang outs. Considered as a sun and sand destination for great holidays, Acapulco offers activities that you will surely enjoy and will make you come back for more.

The cruise port is just walking distance from downtown and you can ride a taxi if you are in the center of the town just for $2. It is advisable to have an agreement with the taxi driver as you will find taxis that are not metered.

Cruise lines that use the Acapulco port are Cunard Cruise Lines, Sealetter Cruise Lines, Silver Sea Cruise Lines, P & O Cruise Lines, Carnival Cruise Lines, Norwegian Star Cruises, Princess Cruise Lines and more.

The nearest airport to Acapulco port is General Juan N Alvarez International Airport (ACA). Attractions near the Acapulco port are cliff diving which can be seen in La Quebrada. Also the two ancient historical architecture of El Fuerte de San Diego and Plaza Alvarez are here. The cathedral in Zocalo and non-stop party night life within the vicinity is a center of attraction in Acapulco.

The ships are docked at the port of Acapulco. This makes it very convenient to start enjoying the best that the place can offer.

Port Of Davao, Philippines

2013-05-04T06:46:00.001+05:30

The Port of Davao is on the Philippines’ Mindanao Island at the mouth of the Davao River as it enters the Davao Gulf. Protected by Samal Island, Davao City is a regional center for Davao Region, although it is administratively independent of any province. It contains as many as 50 small commercial ports, and its major seaports are some of the busiest in the southern Philippines.

The Port of Davao is a deep-water facility at Sasa about eight kilometers northeast of Davao City’s port for smaller vessels at Santa Ana. The Port of Davao handles inter-island passengers and cargoes that include copra, maize, and rice. Its international export traffic is primarily abaca, the main agricultural product in the region. Davao City and the Port of Davao are becoming the main center for tourism, business, and investment in the southern Philippines. In 2000, over 1.1 million people lived in Davao City.

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Port Management Office (PMO) Davao, is a government corporation responsible for funding, managing, and operating the country’s public ports. The organization’s charter also requires it to implement an integrated port system to promote maritime trade and to help transform the Philippines into an industrialized country.
In order to meet this goal, the PPA plans to modernize at least ten ports by the year 2010, improve port services, reduce client costs, integrate both community development and environmental protection into port development and operations, and provide a positive and productive working environment for port employees.

In 2007, more than 21.5 thousand vessels called at the Port of Davao, including 1760 foreign vessels. The Port of Davao handled almost 9 million tons of cargo in 2007, including 5.0 million tons of foreign cargo, 3.9 million tons of domestic cargo, and 64.4 thousand tons of transshipments. While the Port of Davao welcomed more than 105.9 thousand passengers in 2007, other government ports in Davao City handled 1.4 million passengers.

The Port of Davao handled 3.9 million tons of imports/inbound cargoes and 5.1 million tons of exports/outbound cargoes. Of the total 9 million tons of cargo moving through the port in 2007, containers accounted for 4.0 million tons, breakbulk cargoes were 3.1 million tons, and bulk cargoes were 1.8 million tons.

PMO Davao, the Port of Davao’s management office, considers Sasa Wharf to be its base port. Most commercial cargoes and passengers are handled about ten kilometers from the city center at Sasa Wharf. PMO Davao has regulatory responsibility for several municipal ports and 18 private ports within the Davao City metropolitan area. The Port of Davao has trade relationships with the ports of Hong Kong and Singapore and with countries that include China, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.

Davao City and the Port of Davao do not suffer typhoons. The weather is balmy throughout the year, with no real dry or wet season. Temperatures range from 20°C (68°F) to 30°C (86°F). Many people in the Philippines believe that Davao City and the Port of Davao are the most crime-free areas in their country. The people and the police look after tourists.
Mount Apo is the tallest mountain in the Philippines, standing over 10 thousand feet above sea level. This volcanic peak covers 72.8 hectares and is covered with natural wonders. “Apo” means grandfather, and tribal legend says the mountain is god’s domain. Visitors to the Port of Davao’s Mt. Apo will find geysers, sulfur pillars, a steaming blue lake, three rivers with tall waterfalls that boom as they fall, and rainwater lakes.

The Philippine Eagle was once called the “monkey-eating” eagle, is native to and found only in the eastern Philippines’ heavily forested areas on Mindanao Island. Standing about a meter tall, the eagle has strong legs, sharp claws, and a powerful beak. The males are the hunters, and they prey on monkeys, flying lemurs, wild cats, and flying squirrels. This unique and magnificent species has been closely studied as well as hunted as a trophy. The Philippine Eagle Center is open daily.

The Pearl Farm Beach Resort is located on Samal Island, the island in the Gulf of Davao that protects the Port of Davao. The resort covers 11 hectares and was really a pearl farm at one time. White-lipped oysters were brought here form the Sulu Sea and cultivated for their white, pink, and gold pearls. Today’s resort offers privacy and relaxation in a beautiful natural environment. The Samal Houses in the resort are fashioned after the traditional stilt houses of the Samal tribes. In the day, you can watch little fish swim between the poles supporting the house. In the night, the sound of waves lulls you to sleep. Visitors have access to a wonderful spa where they will be pampered and, of course, a beautiful sunny beach.

The Port of Davao’s Camp Domingo Leonor was quarters of Spanish and (later) American troops. This historic site was one of the barracks when the Spanish occupied the city. After years of occupation, the Spanish were prepared to abandon the camp to the Philippine revolutionary government, but US troops occupied the city in 1899 and took the camp for their own, using it until 1920. Camp Domingo Leonor is a popular tourist attraction, especially for US and Filipino veterans.

While not many cruise ships call at the Port of Davao, the city’s website contains a schedule of ferries and ships that carry passengers.

Port Of Callao, Peru

2012-11-23T22:49:00.007+05:30

The Port of Callao is Peru's main commercial seaport. Just 12 kilometers from downtown Lima (Spanish), the country's capital, the Port of Callao is part of the Lima-Callao metropolitan area. The Port of Callaois 765 kilometers northwest of Peru's southern Port of Matarani and 960 kilometers southwest of the relatively isolated Port of Iquitos on the Amazon River in the country's far northeast region. The Port of Callao has one of South America's few good natural harbors on the Pacific Ocean. In 2005, almost 390 thousand people lived in the Port of Callao, although the Lima-Callao metropolitan area is home to more than 8.4 million.

The Port of Callao lies south of the Rimac River at the tip of a peninsula protected by the offshore island of San Lorenzo and a promontory. The Port of Callao exports mainly refined metals, minerals, fish meal, and fish oil. Its principal imports are wheat, lumber, and machinery. The Port of Callao is home to a wide range of industries that include breweries, fish meal factories, and shipbuilding yards. The Port of Callao is also home to a large naval base and the Jorge Chavez International Airport. It is also the site of several islands that support a large colony of sea lions and seabirds in a relatively pristine ecosystem.

Peru's National Port Authority (Spanish) (APN) governs all ports in Peru, including the Port of Callao. The Empresa Nacional de Puertos S.A. (ENAPU) was created by law in 1970 as a decentralized public organization under the Transports and Communications Sector. ENAPU was made responsible for operating, maintaining, and administering all terminals and jetties in the Republic of Peru.

ENAPU seeks to be the leading container port on South America's Pacific Coast, and the Port of Callao plays a vital role in that leadership. Both competing and cooperating with the private sector, ENAPU provides appropriate port infrastructure, modern equipment, and skilled workers to offer the best port services available. ENAPU is committed to meeting the demands for port services effectively, efficiently, and reliably to support the development of foreign trade in Peru and the integration of the Port of Callao-Lima region.

La Empresa Nacional de Puertos ENAPU S.A. administers and develops the Port of Callao under state ownership. The Port of Callao serves a vast hinterland that contains Lima, Huanuco, Cerro de Pasco, Ayacucho, Huancavelica, and Junin. Located in the Pacific Basin on Peru's central coast, the Port of Callao holds an important strategic position on the inter-oceanic routes for vessels crossing the Panama Canal and the Straits of Magellan.

The Port of Callao serves Peru's capital city of Lima and the rest of the country through a network of roads that extend to the north and south and into the central mountain region. The Port of Callao is connected by road with the Jorge Chavez International Airport, located about four kilometers northeast of the Port of Callao, and to the nation's railroad that crosses the Andes Mountain range.

The Port of Callao covers over 47 hectares and contains over 3.6 kilometers of moorings at a depth of about 11 meters. The port contains almost 26.5 hectares of storage space, including 2.1 hectares of roofed area and 24.3 hectares for containers. The Port of Callao has capacity for storing 25.8 thousand metric tons of grain.

In 2007, over 20.7 million metric tons of cargo passed through the Port of Callao on 2367 vessels, with 16.4 million tons going through the Callao terminal. Cargoes at the Callao Terminal included 9.6 million tons of imports, 5.4 million tons of exports, 920.8 thousand tons of transshipments, and 440.7 thousand tons of cabotage. The Port of Callao handled 1.2 million TEUs of containerized cargo, one million of those handled through the Callao Terminal.

Jetty No. 1 in the Port of Callao is 9.3 meters wide and has alongside depth of 9.8 meters. It contains two berths, one on each side of the jetty, and each is 182.8 meters long. The Port of Callao's Jetty No. 2 is 86 meters wide with alongside depth of 10.1 meters, and it has two berths, each 182.8 meters long. Jetty No. 3 is 86 meters wide with alongside depth of 10.1 meters. It also has two berths of 182.8 meters in length. Jetty No. 4 in the Port of Callao is 30.5 meters wide with alongside depth of 10.1 meters, and it has two berths of 182.8 meters in length.

The Port of Callao's Jetty No. 5 is 390 meters long and 182.8 meters wide. It contains five berths. Berths A and B have alongside depth of 10.7 meters. Berth A is 178 meters long, and Berth B is 212 meters long. Berths C and D have alongside depth of 11 meters. Berth C is 182.8 meters long, and Berth D is 209 meters long. Berth E is 181 meters long, and it has alongside depth of 10.4 meters.

The Port of Callao's Terminal of Paita contains a warehouse of 280 square meters and handling areas of 8.6 thousand square meters with a capacity for handling 690 TEUs of containerized cargo. Its North and South Courtyards contain over 23 thousand square meters for handling both loaded and empty containers. In 2003, the Port Terminal of Paita handled almost 771 thousand metric tons in 68.8 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo.

The Port of Callao's Salaverry Port Terminal Facilities include two jetties for direct mooring of 455 meters of total length and draft of 9-10 meters. Two general warehouses and a sugar warehouse cover 11.6 thousand square meters. Open areas of 45 thousand square meters handle general cargo, containers, and alcohol tanks. In 2003, the Salaverry Terminal handled 961 thousand metric tons of cargo including 100 TEUs of containerized cargo.

The General San Martin Port Terminal Facilities in the Port of Callao contain a jetty for direct mooring of 700 meters This terminal covers over 9 thousand square meters of warehouse with capacity to handle 30 thousand tons of cargo. Its eight zones cover almost 80 thousand square meters and have a capacity to handle 161 thousand tons of general merchandise, bulk salt, and containers. In 2003, the Port of Callao's General San Martin Terminal handled over a million metric tons of cargo.

The Ilo Port Terminal Facility in the Port of Callao contains an anti-seismic jetty for direct moorings with a total length of 630 meters and capacity to handle 100 thousand deadweight tons. The Ilo facility includes a warehouse covering 1.6 thousand square meters. Six open areas cover 40.5 thousand square meters in the Port of Callao and have a combined capacity for over 96 thousand metric tons of cargo including general merchandise, roll-on/roll-of cargo and containers, vehicles, grain, and some hazardous cargo.

In early 2009, DP World announced that it will invest in the Muelle Norte Terminal at the Port of Callao. The project will rebuild and restore the terminal facilities, creating a deep-water facility with almost 1.3 kilometers of berths and 550 meters of side-feeder berths that can accommodate as many as four post-Panamax vessels at the same time. The revamped Port of Callao terminal will include a 73-hectares storage facility with yard and ample cargo-handling equipment. The rebuilt terminal will focus on handling some three million TEUs of containerized cargo and will serve cruise ships.

Port Of Auckland, New Zealand

2012-11-17T16:24:00.001+05:30

The Ports of Auckland is on the North Island of New Zealand. Ports of Auckland is located some 345 kilometers northwest of the Port of Napier and over 500 kilometers north of the Port of Wellington, two other ports on the North Island. Auckland is New Zealand's largest city and seaport. It is one of few cities with harbors on two different water bodies. The Ports of Auckland rests on a narrow strip of land between Waitemata Harbor to the east and Manukau Harbor to the southwest. In 2006, over 404 thousand people lived in the city of Auckland, and over 1.2 million called the urban area home.

The Ports of Auckland is the economic center of New Zealand, and most large international corporations have offices there. Its central business district contains many financial and business service companies, while the industrial and commercial zones are located in South Auckland along the Tamaki River estuary and the Manukau Harbour. The Ports of Auckland is a hub of road and rail transportation, and it is home to the country's main international airport. The Ports of Auckland area contains important engineering and publishing companies, and its manufacturers produce glass, paint, plastics, cement, and a host of consumer goods. Food processing, sugar refining, and brewing are important to the local economy, as are vehicle assembly and shipbuilding.

In 1863, the worst maritime disaster in the history of New Zealand made clear the limitations of the Ports of Auckland's Onehunga port. A 1700-ton steam corvette, the HMS Orpheus, struck the Manukau Bar at 1:30 in the afternoon. By 9pm, the mast disappeared below the water surface. Out of 250 passengers, only 70 survived.

In 1871, the Auckland Harbour Board was established by an act of Parliament. An elected board and a permanent staff administered the Ports of Auckland. In 1875, an act of Parliament gave the Board more than two thousand hectares of the seabed in Waitemata Harbor.

As cargo volume increased, the Board made significant improvements to the Ports of Auckland including reclaiming lands on Auckland's foreshore. Better Ports of Auckland dockyards were established, and a new railway wharf was added. By the end of the 19th Century, the Ports of Auckland was also a busy passenger port with travelers bound for Sydney, San Francisco, and London.

In the early 20th Century, developments were completed between the modern Princes Wharf and Kings Wharf in the Ports of Auckland. In 1913, the Auckland Harbour Board became responsible for the management and operation of the Manukau Harbour and the Onehunga Port. Within the Auckland area, the wooden Queen Street Wharf was replaced by concrete, and the Marsden Wharf was completed. The Ports of Auckland's Captain Cook Wharf opened in 1922. The Prince of Wales visited Auckland in 1921, and the Princes Wharf was completed in 1923. By 1931, the Western Reclamation and Western Wharf extension were finished.

During World War II, part of the United States' Pacific fleet was based in the Ports of Auckland. Over 100 warships and 280 transporters called at the Ports of Auckland in 1943, and the need for more storage facilities became apparent. The Ports of Auckland engaged in near-constant reclamation work to cope with the increasing demand.

In 1948, the Bledisloe Wharf in the Ports of Auckland was opened to handle frozen cargoes for export. In the 1950s, cargo volumes moving through the Onehunga port increased, and the growth continued into the mid-1960s. Dedicated to imports, Auckland's Jellicoe Wharf was finished in 1952, and the Freyberg Wharf was completed in 1961.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the shipping industry went through major changes as new technology and machines replaced labor-intensive operations. Containerization was revolutionary. In 1971, the Ports of Auckland's Fergusson Container Terminal was built to handle containers, and the Bledisloe Wharf was converted for containerized cargoes. In 1971, the Columbus New Zealand, called at the Ports of Auckland Fergusson container terminal and was unloaded using the first ship-to-shore container crane in the country. The Onehunga port began handling containers in 1982.

