For articles about other uses of port, please see Port (disambiguation).

A port is a facility at the edge of an ocean, river, or lake for receiving ships and transferring cargo and persons to them. Ports have specially-designed equipment to help in the loading and unloading of