In 1988, New Zealand's Parliament passed legislation to change the structure of port management. Ports of Auckland Limited was formed, and it purchased the land and assets of the Auckland Harbour Board and took over commercial port operations. Listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange, the Auckland Regional Authority owned 80% of the shares, and the Waikato Regional Council owned 20%. During its first years, the Ports of Auckland increased efficiency and productivity dramatically.

The Ports of Auckland has continued to work to improve productivity and efficiency since the early 1990s, and capacity has continued to increase. New container cranes were added in 2001 and 2006, and the Ports of Auckland has focused on rail and supply chain solutions. In 2002, the first inland port at East Tamaki was opened by the Ports of Auckland. In 2005, the Ports of Auckland opened another inland port at Wiri in South Auckland.

The Ports of Auckland has continued to do reclamation work at the Fergusson Container Terminal. In 2003, efforts began to deepen the shipping lane and to expand the terminal by 9.5 hectares. The new shipping lane opened in 2007, and the first phase of the terminal extension was finished in 2007.

Ports of Auckland has also been moving gradually towards the east, opening over 70 hectares of land to alternative uses since 1996. In 2007, the land in the Western Reclamation was transferred to the Wynyard Quarter redevelopment. Ports of Auckland Limited was delisted from the Stock Exchange in 2005, and Auckland Regional Holdings, an arm of the Auckland Regional Council, owns 100% of the company today. Profits are reinvested in the region to support infrastructure and stormwater control projects.

Today, the Ports of Auckland is the country's biggest international container port. The Port operates 24 hours a day throughout the year and services over 1700 ship calls, 4 million tons of breakbulk cargo, and over 770 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo each year. The Ports of Auckland is responsible for ensuring an efficient supply chain for containers and developing container hub operations. Near the busy and growing industrial area of South Auckland, the Ports of Auckland continues to get a constant flow of vessels carrying coastal goods as well as the local fishing fleet.

With water area of 394 square kilometers, the Ports of Auckland's Manukau Harbour is one of the largest inlets on New Zealand's west coast. Unfortunately, navigation is limited due to the numerous tidal sand bars, including a curving sand bar that stretches across the harbor entrance, making it very narrow.

Port Of Karachi, Pakistan

2012-09-16T20:48:00.002+05:30

The Port of Karachi is the capital of Pakistan's Sindh Province. It is the largest city and main seaport of the country. Located about 50 kilometers west of the Port of Muhammad Bin Qasim and some 380 kilometers northwest of India's Port of Kandla. The Port of Karachi is also an important industrial and commercial center in Pakistan. In 2005, some 11.6 million people lived in the urban area of the Port of Karachi.

Karachi is Pakistan's financial and commercial capital as well, and the Port of Karachi accounts for most of the Pakistan's revenues. Some 50 banks and insurance companies are headquartered in the Port of Karachi. One of the busiest ports east of the Suez Canal, the Port of Karachi handles all of Pakistan's and Afghanistan's sea-borne trade.

The major products manufactured in the Port of Karachi are textiles and footwear, and other manufactured goods include metal products, paper, food and beverages, machinery, wood and furniture, chemicals, leather, petroleum, rubber, and electrical goods. Cottage industries in the Port of Karachi produce hand loomed cloth, carpets, lace, brass goods, pottery, and silver and gold embroidery. The Port of Karachi is linked to the interior by the Karachi-Peshawar highway and to coastal cities by the Karachi-Ormara highway. Pakistan's railway system, which terminates in the Port of Karachi, transports goods between the city and the interior, and there are many passenger trains for commuter traffic.

When the capital of British India was moved to Delhi in 1911, the Port of Karachi became more important as a gateway to India. During World War I, the Port of Karachi important as the first Indian port for ships traveling the Suez Canal and the gateway to both Afghanistan and the Russian Empire.

By 1914, the Port of Karachi's Napier Mole Boat Wharf and the East Wharves were finished. Between 1927 and 1944, the Port of Karachi gained many new facilities that included the West Wharves, lighterage berths, and ship-repair berths. Unfortunately, most of these facilities were outdated by 1947.

The Port of Karachi again served as an important military base during World War II, as it was a supply point for supplies to the Russian front. When the country of Pakistan was formed in 1947, most of the Port of Karachi's Hindu population was drive out of the country to India.

By that time, the Port of Karachi was a modern cosmopolitan city with beautiful architecture and many modern conveniences. The Port of Karachi was chosen to be the capital of Pakistan. Many new residents arrived as Muslims left India, bringing a population boom and a dramatic change in the city's culture and economy.

In 1958, the country's capital was moved to Rawalpindi and then to Islamabad in 1960. The move began a period of decline for the Port of Karachi in which little new development occurred. In the 1970s, labor struggles erupted in the Port of Karachi's industrial areas. Refugees from the Afghan War poured into the Port of Karachi in the 1980s and 1990s, and they were followed by refugees from Iran. Political tensions between native groups and the immigrants exploded in racial and political violence.

It is said that the years of 1992 through 1994 were the bloodiest time in the Port of Karachi's history. The Army conducted "Operation Clean-up" against the Mohajir Quami Movement that largely represented the 1947 immigrants.
Today, most of the older tensions have faded. The Port of Karachi retains its position as an important industrial and financial center in Pakistan, and it handles most of the country's overseas trade.

The Port of Karachi is one of the world's fastest-growing cities, and it faces the challenges of rapid growth: traffic, pollution, street crime, and poverty. These problems plague the Port of Karachi with a reputation for being a not-very-livable city. Traffic and air pollution are major problems facing the city, and the city has created new parks and planted trees in hopes of reducing pollution and improving the environment.

The Karachi Port Trust is the port authority for the Port of Karachi. It is administered by a Board of Trustees representing the public and private sectors. The Chairman of the Board, who is also the Chief Executive Officer for the Trust, is appointed by the Federal Government. The Karachi Port Trust is a federal government agency responsible for overseeing the Port of Karachi operations. The Trust was established by law in 1886.

The Port of Karachi boasts a natural deep-water harbor with an 11-kilometer approach channel that can accommodate up to 75 thousand DWT vessels. Two wharves are the main areas of activity for the port. The East Wharf has 17 berths, and the West Wharf has 13 berths. The maximum alongside depth of the berths is 11.3 meters.

Each Port of Karachi wharf has a container terminal. A nearby competitor, the privately-operated Al-Hamd International Container Terminal opened in 2001. The terminal is located next to the Sindh Industrial Trading Estate.

At West Wharf Berths 28-30, the Port of Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT) opened in 1996. It has capacity to handle 300 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo per year and can accommodate container vessels with maximum draft of 11 meters. The quay is 600 meters long and has two berths. The KICT was the Port of Karachi's first container terminal, and it is Pakistan's leading container terminal operator. A subsidiary of the Hutchison Port Holdings Group, the KICT meets high service standards and carefully follows best practices that improve services to Port of Karachi customers.

The Port of Karachi's Pakistan Container Terminal (PICT) is located at East Wharf Berths 6-9, and it can handle 350 thousand TEUs per year. The 600 meter long quay can accommodate two container ships with maximum draft of 11.5 meters.

The Port of Karachi also contains oil piers for handing liquid cargoes, two jetties for repairing ships, a shipyard, and an engineering facility. The shipyard site covers 29 hectares at the West Wharf and is engaged in building and repairing both military and commercial vessels. Its facilities include a large hall and three berths for shipbuilding, two dry docks, and three foundries.

The Port of Karachi Fishing Harbour is next to the West Wharf, and it is administered separately from the port. A fleet of several thousand fishing vessels operates from the fishing harbor. The fishing harbor has recently been upgraded, and a second fishing harbor was constructed at Korangi about 18 kilometers to the east.

The modern Port of Karachi is experiencing severe congestion in the flow of cargo to and from the port. Attempting to alleviate the congestion, the Pakistan government constructed a second port in the city about 30 kilometers to the east at Port Qasim and a third port about 650 kilometers west at Gwadar. Some naval vessels have been transferred to the new base at Ormara near Gwadar, further reducing congestion.

The Port of Karachi is undertaking several projects to improve the port and enhance its facilities. The approach channel to the Port of Karachi is being dredged to accommodate vessels with 12 meters draft at all tides. At the outer tip of the harbor at Kiamari Groyne, dredging to 16.5 meters will allow 300 meter long vessels to dock.

Other projects underway by the Port of Karachi include improvements to the two container terminals. The KICT will have two new berths with alongside depth of 14 meters and an additional stacking area of 100 thousand square meters, increasing handling capacity from 300 to 400 TEUs per year.

A new bulk cargo terminal will be added at the Port of Karachi's East Wharf, and the oldest oil pier will be reconstructed to accommodate 90 thousand DWT vessels. A new 40-hectare cargo village will be added for containers and general and bulk cargoes. The Port of Karachi's 100-year old NMB Wharf will be reconstructed to accommodate passenger vessels. Furthermore, a new 200-hectare Port Town will be constructed at Hawkes Bay with 13 thousand homes for port workers. The Port of Karachi will also purchase a new dredger, two harbor tugs, two hopper barges, two water barges, two pilot boats, an anchor hoist vessel, and a dredger tender.

Other Port of Karachi improvements will include a new desalination plant to help alleviate the city's water shortage. A new 150-meter tall Port Tower will be added to provide commercial and recreational space, including a revolving restaurant. A new Port Club will be added at Chinna Creek next to the Port of Karachi's East Wharf.

In late 2007, the Karachi Port Trust entered into an agreement with Hutchison Port Holdings to build a new "Pakistan Deep Water Container Port" to open in 2010. The new port will have ten berths that can accommodate super-post-Panamax container vessels.

Port Of Toronto, Canada

2012-09-16T20:29:00.000+05:30

The Port of Toronto is the biggest city in Canada and the capital of the Province of Ontario. It's Canada's commercial and financial center and one of its most important ports. Located on the northern shores of Lake Ontario just 94 kilometers northwest of Buffalo, New York, it has access to the Atlantic Ocean and major US trading centers by the St. Lawrence Seaway (it's over 860 kilometers to Quebec). In 2006, the city was home to over 2.5 million people, and more than 5.1 million people called the Toronto metropolitan area home.

Today, the Port of Toronto is Canada's economic capital and one of the world's top financial centers. Its strongest economic sectors include finance, telecommunications, aerospace, business services, publishing and entertainment media, software, education, sports, medical research, and tourism.

The modern Port of Toronto is an international, cosmopolitan city and a magnet for immigrants to Canada. Almost half of the city's residents were not born in Canada. The city enjoys a low crime rate, a high standard of living, and environmental health. It has been consistently rated as one of the most livable cities in the world.

The Toronto Port Authority (TPA) manages and operates not only the Port of Toronto but the city's City Centre Airport, including its MEDVAC service. The TPA owns and operates the Outer Harbor Marina and over 50 acres of paved cargo-handling area. The Port of Toronto is next to the city's industrial, business, and cultural centers and offers direct access to highway and rail networks for the metropolitan area and for a wider market that covers Ontario, Midwest Canada, Northwestern Quebec, and the northeast U.S.

Port of Toronto operations cover over 20 hectares and include seven marine berths, an almost 14 thousand square meter marine terminal, a 100 thousand square meter container terminal with heated storage with electrical connections, and a secured paved yard.

Storage facilities at the Port of Toronto include Warehouse 52, a heated indoor area with bays for containers and rail and truck services. The paved yard, which is protected by 24-hour security, contains three sheds covering almost 21 thousand square meters and two outdoor terminals covering over than 103 square meters. Large paved container yards contain several container cranes, electric plugs for reefers, and direct access to rail services. The roll-on/roll-off dock features a fenced paved yard. In 2003, the Port of Toronto handled over 2 million tons of cargo, representing a 22% increase over the previous year.

The major bulk cargoes distributed from the port include sugar, salt, cement, aggregates, asphalt and liquids.

There was a time when cruising the Great Lakes was a profitable business. But the combined increasing size of cruise ships and limited size of the St Lawrence Seaway virtually ended cruise traffic for 25 years. In 1997, the 25-year stand-still ended when the C.Columbus arrived, facilitating a rebirth of tourism for the Port of Toronto.

Since 1997, cruise traffic has steadily increased. In 2008, 14 cruise ships visited the port during the summer months, thanks to the Great Lakes Cruising Coalition of which the Toronto Port Authority was a founding member.

The City of Toronto is a beautiful cosmopolitan city with a generous network of parks and cultural and recreational facilities. It is home to seven professional sports teams and one of the world's biggest English-speaking theater districts. A multi-cultural mixing port, over 80 ethnic communities represent Europe, Asia, and African cultures. Visitors to the Port of Toronto will not want to miss some its most popular attractions.

Casa Loma, the home of Sir Henry Pellatt, is a majestic castle with beautifully decorated suites, an 800-foot tunnel and secret passages, towers, stables, and five acres of gardens. Open from May to October, self-guided tours are available in eight languages. Casa Loma recalls Toronto's era of European elegance.

The Black Creek Pioneer Village in northern Toronto is a historic site overlooking a tributary of the Humber River where visitors can experience life in 19th Century Ontario. It contains more than 40 historic buildings with furnishings from the period and costumed actors portraying life in the 1860s. Visitors can stroll the site on their own and have guides explain individual structures. The best time to visit the village is on weekdays in the fall, after the busy tourist season.

The Port of Toronto houses the Little Italy/Portugal Village where visitors get a taste of Western Mediterranean culture at one of the many coffee shops where residents gather, especially during the World Cup of Soccer when the communities' rivalry is at fever-pitch.

Port Of Alexandria, Egypt

2012-09-06T18:28:00.001+05:30

The Port of Alexandria is the second most important city and the main seaport for Egypt. The Port of Alexandria stretches for 40 kilometers along a limestone ridge on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The Port of Alexandria is about six kilometers northeast of the Port of El-Dekheila, managed by the same port authority, and 26 kilometers west of the Port of Abu Qir. The Port of Alexandria is also about 180 kilometers northwest of Egypt's capital of Cairo. The Port of Alexandria is linked by road, rail, and air to other cities in Egypt and by canal with the Nile River. In 2006, over 4.1 million people lived in the Port of Alexandria's metropolitan area.

The Port of Alexandria's economy is based on the seaport, industrial and commercial activity, and agriculture. Shipping, manufacturing, banking, food processing, and the manufacture of cement and petrochemicals are important to the national economy. The Port of Alexandria makes up about two-fifths of the country's industrial output. The Mina al-Basal area around the Port of Alexandria contains many warehouses. Once home to the Cotton Exchange, the Mina Al-Basal now houses rice and paper mills, asphalt works, salt and tanning factories, a cement works, and an oil refinery. To the south are more oil refineries. Agricultural production is also important to the local economy and, although cotton is not as important as it was in the 19th Century, food production employs many workers in the Port of Alexandria area.

The Port of Alexandria (Al-Iskandariyah) was the greatest city in the ancient world. Now, it's the second largest city and the major seaport for Egypt. Situated at the western edge of the Nile River delta, it's some 180 kilometers northwest of Cairo.

Founded by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, it was the center for Greek science and scholarship until 642 AD when it was conquered by the Arabs. Alexander built the city on the 1500 BC site of Rakotis. When Alexander conquered Tyre in 332 BC, the Port of Alexandria profited from the destruction of the Phoenician's power and from trade with Europe. Many scholars studied there, including Archimedes and Euclid, and the Port of Alexandria was also a center of Jewish scholarship. Upon Alexander's death in 323 BC, rule passed to Pharaoh Ptolemy I who presided over the city's golden age.

The rise of Rome in the 2nd and 1st Centuries BC paralleled the decline of Ptolemaic rule. In fact, the Port of Alexandria was involved in the establishment of imperial Rome. Cleopatra, the last Ptolemy, seduced both Julius Caesar and Marc Antony in her unsuccessful efforts to restore Egyptian power. In 30 BC, Caesar's great-nephew Octavian brought the Port of Alexandria and all of Egypt under Roman rule, including destroying the great Library of Alexandria. Because the Port of Alexandria contained the Egyptian granary that Rome needed, the city regained much autonomy.

Greek culture in the Port of Alexandria began a rapid decline after 415 AD. Alexandria fell to the Persians in 616 AD and to the Arabs in 642 AD. After that time, Alexandrian culture and life reflected the new Muslim faith and culture. Despite declining political influence, the Port of Alexandria continued to be an important trading center for textiles and other luxury goods.

Luckily, the Port of Alexandria came through the early Christian Crusades relatively undamaged, and it played a major role in Egypt's east-west spice trade. However, the discovery of a sea route to India (1498) and Turkey's conquest of Egypt (1517) brought an end to Alexandria's good fortune. By 1798 when Napoleon invaded Egypt, the Port of Alexandria had become a small fishing village.

The Port of Alexandria's rebirth came in 1805 when Muhammad Ali became Ottoman viceroy of Egypt. He sought to modernize Egypt, and he reopened access to the Nile for the Port of Alexandria with the 45-mile Al-Mahmudiyah Canal (1820). He built new docks and an arsenal there between 1828 and 1833, and he located industry in the Port of Alexandria.

After cotton was introduced to Egypt, Europe's hunger for the product brought great wealth to the Port of Alexandria. The Port of Alexandria's importance as a commercial and banking center grew. Then with the American Civil War creating a new cotton boom in the early 1860s and the Suez Canal opening in 1869, the Port of Alexandria enjoyed yet another period of rapid growth.

In 1882, the British occupied the Port of Alexandria to put down local revolt, and they stayed there until 1922. While the British ruled, foreign residents increased to about 100 thousand people, and the city continued to grow. The Port of Alexandria was the Allies' major naval base for the Mediterranean during World War I, and it was almost captured by Axis troops during World War II. The British military finally left the Port of Alexandria in 1946.

In 1952, King Farouk escaped Egypt through the Port of Alexandria. During the 1960s, Alexandria came under the strong control of Egypt's government and was completely "Egyptianized." Abdel Nasser's industrialization effort benefited the Port of Alexandria, particularly in the textile manufacturing and food processing industries.

Egypt's defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War with Israel led to the Port of Alexandria being overwhelmed by trade when the Suez Canal was closed and Egypt evacuated the Canal Zone. Then in 1974, Egypt adopted an open-door trade policy, and the port was again flooded with imported goods.

In the latter 1970s, liberalization and decentralization under Anwar el-Sadat led to the Port of Alexandria's greater financial autonomy and new local pride. Natural gas was discovered, a new iron and steel industry sprang up nearby, oil refineries were updated, a pipeline for crude oil linked the Port of Alexandria of Suez to the Mediterranean near the Port of Alexandria, and a second pipeline linked Cairo to Alexandria. Light industry began to grow there as well.

During the 1990s, civic improvements contributed to a cultural renaissance in the Port of Alexandria, and archeological exploration on the waterfront and in the bay rediscovered ancient ruins thought long lost, including the greatest lighthouse in history that was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Current excavations have revealed a well-reserved theater and Roman baths, and there is no end to potential for archeological discovery in the Port of Alexandria.

The Egyptian government built a new library to honor the ancient and famous Library of Alexandria. Completed in 2000, the new Bibliotheca Alexandria is a working library, a repository for rare manuscripts, a conference center, and a research institute. As we enter the 21st Century, the Port of Alexandria reaches back into time to re-establish its importance as a center of culture for the world.

Established first in 1900 BC, the Port of Alexandria saw many changes and improvements, including the 1967 establishment of the Alexandria Port Authority (APA). Today's Port of Alexandria handles over three-fourths of Egypt's foreign trade. The El-Dekheila Port is a natural extension to and considered part of the Port of Alexandria. El-Dekheila has ample surface area for future expansions and is located near the iron and steel complex, the Free Zone, the Borg El-Arab Airport, and the West Alexandria Electricity Generator.

Clearly one of the oldest operating ports in the world, Alexander's great engineer, Dinocrat, built the original port when he linked Faros Island to the Port of Alexandria with a three-quarter mile bridge, creating two basins. What is today the eastern port was used for naval purposes, and the western port was used for commerce. The commercial port is today's Port of Alexandria.

The Port of Alexandria contains two harbors separated by a peninsula. The East harbor is too shallow for navigation, and the West harbor is used for commercial shipping and trade. The Port of Alexandria has two navigation channels. The Large Strait is 200 meters long, 220 meters wide and 14 meters deep. The Small Strait is 1600 meters long, 100 meters wide, and 9 meters deep. The entrance to the port, protected by two converging breakwaters, is 400 meters wide. Pilotage is required for all vessels entering or leaving the Port of Alexandria.

The Port of Alexandria covers a total area of 10.2 square kilometers, including 2 square kilometers of land and 8.5 square kilometers of water. The Port of Alexandria has capacity to handle a total of 33.6 million tons of cargo per year, including 19.1 million tons of general, 7.4 million tons of bulk, 7.4 million tons of liquid, and 4.3 million tons and 250 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo. The Port of Alexandria can accommodate vessels with a maximum 150 thousand DWT, maximum length of 213.36 meters, maximum beam of 36.58 meters, and maximum draft of 12.8 meters.

In 2008, 5447 vessels called at the Port of Alexandria, including 1834 general cargo ships, 1505 container vessels, 531 bulk carriers, 320 roll-on/roll-off ships, 247 vehicle carriers, and 81 passenger cruise ships as well as a wide range of other vessel types in much smaller numbers.

The Port of Alexandria consists of six major zones. The first zone, containing berths 5 through 15, is used to handle general cargo. The first zone contains 3.4 thousand square meters of storage yards and 54 thousand square meters of covered storage building.

The second zone in the Port of Alexandria, from berth 16 to berth 28, is devoted to four types of cargo: unified and roll-on/roll-off cargoes, stuffed bulk cargoes, barges, and passengers. The second zone contains 45.6 thousand square meters of yards at Berths 25, 26, and 27.

From berths 35 to 47, Port of Alexandria's the third zone handles general cargo and barges. The Grain Terminal in zone three contains grain silos at Berths 82, 84, and 85 with capacity for 8 thousand, 50 thousand, and 100 thousand tons, respectively. These silos constitute the country's grain reserve.

Berths 50 through 68 in the Port of Alexandria make up the fourth zone that handles containers, coal, cement, fertilizers, general cargo, and barges. Located between berths 71(a) and 85, the fifth zone handles timber, molasses, grains, flour, barges, and some general cargoes. The Alexandria Container Handling Company manages the container terminal. Containing berths 49, 51, 53, and 54, the container terminal covers 16 hectares and has capacity for 230 thousand containers that can expand to 300 thousand using a 5-TEU stacking system. With a working depth of 33 meters, the Coal Terminal, operated by El-Nasr Company, contains Berths 61 through 64 and can accommodate one 3000-ton vessel or two or three smaller vessels. The terminal can receive vessels up to 40 thousand tons when the Bartom method is employed.

The sixth Port of Alexandria zone is the oil dock. Including berths 86 and 87, the zone handles edible oil, oil products, and cattle. Bunkers are located in the sixth zone, and the oil berths are connected to a refinery by a 2-kilometer pipeline. The oil terminal, located at Berth 87, is used for oil, fuel oil, and asphalt and for NAFTA exports.

Located in the first, second, and third zones of the Port of Alexandria, twenty-five berths within the Port of Alexandria, with a total length of 3004 meters and depths from 4 to 11.9 meters, specialize in handling general cargoes. One roll-on/roll-off berth in the second zone is 30 meters long with depths from 8.4 to 9.1 meters.

Four berths in the fourth zone serve the Port of Alexandria container terminal and are a total of 732 meters long with alongside depth of 12.5 meters. Three new Port of Alexandria berths in the fifth zone, totaling 585 meters with depths from 9 to 11 meters, also handle containers.

With a total length of 426 meters and depths from 8.2 to 8.5 meters, three berths in the Port of Alexandria's fourth zone handle fertilizers.

Handling grains and supplies, three berths in the Port of Alexandria's fifth zone total 695 meters and range in depth from 8.5 to 10 meters. Totaling 365 meters in length with depths from 8.4 to 10 meters, four berths in the fourth zone handle coal and serve the coal terminal.

The cattle berth in the sixth zone is 120 meters long with alongside depth of 8.5 meters. Five berths in the sixth zone of the Port of Alexandria serve the petroleum and food oil terminal. They have a total length of 862 meters and depths from 10 to 10.37 meters.

Two military berths in the Port of Alexandria's third zone total 335 meters in length with alongside depth of 12.5 meters. Two repair berths are located in the fourth zone.

Five berths in the second zone handle passengers and serve the Port of Alexandria's tourist terminal. The passenger berths total 805 meters and range in depth from 9.7 to 11.7 meters. The Port of Alexandria's maritime passenger terminal can accommodate the largest passenger ships and ferries. Located in the heart of the Port of Alexandria, the passenger terminal was opened in the 1960s. Today, the Port of Alexandria is reconstructing the aging terminal. The project involves expanding the terminal to cover an area of 15 thousand square meters that, in addition to the passenger reception/departure area, will contain eight thousand square meters of commercial area that will include a free market with a mall, restaurants, and a cafeteria.

The Port of Alexandria intends to become the Great Port of Alexandria and to revive the city's prominent international role by the year 2015. In order to achieve this, several projects will expand and modernize existing facilities and infrastructure. The Port of Alexandria will add 11.3 kilometers of berths, add a new 3.5-kilometer breakwater, and extend dock areas by 290 hectares. Ten new international terminals will be added, two dedicated to containers. New transportation routes will parallel the coast, linking the Port of Alexandria directly to El-Dekheila Port and International Road.

One of the major investment projects involves the construction of a new 337 thousand square meter multi-purpose terminal in the Port of Alexandria with 1450 meters of berths. To be located in the B tourist zone, the terminal will include a marina and a commercial zone of 50 thousand square meters. The project will include development of additional transportation modes, establishing an external river port, and completing the external services zone with an 200 thousand square meters of area.

A second major Port of Alexandria project will involve developing a third container terminal at El-Dekheila with an area of 50 thousand square meters; establishing an 800 thousand square meter petrochemicals basin with 1200 meters of berths; upgrading the grain terminal and expanding its berths by 600 square meters; and upgrading the coal, plate iron, and dry bulk cargo berths.

The Great Port of Alexandria project will establish a middle harbor with five kilometers of roads, railways, and utilities and a 3.6 kilometer breakwater. The new harbor will contain seven integrated terminals. When completed, the Great Port of Alexandria will increase the number of berths by 24% and the total length of berths by 63%. It will increase storage yard areas by 54% and terminal area by 21%.

Port Of Hamilton, Canada

2012-07-31T07:15:00.001+05:30

Hamilton Port is on the west end of Lake Ontario on the southern shores of Burlington Bay about 70 kilometers southwest of Toronto. Located near several major cities (Toronto, Buffalo, and New York), it is well positioned as an important trade hub for cargoes like coal, steel, grain, and petroleum products. A six-kilometer sandbar protects the harbor from Lake Ontario. In addition to its port, Hamilton is one of Canada’s major industrial centers, with the country’s biggest iron and steel industries, and the site of a huge open-air market. In 2006, the Port of Hamilton was home to almost 650 thousand people.

In 1669, French explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle first visited the site that is now Port Hamilton, but the area was not settled until 1778 when Loyalists left the rebelling 13 colonies in America. The town’s namesake, George Hamilton, laid its original site in 1815 when he purchased the Durand farm after the War of 1812. Port Hamilton soon became a highly-populated industrial area called the “Golden Horseshoe.”

Until the opening of the Burlington Canal in 1830, Port Hamilton was eclipsed by Dundas. The Canal opened passage to Lake Ontario for the landlocked Burlington Bay and started a period of rapid growth for Port Hamilton as a rail center and port.

Ninth biggest city in Canada since 1981, it is Ontario’s third biggest city. Today’s Port Hamilton was formed when it was consolidated in 2001 with towns that had formerly been part of the metropolitan area.

In 2001, the Hamilton Port Authority officially came into being to replace the Hamilton Harbour Commissioners that had governed the port since 1912. The Port Hamilton Port Authority operates and maintains the port and facilitates the development of modern, secure, and environmentally responsible services and facilities.

Handling more cargo and traffic than any other Canadian Great Lakes port, Port Hamilton is one of the top ten Canadian ports. Each year, 700 vessels call at its 11 thousand meters of dock carrying over 12 million tons of cargo. Cargoes include raw materials like iron ore and coal, sand, salt, soybeans, grains, jet fuel, and liquid fertilizers.

In 2007, Port Hamilton handled over 11.7 million tons of cargo, including 10.9 million tons of Canadian and U.S. cargoes on 700 vessels and almost 925 million tons of international cargo on 112 vessels.

Part of the Port Hamilton Port Authority’s mission is to enhance and improve public access to the waterfront and enhance support the development of commercial enterprises like restaurants and shops there. To this end, the port is working on Fishermans Pier, which has long been a gathering place for the community, to include recreational facilities to serve residents and visitors. The marina in Port Hamilton can dock about 250 vessels and can store more than 400 vessels in the winter.

Port Hamilton contains the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, the Royal Botanical Gardens, and the Bruce Trail. It is also home to McMaster University and several other colleges as well as the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. In 2006, Port Hamilton was recognized as an emerging arts and culture center, with several art galleries, production facilities for independent films, and recording studios.

The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum features aircraft used by the Canadian military from World War II to the present. The Royal Botanical Gardens protects over 1100 species of plants, including some that are found only here. Bruce Trail is an UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve covering over 800 kilometers following the edge of the Niagara Escarpment. Beginning on the Niagara River near the falls at Queenston, it ends at General Brock’s Monument in Queenston Heights.

Visitors to Port Hamilton will enjoy seeing the Dundurn Castle, a National Historic Site where Sir Allan Napier MacNab lived in the 1800s. The Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology is also a National Historic Site, and it contains two steam engines that pumped clean water to the city more than 140 years ago.

The Westfield Heritage Village is a 131-hectare area of pristine woods and unspoiled meadows that contains over 35 historic buildings spanning the city’s history. This was the site for filming of much of the Anne of Green Gables TV series. The 1796 Battlefield House and Museum in Stoney Creek where staff wear period dress and demonstrate daily life in the late 18th Century.

Port Of London, United Kingdom

2012-07-30T17:17:00.003+05:30

The Port of London surrounds the River Thames in southeastern England about 80 kilometers upstream from the North Sea. About 100 kilometers northeast of the Port of Southampton and 75 kilometers north of the English Channel, the Port of London is over 220 kilometers north of the Port of Le Havre, France's second busiest port.

The Port of London is the United Kingdom's capital and largest city. One of the world's greatest cities, the Port of London is the political, cultural, financial, and industrial center of the country and the former British Empire. Greater London covers an area of 1706 square kilometers and consists of 33 boroughs. In 2006, over 7.5 million people lived in Greater London.

The Port of London has been vital to the city's economy since the country's Saxon era. It is a global center for international business and commerce. Considered one of three linchpins of the world economy (with New York and Tokyo), PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated that in 2005, the Port of London possessed the world's sixth largest and Europe's second largest city economy.

A city of this size and scope has no single dominating economic sector. Certainly, the Port of London's economy rests largely on its financial industry. Over half of the United Kingdom's and more than 100 of the 500 largest companies in Europe have headquarters in central London. Services, science, and research are all playing increasingly more important roles in the city's economy. Tourism is a major industrial sector for the Port of London, employing about 350 thousand full-time workers and attracting more than 15.6 million foreign tourists in 2006

The Port of London Authority is a self-financing public trust responsible for assuring safety of navigation on the Tidal Thames, promoting the use of the river, and protecting the Port of London environment.
The Port of London Authority is responsible for 135 kilometers miles of the River Thames. It maintains river channels and provides a variety of shipping services. Today, the Port of London handles 12.5 thousand commercial vessels and more than 53 million tons of cargo a year including forest and oil and petroleum products, vehicles, sugar, cereals, edible oils and fats, animal feedstuffs, steel and other metals, fertilizers, chemicals, cement, metals, and containerized refuse.

In 2005, the Port of London handled 53.8 million tons of cargo, including 45 million tons of imports and 8.8 million tons of exports. Containerized cargoes in a total of 1704 TEUs included 948 thousand TEUs of imports and 756 TEUs of exports.Port of London cargoes included oil, crude, and petroleum products (19.3 million tons); containers and trailers (14.6 million tons); aggregate (7.9 million tons);other cargoes (5 million tons); coal (2.5 million tons); forest products (2 milliontons); metals (1.5 million tons); and cereals (1 million tons).

The Port of Tilbury, which is part of the Port of London, is England's third biggest container-handling port, handling more than 4 million tons a year. Important facilities in the Port of London-Tilbury include the world's biggest sugar cane refinery, an oil refinery with capacity of 10 million tons, the largest sea-dredged aggregates terminal in Europe, Ford's Dagenham logistics terminal, and CMDR's Ferry Terminals that take trucks and trailers to and from the European continent.

The Port of London includes wharves and terminals that stretch the length of the River Thames from Fulham to Canvey Island near the mouth of the river as it enters the Thames Estuary. Most of the Port of London facilities are concentrated between the Thames Barrier and Tilbury.

Four terminals or wharves in the Port of London handle cereal cargoes that include animal feeds, cereals, and grains. Chilled produce is handled at two wharves. Two terminals in the Port of London-Tilbury handle chilled produce. The Port of London has nine container terminals, seven of them in Tilbury.

Almost 65 terminals or wharves in the Port of London handle dry bulk cargoes that include aggregates (including marine aggregates, sea-dredged aggregates, and bulk aggregate products), scrap metals, coal, bulk powders, sub-base Type 1 materials, cement, bottom furnace ash, bulk animal feeds, cement clinker, chemicals, explosives, fertilizers, granulated slag, oilseed, petroleum coke, phosphoric slag, plant and machinery, salt, sugar, and waste paper.

Forest products are handled at 15 Port of London facilities. Forest products include newsprint, reels of paper, wood pulp, timber, and timber products. Five locations handle general cargoes. Three facilities in the Port of London-Tilbury handle heavy-lift cargoes. The TDG Temperature-Controlled Service in Tilbury handles frozen produce.

Liquid bulk products are handled by 39 facilities in the Port of London. Liquid bulk cargoes include petroleum products, edible vegetable oils, aviation fuel, lubricants, chemicals, bitumen, liquid petroleum gas, residual fuel oil, gas oil, crude oil, agricultural products, demineralized water, liquid fertilizers, solvents, and waxes.

Five Port of London facilities handle motor vehicles and trailers, and two facilities handle project cargoes. Ten terminals or wharves in the Port of London handle steel products that include flat rolled products, non-ferrous metals, steel, steel coils, and steel reinforcement products.

The Port of London contains 11 public ship tiers and moorings, six of which serve cruise terminals. The George's Stairs Tier handles accommodate ships of 71 meters in length with maximum draft of 5.3 meters. The E. Woolwich Upper Tier handles vessels to 113 meters in length with maximum draft of 7.1 meters; the E. Woolwich Middle Tier can accommodate ships of 103 meters in length with maximum draft of 4.5 meters; and the E. Woolwich Lower Tier can accommodate vessels to 100 meters in length with maximum draft of 4.9 meters.
The Port of London's Thamesmead Tier handles ships up to 100 meters in length with maximum draft of 5.6 meters. The Erith Swing Mooring can accommodate ships to 122 meters long with maximum draft of 6.9 meters. The Greenhithe Swing Mooring handles vessels to 94 meters long with maximum draft of 6.5 meters, and the Denton Small Ship Mooring can accommodate ships of 82 meters in length with maximum draft of 5.7 meters. The Port of London Cruise Terminal at Tilbury is located at Gravesend Reach 25 miles from Central London. The landing stage is 348 meters long.

The Port of London's Cruise terminals include the Tower Bridge Upper Mooring, located 400 meters upstream of the Tower Bridge, which can accommodate ships of 158 meters in length with minimum water depth of 5.9. At 500 meters downstream from the Tower Bridge, the Tower Bridge Lower Mooring has capacity for vessels up to 160 meters long with minimum water depth of 5.5 meters. The Greenwich Tier, located four nautical miles downstream of the Tower Bridge, can accommodate ships of from 128 to 208 meters in length with maximum draft of 8 meters. The "Welcome" Floating Terminal serves the Tower Bridge Lower and Greenwich Tier Moorings. The London Cruise Terminal at Tilbury is located at Gravesend Reach 25 miles from Central London. The landing stage is 348 meters long.

The Port of London is one of the world's favorite cruise destinations, and the entire range of cruise package types are available through the port. "The Welcome," a floating terminal welcomes cruises with complete facilities. Its layout resembles those of airports, and it includes the latest security. Including The Welcome, the Port of London offers five passenger terminals. The PLA is coordinating cruise ship landings to provide complete tourist services during the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Port of Baltimore, USA

2012-07-29T22:23:00.002+05:30

The Port of Baltimore lies above the Chesapeake Bay at the head of the Patapsco River Estuary in the State of Maryland in the United States. About 65 kilometers northeast of the Nation's capital, Washington DC, the Port of Baltimore is about 140 nautical miles north of the Port of Norfolk in Virginia from the head to the mouth of the Bay and about 147 kilometers southwest of the Port of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. At the northeastern end of the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area, the Port of Baltimore is the largest city in and the economic center of the State. The Port of Baltimore is the only city in the State that is not located within a county. In 2006, over 631 thousand people lived in the Port of Baltimore, and more than 2.6 million called the Baltimore-Towson metropolitan area home.

At one time, the Port of Baltimore was a busy industrial center based on the manufacture of steel and automobiles, shipping, and transportation. Today, the Port of Baltimore still has some industry, but its modern economy is based on financial, health, and business services for the United States' southern Mid-Atlantic region. The Port of Baltimore is home to six Fortune 1000 companies, including Black & Decker, T. Rowe Price, and McCormick and Company. It is also home to other major companies that include Alex. Brown & Sons, Thomson Prometric, Sylvan Learning, DAP, and DeBaufre Bakeries. The Port of Baltimore is also the home of Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Hospital, the future center for a biotechnology park.

Today, the Port of Baltimore is an important seaport with ship repair facilities and a richly diverse economy. Reaching the sea through the Chesapeake Bay and the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, it is a major shipping hub for automobiles. In addition to the seaport, the Port of Baltimore is a busy center for education, healthcare, finance, and insurance industries. Federal government and military installations contribute many jobs. Manufacturers produce automobiles, processed foods, steel, electronics, aircraft parts, and paper and plastic products.

As part of the United States' busy Northeast Corridor, the Port of Baltimore is an important stop on the passenger-commuter rail system. It shares the Baltimore-Washington International Airport with the Nation's capital. It is also served by a vast and dense network of interstate and state highways. As a center for higher education, the Port of Baltimore is home to Johns Hopkins University (founded in 1876), several colleges among the University of Maryland system.

The Maryland Port Administration (MPA) is the port authority for the Port of Baltimore. The seven-member Maryland Port Commission oversees the MPA, setting policy and procedures that help make the Port of Baltimore an efficient and competitive seaport. Six of the Commission's members are appointed by the Governor and approved by the State Senate to serve three-year terms. The Commissioners are responsible for acquiring and improving port facilities, managing dredging activities, establishing Foreign Trade Zones, and conducting studies and surveys that will improve port performance.

In 2008, the Port of Baltimore handled a total of almost nine million tons of cargo, including 5.8 million tons of containerized cargo, almost 1.2 million tons of forest products, 968 thousand tons of roll-on/roll-off cargo, 699 thousand tons of automobiles, and 309 thousand tons of steel and breakbulk cargoes. Containerized cargoes through the Port of Baltimore included a total of over 395 thousand TEUs of containerized cargoes, including 194.1 thousand TEUs of imports and 201.1 thousand TEUs of exports.
The Port of Baltimore's Seagirt Marine Terminal specializes in handling containers. Covering 112 hectares, the terminal contains 54.2 hectares of container storage space. The terminal has four berths, three for vessels and one for barges. Berths 1 through 3 are a total 953 meters long with alongside depth of 13.7 meters. Berth 4, the Barge Berth, is 213.4 meters long with alongside depth of 9.8 meters. The terminal includes 112 reefer outlets and has direct rail connections serviced by CSX Transportation.

The Dundalk Marine Terminal in the Port of Baltimore handles containers, automobiles, breakbulk, roll-on/roll-off cargoes and forest products. The 225-hectare terminal has 13 berths with berthing space for 12 vessels. Berths 1 through 4 total 772.7 meters in length alongside depth of 10.4 meters. Berths 5 and 6 are 385.6 meters long with alongside depth of 13.7 meters. With alongside depth of 12.8 meters, Berths 7 through 10 total 858.9 meters and Berths 11 through 13 total 876 meters. The roll-on/roll-off platforms are located at the Port of Baltimore's Berth 13 and between Berths 8 and 9. This Port of Baltimore terminal contains 28 reefer outlets, a total of 86.6 thousand square meters of shed space, and an almost two thousand square meter fumigation center. The terminal is served by direct rail access to all sheds and has direct rail to/from ship capacity. It also has two rail storage yards with ample cargo-handling equipment, including automobile loading/unloading operations.

The Fairfield and Masonville Marine Terminals in the Port of Baltimore are premier automobile terminals. Fairfield Terminal is located just 5.6 kilometers from the US's East Coast Interstate-95. Specializing in the import, export, and processing of automobiles, the terminal covers over 42 hectares and has one berth, the Port of Baltimore's Pier 4, that is 253.6 meters long with alongside depth of 14.9 meters. The Masonville Terminal covers almost 25 hectares and contains two berths at Pier 4, which is 253.6 meters long with alongside depth of 14.9 meters. The Masonville Marine Terminal is leased to ATC Logistics.

The Port of Baltimore's South Locust Point Marine Terminal is a multi-use facility specializing in breakbulk and roll-on/roll-off cargoes of forest products. The 32-hectare terminal and three berths totaling 626.7 meters in length with alongside depth of 11 meters. The terminal has a total of 77.6 thousand square meters of sheds and has direct rail connections to the rear of the sheds by CSX Transportation.

The North Locust Point Marine Terminal in the Port of Baltimore is a multi-use facility specializing in breakbulk, liquid bulk, roll-on/roll-off, and containerized cargoes. Covering a total of over 36 hectares, the terminal includes 7.9 hectares of outside storage and almost 16.1 thousand square meters of sheds. The terminal has nine berths. Handling general cargo, Pier 3 East is 376.4 meters long alongside depth of 10.1 meters. Pier 3 West is 368.2 meters long with alongside depth of 10.4 meters. With alongside depth of 10.4 meters, Pier 4/5 East and West is each 365.8 meters long. Handling bulk cargo, Pier 10 East is 193.5 meters long alongside depth of 10.4 meters. This Port of Baltimore terminal has eight reefer outlets and direct rail connection to the terminal and all berths by CSX Transportation.

The Port of Baltimore's Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF) is used to transfer containers to and from rail and ship. The terminal is leased by CSX Transportation Intermodal. Almost 27 hectares of the 34-hectare terminal has been developed. The remaining seven hectares are currently the site of warehouses. This Port of Baltimore terminal is equipped with over 1.1 kilometers of rail tracks, including four loading/unloading tracks, three storage tracks, and one run-around track.

The Port of Baltimore also contains several private terminals. These include APM Terminals Baltimore, Baltimore Metal and Commodities Terminal Inc., CNX Marine Terminals Inc., MAT Mid-Atlantic Terminal, Rukert Terminals Corporation, Sparrows Pint, The Terminal Corporation, and Westway Terminal Company Inc.

Port Of Havana, Cuba

2012-07-28T23:29:00.003+05:30

Port of Havana is the main port in Cuba (not including Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, a territory on lease by the United States). Most vessels coming to the island make port in Havana. Other port cities in Cuba include Cienfuegos, Matanzas, Manzanillo and Santiago de Cuba.

The harbour was created from the natural Havana Bay which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbors: Marimelena, Guanabacoa, and Atarés.

As a harbor almost completely surrounded by shipping and industrial activities, the waters of the bay suffer from environmental stress. This in turn affects the water quality of the Caribbean Sea into which it flows.

Water entering the bay as river flows or effluent from industrial processes has a residence in the harbor of 8 days, on average. It receives approximately 48,000 m3 of waste water per day, which carries about 4,800 kg of nitrogen and 1,200 kg of phosphorus, which results in elevated concentrations of nutrients. Havana Bay is strongly affected by sewage dumping, and it also receives suspended solids, hydrocarbons, heavy metals and pollutants from agriculture, industry and port activities.

The leading sources of pollution in the bay have been identified as the Luyano River which contains organic material, nutrients, sewage, solid waste,the Regla oil refinery, fish hatcheries, and port activities. The high concentration of hydrocarbons, heavy metals and other pollutants is of concern as the harbor is an important fishing port.

Port Of Montreal, Canada

2012-07-22T21:06:00.003+05:30

The Port of Montreal is the second largest city in Canada and the busiest seaport on the St. Lawrence River and Seaway that links the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. The Port of Montreal is about 267 kilometers southwest of Canada's Port of Quebec and about 335 kilometers northwest of the Port of Portland, Maine, in the United States. Covering about 75% of Montreal Island, the Port of Montreal surrounds Mount Royal rising some 233 meters above sea level. The Montreal metropolitan area contains many cities and towns that rest on both shores of the St. Lawrence River.

In 2006, over 1.6 million people lived in the Port of Montreal, and more than 3.6 million people resided in the greater metropolitan area.

The Port of Montreal boasts the most productive economy in Quebec and the second most productive in Canada. It is a national center for culture, commerce, technology, finance, and technology. Industries in the Port of Montreal include pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, aerospace, software engineering, electronics, printing and publishing, transpiration, and tobacco. The Port of Montreal also supports a strong service sector and a sizeable research and development component. In addition to all this activity, the Port of Montreal is the world's biggest inland port and one of Canada's most important ports as well as a hub for the country's rail network.

In early 1947, the Canadian and U.S. governments started talking about building the St. Lawrence Seaway as a joint venture that was completed in 1959. Unfortunately, the Seaway allowed many vessels to by-pass the Port of Montreal, reducing the Port of Montreal's position of economic dominance.

The popular Expo 67 brought international recognition to the Port of Montreal in 1967. The recognition won the first non-U.S. major league baseball franchise for the Port of Montreal, and the Montreal Expos played ball in the city from 1969 until 2004 when they were moved (as the Nationals) to Washington D.C.

Hosting the Summer Olympics in 1967 proved to be a financial disaster for the Port of Montreal, as it acquired heavy debt burdens for the province. Exacerbating the Port of Montreal's problems, the Quebec separatist movement led many corporations to move their headquarter offices from the Port of Montreal to Toronto during the 1970s and 1980s, largely due to the enforcement of French-language use "guidelines." The Port of Montreal's economy slowed to a near stand-still in the early 1990s, but it began to make gradual improvements when high-technology industries like electronics and aerospace engineering started growing.

In 2002, all 27 municipalities on Montreal Island were merged into one vast city of Montreal. However, several districts did not agree with the merger. All citizens were allowed to vote on the action in 2005, and 15 elected to separate from the megappolis in 2006, becoming once again independent municipalities.

The Montreal Port Authority (MPA), an autonomous federal agency, is responsible for making the Port of Montreal a competitive world-class seaport. The MPA constructs and maintains port infrastructure and leases properties to private stevedoring companies and shipping lines. It also operates a grain terminal, a passenger terminal, and a railway with 100 kilometers of track that serves almost every berth in the Port of Montreal. The MPA's mission is to manage the Port of Montreal's infrastructure, facilitate transportation and logistics, promote trade, contribute to the local and national economies, and respect the environment. Pilotage services are required on the St. Lawrence River between the Les Escoumins pilotage station and the Port of Montreal.

In 2008, the Port of Montreal welcomed 2096 vessels carrying 27 million tons of cargo, including 15.2 million tons of imports and 11.8 million tons of exports. The total cargo volume included 13.3 million tons of containerized cargo in 1.5 million TEUs, 215.6 thousand tons of non-containerized general cargo, 5.5 million tons of dry bulk cargoes, and 8 million tons of liquid bulk cargoes. The Port of Montreal also hosted 41 cruise vessels carrying 39.6 thousand passengers.

The Port of Montreal's containerized cargoes included forest products, foodstuffs, metal products, construction materials, iron and steel products, vehicles and accessories, chemicals, textiles, ores, and a variety of other goods. Non-containerized general cargoes included metal products, roll-on/roll-off cargoes, iron and steel products, granite and sandstone, vehicles and accessories, forest products, and other goods.

Liquid bulk cargoes handled in the Port of Montreal were dominated by gasoline, fuel oil, and diesel oil, but they also included jet fuel and asphalt. Dry bulk cargoes were dominated by included grain and iron ore, but they also included salt, raw sugar, fertilizers, zinc ore, scrap metals, copper ore, gypsum, dolomite, industrial sand, and other commodities. In 2008, the Port of Montreal's international trading partners accounted 21.3 million of the total 27 million tons of cargo passing through the port. The major international partners were the United Kingdom and Continental Europe, the United States, the Mediterranean region, Latin America.

The berths in the Port of Montreal are a total of 11.7 thousand meters in length with alongside depths ranging from 6.1 meters to 10.7 meters, and they contain a total of 885.3 thousand square meters of open areas and 102.2 thousand square meters of sheds.
Berths specializing in handling containers in the Port of Montreal are a total of 3.6 thousand meters long and contain 591.6 thousand square meters of open area. Two container berths in the Bikerdike Terminal are a total 357 meters in length with alongside depth of 8.8 meters, and they contain 9.6 thousand square meters open area). Four berths are located in the Cast Terminal with a total length of 738 meters and alongside depths of 10.7 meters. The Port of Montreal's Cast Terminal also contains 197.1 thousand square meters of open area.

The four container berths in the Port of Montreal's Maisonneuve Terminal are 827 meters long with alongside depth of 10.7 meters, and they contain a total 179 thousand square meters of open area. Nine container berths in the Racine Terminal at the Port of Montreal total 1.6 thousand meters in length with alongside depths ranging from 8.2 to 10.7 meters, and they include 205.9 thousand square meters of open area. Five of the Racine Terminal berths have alongside depth of 10.7 meters.

Fourteen berths in the Port of Montreal specialize in non-containerized general cargoes and are a total 2.8 thousand meters in length with alongside depths ranging from 6.1 to 10.7 meters. These berths also contain 147.6 thousand square meters of open area and 64.8 thousand square meters of covered shed space. The Port of Montreal's Non-container berths 22 through 28 all have alongside depth of 8.8 meters and range in length from 152 to 200 meters. Non-container berths 48 through 52 all have alongside depth of 10.7 meters and range in length from 158 to 338 meters. These berths include 91.1 thousand square meters of open area and 29 thousand square meters of covered shed.

The non-containerized general cargo berths in the Port of Montreal include two berths in the Contrecouer Terminal. Berth 1 in the Contrecoeur Terminal is 229 meters long with alongside depth of 10.7 meters and contains 3.7 thousand square meters of covered shed. Berth 2 in the Contrecoeur Terminal is 175 meters long with alongside depth of 6.1 meters.
The Port of Montreal berths handling dry bulk cargoes are a total of 2.7 thousand meters long and contain 146.1 thousand square meters of open area and 37.4 thousand square meters of covered shed. Berths 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, and 98 have alongside depth of 9.1 meters and range in length from 152 to 202 meters. These berths contain a total of 39.6 thousand square meters of open area. Berth 33 has a 3.7 thousand square meter shed. Dry bulk berth 39 is 183 meters long with alongside depth of 9.4 meters, and it includes 8.7 thousand square meters of open area and a 5.2 thousand square meter shed.

Berth 43 in the Port of Montreal is 266 meters long with alongside depth of 10.2 meters, and it has 31.1 thousand square meters of open area. Berth 46 is 144 meters long with alongside depth of 10.2 meters, and it contains 4.7 thousand square meters of open area and 4.9 thousand square meters of shed.

The remaining Port of Montreal dry bulk berths (40, 41, 42, 46SE, 71 and 1) are a total 1.2 thousand meters long with alongside depth of 10.7 meters, and they include a total 35.1 thousand square meters of open area and 8.4 thousand square meters of covered shed. These berths range in length from 162 to 229 meters long. Berth 81 has the largest open area of 27.3 thousand square meters.

The Port of Montreal's Grain Terminal contains two berths. Berth 54/55 is 395 meters long with alongside depth of 10.7 meters, and Berth 56 is 245 meters long with alongside depth of 8.2 meters.

Berths handling liquid bulk cargoes in the Port of Montreal total 1.9 thousand meters in length. They include berths specializing in non-petroleum liquid bulk (Berths 56-57 and 57-58) are a total of 342 meters long. Berth 56-57 has alongside depth of 10.7 meters, and Berth 57-58 has alongside depth of 9.8 meters.

The 11 liquid bulk berths specializing in petroleum in the Port of Montreal total 1.5 thousand meters in length and have a total capacity for 13.5 million barrels. Petroleum berths 74, 94, 95, 103S, and 109 all have alongside depth of 10.7 meters and range in length from 190 to 406 meters. Berths 96, 103N, and 105 have alongside depth of 9.7, 9.1, and 9.4 respectively.
A favorite harbor for recreational boaters, the Port d'escale, the Quays of the Old Port of Montreal, is located minutes from downtown.

With 110 berths for boats up to 7.5 meters draft, the marina offers tie-up and valet services, gated access and 24-hour patrol, power outlets, rates for hourly or daily stop-overs, pump-out facilities, free Wi-Fi access, and complete sanitary services. The Old Port of Montreal runs along the romantic De la Commune Street waterfront in the Port of Montreal's historic district. This birthplace of the 350-year-old city is visited by over seven million visitors each year. The Old Port of Montreal Corporation, an autonomous federal agency, is responsible for managing, developing, and operating the Old Port of Montreal, including marine facilities and the tourist and cultural opportunities. Within the Old Port, the MPA operates the Iberville Passenger Terminal.

Port Of Portsmouth, England

2012-07-22T20:53:00.004+05:30

The Port of Portsmouth is an independent city in southeastern Virginia. Lying across the Elizabeth River about seven nautical miles from the Port of Norfolk, it is part of the natural harbor that makes up the Port of Virginia known as Hampton Roads. The Port of Portsmouth is also about 150 nautical miles south of the Port of Baltimore across the Chesapeake Bay. With a population of over 100,000 in 2006, Portsmouth is home to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard that played an important role in the American Civil War. Today, the navy yard builds and repairs U.S. naval vessels.

The Port of Portsmouth is part of the Hampton Roads military complex and is home to the US Navy's Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The navy yard and military facilities in the Port of Portsmouth are the city's major economic contributors. Other activities also support the local economy. They include manufacturers of fertilizers, chemicals, plastics, and railroad equipment.

Before Europeans arrived in the area of the future Port of Portsmouth, the Powhatan Renape , a confederacy of tribes and a subdivision of the Algonquian Nation controlled the area. These proud peoples sought to drive the encroaching English settlers out of their lands but were unable to do so. Their attacks on Europeans from 1622 to 1644 brought swift reprisals from the English, and by 1646, the Powhatan Confederacy was for the most part destroyed, both by war and by the diseases the English brought with them to the Port of Portsmouth.

Shipbuilder John Wood identified the site of the future Port of Portsmouth as a good location for shipbuilding in 1620. He petitioned Britain's King James I for a land grant, and the area grew up quickly as a plantation community.

The land under Port of Portsmouth was granted in 1676 to British Colonel William Crawford, a rich ship owner and merchant who established the town and named it after Portsmouth, England. The Virginia General Assembly established the Port of Portsmouth by law on behalf of Colonel Crawford. Crawford reserved the intersection of High and Court streets for a market, a church, a jail, and a courthouse.

During the American Revolution, both British and American troops occupied the Port of Portsmouth. In 1767, Scotsman Andrew Sprowle built a shipyard in the Port of Portsmouth that later became the Norfolk Navy Yard owned by the U.S. government. In 1794, the US Congress passed legislation that allowed the government to lease the Port of Portsmouth's Gosport Shipyard from the State of Virginia. Then in 1799, work began on the USS Chesapeake, one of the first six frigates built for the United States.

The Commonwealth of Virginia owned the Port of Portsmouth's Gosport Shipyard after the Revolution and sold it to the federal government of the new United States in 1801 for $12 thousand, making it one of the first federal military installations. Construction of the first Port of Portsmouth dry dock began in 1827. Covering an area of 6.5 hectares in 1801, the area is the northeastern corner of today's Norfolk Naval Shipyard after additional land was added to the facility in 1845.

Virginia joined the Confederate States of America in 1861, and when Union troops evacuated the Port of Portsmouth shipyard, they burned it. They withdrew to Fort Monroe, the only land area in the Hampton Roads area still under Union control. The South found much equipment and scrap left in the Port of Portsmouth that they used to build the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia , using the hulk of the USS Merrimack as its base. The Virginia fought the Union's USS Monitor in the Battle of Hampton Roads when the Union blockaded Hampton Roads.

In 1862, the Confederate ironclad battled the Union ironclad, the USS Monitor, in the Battle of Hampton Roads in an attempt to end the Union blockade of the Port of Portsmouth and other nearby Virginia ports. While neither side won that battle, the Confederates were defeated later that year. Forced from the Port of Portsmouth in 1862, the Confederates burned the shipyard when they left in 1862.

Union forces recaptured Hampton Roads and changed the name of the shipyard at the Port of Portsmouth to Norfolk Naval Shipyard. After the war, the navy yard built and repaired naval vessels. It later produced the navy's first commissioned battleship, the USS Texas, and the first aircraft carrier, the USS Langley.

From the end of the Civil War to 1917, the Port of Portsmouth's Norfolk Naval Shipyard was used to station ships and to build and repair them. As the Naval Station Norfolk did not yet exist, it was the homeport for naval vessels stationed in the Hampton Roads region.

During World War I, the Port of Portsmouth naval yard was expanded to meet the war effort, employing about 11 thousand people. It doubled in size during World War II as production capacity increased. The Norfolk Naval Yard employed over 40 thousand people in the Port of Portsmouth and constructed 6850 vessels during its height from 1940 to 1945. After the war, the Port of Portsmouth naval shipyard changed from building ships to overhauling and repairing them. Its last two vessels, wooden minesweepers, embarked from the Port of Portsmouth shipyard in 1953 during the Korean War.

Today, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in the Port of Portsmouth consists of several separate areas in the city. Containing a total of 516 hectares, the shipyard modernizes and repairs a wide range of US naval vessels that include super-carriers, submarines, and guided missile cruisers. More recently, repairs have focused on nuclear ships and support ships. The Port of Portsmouth naval shipyard is one of few East Coast facilities that can dry dock nuclear aircraft carriers.

Over its history, the Port of Portsmouth's Norfolk Naval Shipyard has achieved several "firsts." It produced the USS Chesapeake, a 38-gun frigate that fought in the War of 1812. It produced the USS Delaware, the first ship in the Western Hemisphere to be dry docked. It also produced the CSS Virginia, the first Confederate ironclad. It produced several other vessels that were the first of their kind. The USS Texas was the first US naval battleship. The USS Raleigh was the first modern cruiser built by the US government. The USS Langley was the first US aircraft carrier.

Today, the Port of Portsmouth is one of the Seven Cities of Hampton Roads. Surrounded by water on one side and Norfolk, Suffolk, and Chesapeake inland, it has little room to expand. Much of the Port of Portsmouth is controlled by the U.S. Navy. The Port of Portsmouth hosts manufacturing of railroad equipment, fertilizers, chemicals, and plastic. Tidewater Community College and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum are located there.

As the Port of Portsmouth entered the 21st Century, its downtown area was undergoing a modest urban renewal effort. But with little land area for expansion, the Port of Portsmouth's declining population and limited tax base made ambitious renewal efforts impossible. Furthermore, the US Navy controls much of the Port of Portsmouth, and more than half of the city is exempt from local taxes.

Under the direction of the Commonwealth's Secretary of Transportation, the Virginia Port Authority (VPA) is a State agency that owns four general cargo terminals, including the Port of Portsmouth Marine Terminal, and is responsible for operating and marketing the Hampton Roads marine terminal facilities. The VPA is responsible for stimulating commerce in the ports of the Port of Virginia and to provide customers with products and services that meet or exceed their expectations by continuously improving the ports in an environmentally responsible manner, including the Port of Portsmouth.

In 2008, the Port of Virginia handled 51.3 million tons of cargo, including 16.2 million tons of general cargo, 15.9 million tons of containerized cargo in 1.2 million TEUs, and 311 thousand tons of breakbulk cargo. Cargoes included 38.1 million tons of exports and 13.2 million tons of imports. The Port of Virginia served 2926 vessel calls.

The largest part of the Port of Portsmouth Marine Terminal was built on reclaimed land created by the construction of the Midtown Tunnel. When it began, the Port of Portsmouth was owned by a railroad serving Pinner's Point. The Virginia State Ports Authority purchased the terminal and then leased part of it to the City of Portsmouth in 1965.

The Port of Portsmouth Marine Terminal was a two-berth conventional cargo terminal by 1971 when the VPA bought the city's interest in the facility. A 1975 agreement between the city and VPA provided for the construction of a terminal on the Port of Portsmouth Marine Terminal property to be operated by Sea-Land Service Inc. Sea-Land constructed a 180-meter long marginal wharf in the Port of Portsmouth with paved backup storage, offices, maintenance garage, and a 26-bay warehouse. Sea-Land operated the Port of Portsmouth Marine Terminal under a 30-year lease that, when ended, returned the land and facility to the VPA.

Located downriver from the Norfolk International Terminal, the Port of Portsmouth Marine Terminal is the second largest container terminal in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Handling containers, breakbulk, and roll-on/roll-off cargoes, the Port of Portsmouth Marine Terminal covers over 88 hectares of land and contains more than six kilometers of rail track and direct rail access. The Port of Portsmouth offers almost three hectares of dry storage and 19 hectares for storage of almost 34 thousand TEUs of stacked containers with 260 reefer outlets.

The Port of Portsmouth Marine Terminal offers over a kilometer of wharves with three berths. It has a 13.7 meter deep main channel. The terminal has direct access to the CSX and Norfolk Southern railways, and it is connected to Interstate highways 95, 64, and 664 via US Highway 58.

Port Of Bahia Blanca, Argentina

2012-07-22T15:48:00.002+05:30

The Port of Bahia Blanca is a small port in the Buenos Aires province in Argentina. The Bahía Blanca harbor area facilities spread along 25 Km. of the north shore at the Bahía Blanca Channel. Several organizations, national and provincial, have their offices in this area. It is necessary to set their jurisdiction and hence, responsibilities.

The Port Authority can be divided into two areas: land and marine.The land area mainly consists of the harbors of Ingeniero White and Galván, including the interspace, called Cangrejales area. The lots belong to the Port Authority and are outlined in maps 007-50/83, 007-138/83, 007-31/84 and 007-118/87, approved by the Geodesy Department of the Buenos Aires Province.

The marine area consists of both sides of the Bahía Blanca Channel and is a geographic space determined by an imaginary line heading from Pehuen-Có Point (NE) to Laberynth Point (SE), following the general layout of the 10 m isobat and the shoreline of both banks up to the end.

Within the maritime jurisdiction both land and marine areas of Puerto Rosales and the Puerto Belgrano Naval Base still belong to the Provincial State. Its location can be found on the Naval Hydrographic Service Chart # H-212.

Upon determination of the maritime jurisdiction, the Port Authority is in charge of the depth maintenance of the Access Channel to the harbor, of its buoys and beacons, as well. The harbor facilities have an autonomous management. Navigationwise, they depend on the regulations and tariffs the Port Authority determines.

The Bahía Blanca Harbor facilities are described below, mainly the harbors of Ingeniero White and Galván.

Incoming from the Atlantic Ocean towards the west, the first buoys found are for hydrocarbon handling in Anchor Point and Stork Point. The commercial dock of Puerto Rosales and the most important Argentine Naval base, known as Puerto Belgrano come next.

The facilities of Puerto de Ingeniero White are located in the channel. In the first place, the Luis Piedrabuena power plant jetty can be seen, specially built for unloading fuel for the plant. It has been adapted for cereal loading by a private company. Following this jetty, the facilities for cereals and by-products and to the west, the General Cargo Dock can be found.

A few miles away from Ingeniero White harbor and from the area for future harbor expansion, called Cangrejales, Puerto Galván can be found. It has several docks for cereals, by products and general cargo. In the same Puerto Galván area at its western end, the terminal for liquid and gas fuels can be found.

Port of Albany-Rensselaer, USA

2012-07-21T22:47:00.002+05:30

The Port of Albany–Rensselaer, widely known as the Port of Albany, is a port of entry in the United States with facilities on both sides of the Hudson River in Albany and Rensselaer, New York. Private and public port facilities have existed in both cities since the 17th century, with an increase in shipping after the Albany Basin and Erie Canal were built with public funds in 1825.

The port's modern name didn't come into widespread use until 1925; the current port was constructed in 1932 under the governorship of Franklin D. Roosevelt and included the largest grain elevator in the world at the time. Today the grain elevator remains the largest in the United States east of the Mississippi River, and the port also hosts the tallest harbor crane in the state of New York.

The port has rail connections with the Albany Port Railroad which allows for connections with CSXT and CP Rail, and is near several interstates and the New York State Canal System. The port features several tourist attractions as well, such as the USS Slater (DE-766), the only destroyer escort still afloat in the United States.

The Port of Albany and the private companies located there bring to the Capital District's economy $428 million in direct spending and 1,382 jobs. The port has a U.S. Customs office as it is a port of entry.

The Albany Port Customs District includes all of the following counties: Albany, Columbia, Delaware, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren, and Washington; along with the parts of Dutchess, Sullivan, and Ulster counties north of 41° 42' N. latitude. The 35 acres (140,000 m²) on the Rensselaer side of the port is site C of Foreign Trade Zone number 121. A significant amount of the port is part of New York's Empire Zone program, which gives port tenants breaks on state income tax along with various benefits and tax breaks from the city of Albany.

The Port of Albany is roughly 260 miles (420 km) east of Buffalo, 225 miles (362 km) south of Montreal, 175 miles (282 km) west of Boston, and 135 miles (217 km) north of the city of New York which makes it a location for regional distribution in the Northeastern United States and parts of Canada. As part of the Inland Distribution Network, the Port of Albany has a twice-weekly barge service to and from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey terminals.

Shipments into the port can leave through many modes of transportation, including by truck and rail. Albany International Airport is 15 minutes away with cargo facilities. Canals allow for further water transportation on barges further into the interior of North America. The port also handles commodities that are not carried on ships. Grain, molasses, animal feed, wood pulp, and steel often go from inbound trains to outbound trucks.

Port Of A Coruna, Spain

2012-07-21T19:03:00.004+05:30

The Port of A Coruna is an autonomous community of Galicia and the capital of the A Coruna Province in northwestern Spain. It lies at the mouth of the Mero River as it flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Its position near a traditional sea route from Europe to Latin America makes it one of Spain’s most important ports. It is also the second biggest fishing center in Spain. Exports of agricultural produce and imports of coal, manufactured goods, and salt flow through the port on a daily basis.

Complementing its fishing industry, the Port of A Coruna contains canning and salting factories. It is also home to a busy petroleum refining industry and manufacture of textiles, chemicals, aluminum, and machinery. A tobacco factory and shipyards are located in its suburb of Santa Lucia to the south. The Port of A Coruna also has busy beach resorts and a thriving real estate market for second homes. In 2006, over 224 thousand people lived in the Port of A Coruna.

The Port of A Coruna was a base for anti-monarchist sentiments during the 19th Century, and the city supported the liberals throughout the century. In the early 19th Century, the National Factory of Cigarettes was established, which eventually spawned the country’s worker movement. Other industries arrived over the century including manufacturers of textiles, glass, matches, and gas. Still, its position as a seaport and trade center remained strong.

As the 20th Century began, the Port of A Coruna was home to about 45 thousand people. After the Spanish Civil War, former supporters of the Republic were forced to leave the Port of A Coruna, and those who remained suffered at the hands of the Franco government. The Nazis killed 13 citizens of the Port of A Coruna in the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp.

After Spain was restored to democracy in 1975, the Port of A Coruna enjoyed new urban renewal projects and a new focus on the tourism and service sectors to expand and diversify its economy.

The Port of A Coruna was born at the dawn of the modern era with the construction of the Hercules Tower, a Roman lighthouse that is still in use today. During the 2nd Century, a village grew up around the tower. By the 13th to 15th Centuries, the Port of A Coruna began to grow outside the old city walls, and the fishing port called la Pescaderia appeared. The San Anton Castle was built in 1528 to protect the port’s entrance.

By 1759, the Port of A Coruna had become the second most important port in the province, with 20 boats operating from the port.

In 1764, Carlos III established a maritime connection between the Port of A Coruna and Havana, Cuba, setting the stage for the Port of A Coruna’s golden age. By 1778, the Port of A Coruna was handling record levels of trade and cargo. In 1867, construction of the first modern dock was approved, and the Muelle de Hierro (Iron Dock) was opened in 1870.

The Junta de Obras del Puerto (Port Works Assembly) was established in 1877 to plan, construct, and improve the Port of A Coruna’s facilities. Five new interior docks were approved in 1892 and completed in 1907. In 1923, the Infanta Isabel, an 8.2 tons vessel of 140 meters, arrived at the Port of A Coruna.

In 1952, the port approved a product to create a 13 thousand meter sheltering dock to protect the port. In 1964, the Refinery Port Terminal was opened, and a third jetty was added to the oil dock in 1973.

In 1977, the Muelle del Centenario (Centenary Dock) was approved to allow the port to accommodate larger modern vessels. Opened in 1982, the Centenary Dock can accommodate vessels up to 120 thousand DWT with draught of 16 meters. To promote fishing activities, several new buildings were added to the Port of A Coruna in 1982-83, including a 1200 square meter fish market. A remodeling project for the fishing port was also approved.

In 1986, the Port of A Coruna handled a record 10 million tons of cargo. In 1991, the new Oza Dock was begun to further the port’s enhance fishing industry. In 1991, a new Liner Dock was opened to handle larger vessels. In 1992, a new refrigerator complex was opened at the San Diego Dock. In 1993, the Junta de Obras del Puerto changed its name to Autoridad Portuaria del A Coruna, in keeping with the names of other Spanish and European ports. In 1997, the port approved the construction of a new Outer Port in Punta Langosteira to be completed in 2013.

The Autoridad Portuaria A Coruna (A Coruna Port Authority) is responsible for managing and operating the Port of A Coruna. It coordinates port and transport operations and manages and controls port services. The port authority plans developments, oversees construction, and assures that regulations are met.

The Sheltering Dock at the Port of A Coruna is 1.3 thousand meters long with alongside depth of 19 meters. It is used primarily by small and leisure crafts and contains the Harbor Master’s office and Sea Traffic Control Tower as well as the Nautical School Club Hall, the Red Cross Base, and the Laboratory and Aquarium of the Oceanographic Institute.

The Port of A Coruna’s Marina Tidal Basin’s dock is 420 meters long with alongside depth of 3 meters. It is used by leisure boats and coastal fishing vessels, and it contains 10 quays and 353 spaces for vessels. The Marina Tidal Basin houses the port authority and tourism offices.

The Liners Dock is 484 meters long with alongside depth of 11 meters. It is the passenger vessel dock and houses the passenger terminal and leisure center, El Puerto, and the Congress Center, Palexco.

The Port of A Coruna’s Battery Dock is 277 meters long with alongside depth of from 5.5 to 7 meters. The Battery Dock serves handling of general goods, specialized bulk cargoes, and roll-on/roll-off traffic. It houses many buildings serving the industries that ship these goods.

The North Calvo Sotelo Dock is 220 meters long with alongside depth of from 7 to 10 meters. Used to transport general goods, it contains a cold-storage fruit terminal and water and electric connections.

The South Calvo Sotelo Dock is 420 meters long with alongside depth of from 7 to 10 meters. The dock serves general goods and specialized bulk cargoes. It also contains cold storage installations for fruit with water and electrical connections and facilities for pumping oils, fats, and vegetable oils.

The North Centenary Dock is 639 meters long with alongside depth of 16.5 meters. The dock handles solid bulk and general goods. The South Centenary Dock is 450 meters long with alongside depth of 11 meters, and it handles solid bulk and general cargoes. The West Centenary Dock, at 150 meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters, handles general goods and containers. It contains a container terminal.

The San Diego Dock is 665 meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters. It handles bulk cargoes and offers cold storage facilities. It also contains a coke-loading bay.

The Oil Terminal Docks are 1080 meters long with alongside depth of from 11 to 16 meters. They can accommodate vessels from 45 thousand to 60 thousand tons carrying naphtha, propylene, gasoline, gas and fuel oils, crude oil, and kerosene.

The Linares Rivas Dock, at 470 meters long with alongside depth of 8 meters, serves the fishing fleet. The dock houses fish markets and facilities for preparing and canning fish. The A Palloza Dock is 375 meters long with alongside depth of from 6 to 8 meters, and it also serves the fishing fleet. The East Dock, at 365 meters long with alongside depth of 6 meters, serves general goods and fishing activities. The dock contains cold storage facilities.

In 2005, the Port of A Coruna handled almost 1.4 thousand merchant ships, 762 fishing boats, and almost 34 thousand passengers. Total cargo reached almost 14 million tons in that year, and fish hauls were almost 29 million kilograms.

Port Of Abidjan, Ivory Coast

2012-07-19T13:37:00.004+05:30

The Port of Abidjan is the main port and largest city of the Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in Africa. Lying on the Ebrie Lagoon, it is linked to the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean by the Vridi Plage sandbar. In addition to its seaport, the Port of Abidjan contains an autonomous international airport, making it a communications center for all of the Cote d’Ivoire. The most populous city in Western Africa, it is a commercial and banking center as well as the Cote d’Ivoire’s de facto capital. In 2005, over 3.5 million people called the Port of Abidjan home.

The Port of Abidjan was a small village in 1898 that became a town in 1903. From 1934 until 1960, it was capital of the French colony, with scant port facilities until 1950. In 1950, the city was opened to the sea with the construction of the Vridi Canal. It soon became French-speaking West Africa’s major shipping and financial center.

Although Yamoussoukro was named the country’s capital after independence in 1960, the Port of Abidjan continues to be the country’s commercial and financial center. The modern city contains many gardened squares and wide shady streets. It houses a university established in 1958, several research institutes, a museum of traditional art, a library, and many tourist attractions, including the tropical rainforest, Banco National Park, to the city’s north.

After independence in 1960, the Port of Abidjan was blessed by a long economic boom, becoming the “Paris of Africa” with casinos and world-class hotels. It took on a skyline of skyscrapers and many fashionable shopping areas. Economic decline in the 1990s brought an unfortunately decline in the city’s infrastructure and an increase in pollution. The civil war in the north has brought further economic hardship and chaos to the Port of Abidjan since 1999.

Today, the Port of Abidjan is a gateway to West Africa. It exports cocoa, timber, coffee, pineapples, bananas, and manganese. The Port of Abidjan handled 12 million tons of cargo in 1995. The city’s major industries include coffee, cocoa, food processing, and the manufacture of automobiles, chemicals, textiles, and soap. The Cote d’Ivoire is attempting to bring back ocean-going traffic that began avoiding the port since the 1999 military coup and subsequent political conflicts.

The Port of Abidjan is West Africa’s biggest, most modern port. With a central location and a well-developed infrastructure, it is a major point for transshipments to West and Central Africa over the Cote d’Ivoire’s modern rail and road systems. Since opening of the Vridi Canal, the Port of Abidjan has handled nearly all commercial trade for the Cote d’Ivoire.

Covering water surface of 2500 acres and land area of 50 acres, Port of Abidjan facilities contain warehouses, specialized facilities for handling bananas, logs, and offshore tankers. The Cote d’Ivoire is the third largest cocoa bean exporter in the world. It’s also an important distribution point for imports to Africa. Imports include foodstuffs, machinery, equipment, pharmaceuticals, and manufactured goods going to the south. Exports include rubber, cotton, timber, fruit, fish, vegetables, and cocoa.

Quickly becoming one of West Africa’s most important fishing ports, the Port of Abidjan includes fleets of trawlers and sardine and tuna fishing boats. Over 200 thousand tons of fish are processed there each year.
With a total of six kilometers of quay, the Port of Abidjan has 34 berths including berths dedicated for timber, cereals, fruits, petroleum products, and containers. Dept at the harbor’s mouth is 10.5 meters, and the dept is 12.5 meters at the quays. The Port of Abidjan can accommodate vessels up to 260 meters long. The port contains 407.6 thousand square meters of open storage and 143.5 square meters of covered warehouses and sheds. Three berths specialize in container-handling, and one berth is devoted to roll-on/roll-off cargoes. All of the port’s wharves are connected to the rail network.

Port Of Nagoya, Japan

2012-07-19T07:29:00.001+05:30

The Port of Nagoya is the capital of Aichi Prefecture in east central Japan. It is also one of the country's busiest industrial centers. Located at the head of Ise Bay off the Pacific Ocean, the Port of Nagoya is about 20 kilometers northwest of the Port of Kinuura and almost 140 kilometers east-northeast of the Port of Osaka. The Port of Nagoya is Japan's third biggest incorporated city and its fourth most populous metropolitan area. In 2005, the Port of Nagoya was home to over 2.2 million people, and more than 8.7 million people live in the metropolitan area.

The Port of Nagoya is one of the country's busiest and most important ports. The city's central location and its abundant hydroelectric power have stimulated heavy industry in the region. The Port of Nagoya's traditional industries produced timepieces, sewing machines, and bicycles. Modern industries produce chemicals, special steels, oil, and petrochemicals. Shipbuilding, aviation, and automotive industries have also flourished in the Port of Nagoya.

The Nagoya Port Authority was established by Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya City in 1951. Regulated by the Port and Harbor Law, the Nagoya Port Authority is the port administrator responsible for planning, constructing, and improving port infrastructure and facilities; maintaining and managing the port area to assure efficient operations; and conducting public works required for use of the port. Private interests provide stevedoring services, preserve the water surface, and manage intra-harbor traffic in the Port of Nagoya.

The modern Port of Nagoya opened for international trade in late 1907, and today, it has trade partnerships with about 150 countries. The biggest port in Japan for cargo throughput, the Port of Nagoya handles all types of cargo. It is one of Japan's five major ports (with Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, and Kobe), handling about 11% of the country's total trade value and accounting for some 62% of Japan's trade surplus. The Port of Nagoya is the first automobile exporting port in the country, exporting almost two million finished automobiles each year.

In 2008, the Port of Nagoya handled a record 218 million tons of cargo, including 138 million tons of international trade, with growing exports in automobile parts, industrial machinery, and rubber products and increasing imports of liquefied natural gas and ore. The Port of Nagoya handled over 46.5 million tons of containerized cargo in 2.6 million TEUs, almost equally divided between exports and imports.

The Port of Nagoya served a total of over 38.7 thousand vessels in 2008, including almost 4.4 thousand container ships, 8.9 thousand ocean-going vessels, and 29.8 coastal vessels. Of the total 218.1 million tons of cargo, 138.2 million tons was international cargo, and 79.9 million tons was domestic cargo. International cargoes handled by the Port of Nagoya included 81.4 million tons of imports and 56.8 million tons of exports. Handling a total of more than 2.8 million TEUs of containerized cargo in 2008, the Port of Nagoya handled over 2.6 million TEUs of international containers and 186.3 thousand TEUs of domestic containers.

The Port of Nagoya is approached through three major channels. The East Channel is 10 kilometers long, 500-610 meters wide, and 15 meters deep. The West Channel is 8.4 kilometers long, 350-400 meters wide, and from 12-15 meters deep. The Port of Nagoya's North Channel is five kilometers long, 200-400 meters wide, and from 10-12 meters deep. The Port of Nagoya plans to further dredge and expand the East and West Channels to accommodate the increasing size of container ships.

In the Port of Nagoya's Inner Port are four mooring buoys. Three buoys can accommodate two 27 thousand DWT vessels, and one buoy can accommodate one 20 thousand DWT vessel. The West Seafront Area contains eight buoys. Two sets of four buoys can each accommodate three 15 thousand DWT vessels.

The Port of Nagoya is also served by three major canals. The Nakagawa Canal is 8.4 kilometers long, from 35-63 meters wide, and 2.6 meters deep. The Hori-kawa Canal is 10.1 kilometers long, 17 meters wide, and 1.8 meters deep. The Shin Hori-kawa Canal is almost 5.7 kilometers long, 17 meters wide, and 2.2 meters deep.

The Port of Nagoya contains a total of 287 berths (with a depth of 4.5 meters and over) with a total length of more than 34.7 kilometers. Of those 287 berths, 127 are public berths, 151 are private berths, and nine are owned and operated by Public Corporation, NCB, Tobishima Pier South Side.

The Port of Nagoya also contains over 275.6 hectares of warehouses, 53.2 hectares of sheds, 73.3 hectares of cargo-handling yards, 22.5 hectares of coal yards, 234.7 hectares of timber yards, and 341.1 hectares of open storage yards. The Nagoya Port Authority operates 154.8 thousand square meters of sheds and 733.2 thousand square meters of cargo-handling yards, while the remaining storage areas in the Port of Nagoya are operated by private interests. The Port Authority also operates 212.5 hectares of timber yards and 97.3 thousand square meters of open storage.

The Port of Nagoya's six container terminals cover a total area of 151 hectares and contain 14 berths with a total length of 4105 meters with depths from 10 to 15 meters. They have combined box capacity for 72.9 thousand TEUs and throughput capacity for a total of almost 2.9 million TEUs. They also contain a total 1007 reefer plugs. Four of the container terminals operate at the Tobishima Pier, forming the Port of Nagoya's biggest container center.

There are two public container terminals at the Port of Nagoya's Tobishima Pier. With throughput capacity for over 493 thousand TEUs, the South Terminal covers an area of 22.5 hectares. It has two berths of 700 meters with alongside depth of 15 meters. The South Terminal has box capacity for over 15.9 thousand TEUs and includes 140 reefer plugs. The Port of Nagoya's North Terminal contains three berths with a total length of 620 meters and depths from 10 to 12 meters. Covering 17 hectares, the North Terminal has box capacity for 6.2 thousand TEUs, 110 reefer plugs, and throughput capacity for over 349.2 thousand TEUs.

The Tobishima Pier South Side Container Terminal in the Port of Nagoya contains two berths that can handle container vessels to 100 thousand DWT. Berths TS1 and TS2 are 750 meters long and have alongside depth of 16 meters. This Port of Nagoya container terminal covers 35.3 hectares, and it has box capacity for more than 17.6 thousand TEUs. It also contains 240 reefer plugs and throughput capacity for almost 324.2 thousand TEUs.

The Port of Nagoya's NCB Container Terminal is a joint venture between the Nagoya Port Authority and major Japanese shipping companies. It has three Berths (R1, R2, and R3) with a total length of 900 meters and alongside depth of 12 meters. Each berth can handle a 35 thousand DWT vessel. Covering 28.9 hectares, this Port of Nagoya container terminal has box capacity for 10.2 thousand TEUs, 189 reefer plugs, and throughput capacity of 528.4 thousand TEUs.

The Port of Nagoya's Berth T1 serves the Nabeta Container Terminal in the Port of Nagoya and can accommodate one 50 thousand DWT container vessel. The Nabeta terminal covers 38.5 hectares and has box capacity for almost 19.9 thousand TEUs. It includes 296 reefer plugs and has throughput capacity for 841.6 thousand TEUs. The Nabeta Container Terminal was developed by the Nagoya Port Public Terminal Corporation.

The 127 public berths in the Port of Nagoya are distributed at 15 piers. With a total length of 15.8 thousand meters, the berths are concentrated at the Kinjo Pier (35 berths of 6.4 thousand meters), Shiomi Pier (20 berths of 200 meters for small oil tankers), Sorami Pier (13 berths of 1.2 thousand meters), and Funami Pier (11 berths of 991 meters). The Port of Nagoya's Tobishima Pier offers seven public berths of 1.7 thousand meters, and the Inaei Pier offers eight berths of 1200 meters.

The Shionagi Pier's Public Berths 27-29, handle coal cargoes. The berths are 405 meters long with alongside depths from 5.5 to 10 meters, and they can accommodate vessels of two, five, and 15 thousand DWT. Three berths at the Shionagi Pier in the Port of Nagoya handle coal and steel products. Berth 31 is 60 meters long with alongside depth of 4.5 meters, and it can accommodate one vessel of 700 DWT. Berth 32 is 130 meters long with alongside depth of 7.5 meters, and it can accommodate one vessel five thousand DWT. Berth 33 is 185 meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters, and it can accommodate one vessel of 15 thousand DWT.

Three Port of Nagoya piers have public berths that handle containers. The Tobishima Pier has three berths, Berths 90-92, with a total length of 620 meters and alongside depths from 10-12 meters that can accommodate two 15 thousand DWT and one 35 thousand DWT vessels. Berths 93-94 at the Port of Nagoya's Tobishima Pier are a total 700 meters long with alongside depth of 15 meters, and they can handle two 50 thousand DWT container vessels. Kinjo Pier Berths 76-77 are 400 meters long with alongside depth of 10.5 meters and can accommodate vessels of 10 and 20 thousand DWT. The Nabeta Pier, Berth T2, in the Port of Nagoya is 385 meters long with alongside depth of 14 meters, and it can handle one 50 thousand DWT container vessel.

Eleven Port of Nagoya piers contain 30 public berths with a total length of 4200 meters that specialize in handling general cargoes. Garden Pier has two public general cargo berths in the Port of Nagoya. Berth 1 is 245 meters long with alongside depths from 4.5 to 10 meters, and it can accommodate two vessels, one of 700 DWT and one of 15 thousand DWT. Handling one 15 thousand DWT vessel, the Port of Nagoya's Garden Pier Berth 2 is 185 meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters. Ote Pier Berths 11 and 12 are 260 meters long with alongside depth of 7.5 meters, and each can handle five thousand DWT vessels.

Also handling general cargoes, the Sorami Pier Berths 50, 51, and 70 in the Port of Nagoya have mooring capacity for seven vessels. Handling vessels to 15 thousand DWT, Berth 50 is 180 meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters. Berth 51 can handle two vessels of 700 DWT, and it is 120 meters long with alongside depth of 4.5 meters. Sorami Berth 70 is 360 meters long with alongside depth of 5.5 meters, and it can accommodate four two thousand DWT vessels.

The Port of Nagoya's Kinjo Pier has four public berths that handle general cargo with a total length of 2850 meters. With mooring capacity for 18 vessels, the Kinjo Pier berths range in depth from 5.5 to 12 meters. Berths 63-67 are a total 1000 meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters, and each berth can accommodate one 15 thousand DWT vessel. Berth 71 is 450 meters long and 5.5 meters deep, and it can accommodate five two-thousand DWT vessels.

The Port of Nagoya's Kinjo Pier Berths 72-75 are 520 meters long with alongside depth of 7.5 meters, and each can accommodate one five thousand DWT vessel. Berths 82-84 at the Kinjo Pier are 600 meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters. Each of these Port of Nagoya general cargo berths can accommodate one 15 thousand DWT vessel. Kinjo Pier Berth 85 is 280 meters long and 12 meters deep, and it can handle one 50 thousand gross ton vessel.

Six Port of Nagoya public berths at the Kinjo Pier handle automobiles. Piers 52 and 53 are 497 meters long with alongside depth of 12 meters, and each can accommodate one 35 thousand DWT vessel. Accommodating 15 thousand DWT vessels, Berths 54-57 are a total 800 meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters.

The Port of Nagoya's hinterland is home to Japan's highly-productive automobile industry. In addition to the almost two million passenger cars, buses, and trucks exported through the Port of Nagoya each year, the port also exports over 113.5 thousand motorbikes. Two car terminals operated by an auto manufacturer are located at the Port of Nagoya's Shimpo Pier, which contains a 38-thousand-car capacity yard, an inspection facility, and a test course.

Handling both general cargoes and automobiles, three piers in the Port of Nagoya contain berths of 2790 meters in length and depths from 4.5 to 12 meters. Inaei Pier Berths 22-24 are 540 meters long and 10 meters deep, and they can each accommodate one 15 thousand DWT vessel. Also accommodating vessels to 15 thousand DWT, Inaei Pier Berth 25 is 200 meters long and 10 meters deep. Inaei Pier Berth 26 is 140 meters long with alongside depth of 4.5 meters, and it can accommodate two 700 DWT vessels.

The Kinjo Pier in the Port of Nagoya has mooring capacity for seven vessels handling general cargo and automobiles. Berths 58-62 are a total one thousand meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters, and each can handle vessels to 15 thousand DWT. Berths 80-81 are 400 meters long with alongside depth of 10 and 10.5 meters, and each can handle vessels to 15 thousand DWT.

The Port of Nagoya's Yatomi Pier, Berths 6 and 7, are each 240 meters long with alongside depth of 12 meters and can accommodate vessels to 30 thousand DWT carrying general cargoes and automobiles.

Specializing in heavy products and automobiles and accommodating vessels to 15 thousand DWT, Kinjo Pier Berths 78 and 79 in the Port of Nagoya are 400 meters long with alongside depth of 10.5 meters.

Handling general cargo, cotton, and grain, the Port of Nagoya's Inaei Pier Berths 17 and 18 can accommodate vessels to 8 thousand DWT. They are 320 meters long with alongside depth of 9 meters.

The Port of Nagoya's Oe Pier has two public berths that handle general cargo and heavy products, and each can handle vessels to 15 thousand DWT. Berth 38 is 185 meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters, and Berth 39 is 213 meters long with alongside depth of 9 meters.

The Funami Pier in the Port of Nagoya has 11 mooring points for vessels carrying sand and stone. Berths 43-45 are 420 meters long with alongside depth of 5.5 meters and four of the mooring points can accommodate vessels of two thousand DWT while one handles one vessel of 700 DWT. Funami Berths 46-48 in the Port of Nagoya include five mooring points with capacity for two thousand DWT vessels, and one has capacity for one 700 DWT vessel. These Port of Nagoya berths are a total 571 meters long with alongside depth of 5.5 meters.

Lumber and lumber products at the Port of Nagoya public berths are handled at the Tobishima Pier and the Yatomi Pier. Tobishima Pier Berths 98 and 99, handling lumber, are 370 meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters, and they can accommodate vessels to 15 thousand DWT. Lumber and general cargoes are handled at Port of Nagoya's Yatomi Pier Berths 88 and 89 in the Port of Nagoya. Handling vessels to five thousand DWT, the berths are 260 meters long with alongside depth of 7.5 meters.

The Port of Nagoya's Yokosuka Pier Berth 86 has seven mooring points for 700 DWT vessels carrying building materials. They are a total 420 meters long with alongside depth of 4.5 meters.

The Showa Pier in the Port of Nagoya has two public berths that specialize in fertilizer and chemical cargoes. Berths 40 and 41 are 240 meters long with alongside depth of 7.3 meters, and they can each handle vessels to five thousand DWT.

The public berth at the Port of Nagoya's Kitahama Pier handles light industrial products at four mooring points at Berth 87 with a total length of 240 meters and alongside depth of 4.5 meters.

The Port of Nagoya's Sorami Pier public berths, Berths 95-97, have six mooring points totaling 540 meters in length with alongside depth of 5.5 meters. Four of the berths can accommodate vessels to two thousand DWT. One berth handles vessels to 1500 DWT, and one handles vessels to 700 DWT.

The Garden Pier in the Port of Nagoya has two berths for passenger vessels. Berth 3 is 210 meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters, and it can handle vessels up to 20 thousand gross tons. Berth 5 is 65 meters long and 4.5 meters deep, and it can handle vessels to 500 gross tons.

The Public Corporation operates the Ferry Terminal in the Port of Nagoya and the Nabeta Container Terminal. Berths V1, V2, and V3 serve the Port of Nagoya Ferry Terminal, handling both passengers and fresh food, has a total length of 663 meters of berths and alongside depth of 7.5 meters. The three berths can accommodate vessels of seven thousand (1 berth) and ten thousand (2 berths) gross tons.

An additional 41 private berths in the Port of Nagoya are a cumulative 4967 meters long, and they can accommodate vessels to 275.4 thousand DWT. A total 11.3 thousand meters long, the Lighter Wharf has 110 mooring points, including those in the Isewan Sea, with capacity for a total 2.6 million DWT.

The Port of Nagoya continues to develop facilities to accommodate ever-increasing cargo volumes and larger ocean-going vessels. The Port of Nagoya will add a new container berth to the existing berths in operation at the Tobishima Pier. The new berth will be 250 meters long, 500 meters wide, and 12 meters deep. A new container berth will also be added to the Port of Nagoya's Nabeta Pier to meet increasing demands in foreign container trade. The new deep-water, high-standard container berth will be 350 meters long, 500 meters wide, and 14 meters deep, and it will be a reinforced earthquake-resistant structure.

Port Of Vancouver, Canada

2012-07-19T07:17:00.000+05:30

Port of Vancouver is located in western Canada's largest urban center in southwestern British Columbia between Burrard Inlet and the Fraser River and across the Strait of Georgia from Vancouver Island. Port Metro Vancouver is about 100 nautical miles north-northeast of the Port of Victoria, located on southern Vancouver Island, and about 71 nautical miles north-northwest of the Port of Bellingham in Washington State in the United States. In 2006, over 578 thousand people lived in the City of Vancouver, and more than two million people lived in the metropolitan area.

Port Metro Vancouver is a major seaport and a culturally diverse city. Over 40% of its residents speak a language other than English as their native tongue. Aside from the port, Port Metro Vancouver's economy is based on tourism, forestry, mining, and manufacturing. Oil refining and processing fish and forest and agricultural products are also important. Major manufacturers produce metals, boats, chemicals, trucks, and machinery to support forestry and mining activities in the area. More recently, the city has grown as a center for high-tech industries as well as productions for television and film.

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) was created in 2007 when the earlier Fraser River Port Authority, the North Fraser Port Authority, and the Vancouver Port Authority were combined. Created by the Canadian government, the VFPA is a financially self-sufficient, non-shareholder corporation that reports to the federal Minister of Transport. A board of directors representing government and industry governs the VFPA, focusing on port users' needs and promoting long-term growth and competitiveness. The VFPA markets itself as Port Metro Vancouver.

In 2008, Port Metro Vancouver served over 3000 vessels carrying 114.6 million tons of cargo, including 73 million tons of bulk cargoes, 20.6 million tons of breakbulk, 20.5 million tons of containerized cargo in 2.5 million TEUs, and 460 thousand tons of automobiles (456.4 thousand units). Port Metro Vancouver also welcomed 854.5 thousand cruise passengers. Foreign cargoes of 82.2 million tons included 13.9 million tons of imports and 68.4 million tons of exports. Port Metro Vancouver also handled 32.3 million tons of domestic cargo.

Bulk cargoes through Port Metro Vancouver in 2008 included coal (25.9 million tons); chemicals, metals, and minerals (11.7 million tons); fertilizers (11.2 million tons); grain, specialty crops, and feed (11.1 million tons); petroleum products (7.3 million tons); forest products (4.4 million tons); machinery, vehicles, construction, and materials (825 thousand tons); and processed food products (754 thousand tons).
In 2008, Port Metro Vancouver breakbulk cargoes of 20.6 million tons included logs (10.7 million tons), miscellaneous goods (4.6 million tons), paper and paperboard (1.7 million tons), and woodpulp (1.3 million tons).

Among containerized imports of 8.7 million tons entering Port Metro Vancouver were household goods (3.2 million tons), parts and components (1.2 million tons), and smaller volumes of construction and materials, machinery, produce, metals, beverages, chemical industry products, wood products, and paper and paperboard. Containerized exports of 11.7 million tons leaving Port Metro Vancouver included woodpulp (2.6 million tons); lumber (2.2 million tons); specialty crops (1.7 million tons); and smaller amounts of metals; meat, fish, and poultry; chemical industry products; waste paper, paper and paperboard; animal feed; and logs.

Port Metro Vancouver contains 17 terminals handling bulk cargoes that range from coal, potash, sulfur, chemicals, and fuel oil to grains. Bulk cargoes represent 75% of Port Metro Vancouver's throughput each year, and it is the busiest port in North America for foreign export volume. Port Metro Vancouver's bulk terminals offer modern efficient facilities and operators with extensive experience.

Port Metro Vancouver's three breakbulk terminals have ample storage space, on-dock rail service, and customized inventory management. Breakbulk berths offer alongside depth of 15 meters at low tide. Breakbulk cargoes include pulp, plywood, lumber, and newsprint. Port Metro Vancouver has three container terminals, and container-handling capacity should reach 4 million TEUs by 2012.

Port Metro Vancouver contains facilities at four areas: Burrard Inlet East, the North Shore, Roberts Bank, and the South Shore.

The Burrard Inlet East in Port Metro Vancouver is home to privately-owned operations that include Imperial Oil IOCO, Kinder Morgan, Canexus Chemicals, Pacific Coast Terminals, PetroCanada, Shellburn, and Stanovan. Imperial Oil IOCO handles fuel oils and marine gas oil at two berths for barges and coastal tankers up to 15 thousand DWT and up to 135 meters long with maximum draft of 8.8 meters. Imperial Oil does not serve third party carriers.

Kinder Morgan operates Port Metro Vancouver's Westridge Marine Terminal for export of crude oil and import and storage of jet fuels. The main dock face is 91.4 meters long with alongside depth of 11 meters, and it can accommodate vessels up to 250 meters long with maximum of 100 thousand DWT. The storage tanks for jet fuel have capacity for 45 cubic meters, and the terminal is connected to off-site storage with capacity for about 120 thousand cubic meters of crude oil. The terminal has capacity to load 2.6 thousand cubic meters per hour and to unload 1.6 thousand cubic meters per hour.

CANEXUS Chemicals operates a chlor-alkali facility on the north shore of Port Metro Vancouver's Burrard Inlet where it can provide transportation and logistics options that meet customers' needs. The facility produces chlorine, sodium hydroxide, and hydrochloric acid and is committed to the Canadian Chemical Producers Association's "Responsible Care" initiative. The facility handles imports of bulk sea salt and exports of caustic soda and sodium chlorate at a 152-meter long berth and mooring floats with alongside depth of 10.6 meters. The facility has salt storage capacity to store 22 thousand tons in tanks as well as surface pad storage for 61 thousand tons. The terminal is served by 7.6 meters of yard rail.

Pacific Coast Terminals in the Port Metro Vancouver's Burrard Inlet area is the world's biggest, most automated marine terminal for the export of sulfur and bulk liquids. Pacific Coast Terminals loads over 3.5 million tons of sulfur and 750 thousand tons of ethylene glycol every year. The terminal covers 43 hectares and contains two berths. Berth 1, handling bulk liquids, is 237 meters long with alongside depth of 12 meters. Berth 2, handling sulfur, is 293 meters long with alongside depth of 12 meters and can handle Panamax vessels to 70 thousand DWT. The terminal has capacity to store 220 thousand tons of sulfur, 55 thousand tons of ethylene glycol, and an additional 11.2 thousand tons in currently unused tanks. Pacific Coast Terminals has infrastructure to store an additional 15 thousand tons. The terminal is served by four thousand meters of rail serviced by Canadian Pacific. The sulfur loading rate is five thousand tons per hour, and the ethylene glycol loading rate is 800 tons per hour.

PetroCanada, one of Canada's biggest integrated oil and gas companies, operates its facility in Buraby in Port Metro Vancouver's Burrard Inlet. Handling petroleum products, the facility has two berths. The West berth is 45 meters long with dolphins that can accommodate vessels to 40 thousand DWT with draft of 11.8 meters. The East berth is 40 meters long with minimum depth of six meters.

The Port Metro Vancouver facility operated by Shellburn handles petroleum products and styrene. The outer berth is 122 meters long with alongside depth of 8.9 meters, and the Inner berth is 94 meters long with alongside depth of 5.2 meters.

The Stanovan Terminal at Burnaby in Port Metro Vancouver's Burrard Inlet is a 52-thousand barrel refinery producing gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt. The berth is 85 meters long with mooring buoys and alongside depth of 12.5 meters.

Port Metro Vancouver's North Shore Terminals (Burrard Inlet) include Dow Chemicals, Fibreco, James Richardson International, Lynnterm, Neptune, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, and Vancouver Wharves.

The Port Metro Vancouver's 3-hectare Dow Chemicals terminal handles caustic soda solution, ethylene dichloride, and ethylene glycol. Its berth, Lynnterm No. 7, is 200 meters long with alongside depth of 11.6 meters. Dow Chemicals maintains a tank farm with rail capacity for 24 railcars. The facility can store 36 thousand tons of caustic soda and 26 thousand tons of ethylene dichloride.

Port Metro Vancouver's 9.3-hectare Fibreco Terminal is one of the world's biggest and most modern woodchip handling facilities. With capacity for handling two million tons of bulk wood chips per year, the berth can accommodate vessels to 265 meters in length with maximum draft of 11.5 meters. The terminal has storage capacity for 240 tons of wood chips. The facility can accept bulk cargoes from vessels with gear-to-onshore conveying systems. It can unload wood chips from truck, rail, barge, and ship. It can load cargoes onto barges and ships.

The James Richardson International (JRI) terminal in Port Metro Vancouver exports an average three million metric tons of grain every year, including exports of canola and cereal grains to Pacific Rim countries. The JRI terminal handles wheat, canola, rye, barley, feed products, and flax. Its berth is 180 meters long with alongside depth of 15.24 meters, and it has capacity to store 108 thousand tons of grain.

Western Stevedoring operates Port Metro Vancouver's Lynnterm facility, the Pacific Northwest center for consolidating forest products, steel, and breakbulk cargoes. The terminal handles wood pulp, paper, lumber, logs, steel products, panel products, machinery, and project cargo. The facility has seven all-concrete berths a total of 1516 meters long with alongside depths from 12 to 15 meters at low water. The 59-hectare site contains 81.7 thousand square meters of covered storage and 380 thousand square meters of open storage space. Its eight warehouses are used for forest products, general cargo, and steel. The Canadian National Railway provides direct service and connections to all major railroads, and the facility contains about 9 kilometers of tracks linking the berth to storage facilities.

With capacity to handle 17 million metric tons of cargo per year, Port Metro Vancouver's Neptune Bulk Terminals is the biggest multi-product bulk terminal in North America. Located in the inner harbor, the 29-hectare facility provides loading/unloading services and storage for a range of bulk commodities that include exports of thermal and metallurgical coal, potash, agricultural products, specialty grains, fertilizers, and canola oil. Berth 1 is 230 meters long with alongside depth of 15.24 meters and can accommodate vessels to 180 thousand DWT. Berth 2 is 230 meters long with alongside depth of 13.7 meters and can accommodate Panamax vessels to 85 thousand DWT. Berth 3 is 100 meters long with alongside depth of 13 meters and can accommodate vessels to 65 thousand DWT. Berth 1 has storage capacity for 600 thousand tons of coal. Berth 2 has capacity to store 300 thousand tons of potash and 19 thousand tons of canola oil. The facilities are served by eight kilometers of continuous loop trackage.

The Saskatchewan Wheat Pool in Port Metro Vancouver handles wheat, canola, durum, barley, and grain by-products at two berths. Each berth is 230 meters long with alongside depth of 15.5 meters, and the facility has capacity to store 240 thousand tons of grain.

Port Metro Vancouver Wharves handle breakbulk and bulk cargoes. These wharves in Port Metro Vancouver's inner harbor have capacity to handle up to 10 million tons of cargo per year. The primary breakbulk cargoes are pulp and paper. Bulk cargoes include mineral concentrates, sulfur and fertilizers, liquids, specialty agricultural products, and other dry bulk commodities. The 45-hectare facility contains five deep-sea berths totaling 900 meters long with alongside depths from 11.2 to 13.7 meters. The wharves have capacity to store one million tons of cargo. Storage facilities have capacity for about 500 thousand tons of minerals, 175 thousand tons of sulfur, and 30 thousand tons of agricultural products. The facilities also include 35 thousand square meters of covered storage for pulp, four tanks with total capacity for 10 million gallons of liquids, and ample land for additional storage. The wharves are served by several track areas and a loop track that can receive unit trains.

Port Metro Vancouver's Roberts Bank Terminals include Deltaport and Westshore Terminals. Deltaport is the largest container terminal in Port Metro Vancouver. Located 35 kilometers south of the inner harbor, the terminal can handle the largest modern container ships and has container cranes that serve super post-Panamax vessels. TSI Terminal Systems Inc. has a long-term lease agreement with Port Metro Vancouver to operate Deltaport, which serves containers and project cargoes. The 65-hectare facility contains two container berths that total 670 meters long with alongside depth of 15.85 meters, and a third berth is being built. The container yard has capacity for 24 thousand full TEUs. The facility is served by eight thousand-foot rail tracks.

Westshore Terminals at Port Metro Vancouver is the leading coal export facility in Canada and the biggest dry bulk terminal on the western coast of the Americas. The 40-hectare Westshore Terminals handle coal and coke. Berth 1 is 350 meters long with alongside depth of 22.9 meters and can accommodate vessels up to 260 thousand DWT. Berth 2 is 263 meters long with alongside depth of 20.8 meters and can accommodate vessels to 150 thousand DWT. The facility has two loop tracks and two rotary rail car dumpers as well as an extensive high-speed conveyor system.

Port Metro Vancouver's South Shore Terminals include Agricore United, Cascadia Terminal, Centerm, Pacific Elevators, and West Coast Reduction. Agricore United is a farmer-directed agri-business and one of the biggest grain-handling and –marketing businesses in Canada. Agricore United markets grain and grain products grain and grain products both internationally and domestically. The west berth is 213 meters long with alongside depth of 11.7 meters, and the East berth is 213 meters long with alongside depth of 13.6 meters. The facility has capacity to store over 102 thousand tons of cargo, and it is served by two intercontinental railways.

Saskatchewan Wheat Pool owns and operates Port Metro Vancouver's Cascadia Terminal under the name Viterra. The Cascadia Terminal handles wheat, canola, barley, durum, rye, oats, and by-products. The berth is 274 meters long with alongside depth of 15.2 meters. The facility has capacity to store 282 thousand metric tons of cargo. Port Metro Vancouver's Pacific Elevators is also owned and operated by Viterra. Handling canola, peas, flax, agri-forage, and by-products, the Pacific Elevators facilities contain three berths. Berth 1 is a lay berth of 185 meters long with alongside depth of 9.6 meters. Berth 2 is a loading berth of 215 meters long with alongside depth of 13.7 meters. Berth 4 is 305 meters long with alongside depth of 10.2 meters. The Pacific Elevators facility includes storage capacity for 199 thousand metric tons of cargo, and it is served by rail.

Centerm handles both breakbulk cargoes and containers in Port Metro Vancouver. Located in the inner harbor, Centerm is served by three railways and has immediate access to the nation's highway system. P&O Ports Canada Inc. operates the 28-hectare Centerm facility under a long-term lease with Port Metro Vancouver. Breakbulk cargoes include forest products and project and breakbulk cargoes. Centerm contains four general cargo berths that range from 180 to 400 meters in length with alongside depths from 12.2 to 15.5 meters. Two container berths total 650 meters in length. The Centerm facility contains two dry sheds of 24.4 thousand square meters, enclosed storage for 41 thousand tons of pulp, and open storage of 204.4 thousand square meters. The container yard has capacity to store 12 thousand TEUs.

Port Metro Vancouver's Rogers Sugar, a cane sugar refinery, is Western Canada's major processor, distributor, and marketer of sugar products that include granulated sugar, icing, yellow and brown sugars, and liquid sugars and syrups. The refinery can produce as much as 240 tons of sugar each year from imported raw cane sugar. At 130 meters long with alongside depth of 9.1 meters, the Rogers Sugar berth receives bulk sugar imports.

Port Metro Vancouver's Vanterm, a 31-hectare is a modern, fully-equipped twin-berth container terminal with a five-track on-dock intermodal rail yard. Vanterm is operated by TSI Terminal Systems Inc. under a long-term agreement with Port Metro Vancouver. Vanterm handles containerized and project cargoes and bulk oils. The berths are 619 meters long with alongside depths from 15.2 to 15.5 meters. The container yard can accommodate seven thousand full TEUs.

West Coast Reduction Ltd. in Port Metro Vancouver's South Shore is a rendering-industry leader operating a rendering plant and bulk storage terminal. Products are pumped underground to storage tanks before shipping. The facility also includes a commercial tank farm with capacity to store 57 thousand metric tons. The facility handles inedible tallow, poultry meal, feather meal, blood meal, fish meal, and fish oil. Its two berths can accommodate both container ships and large bulk tankers.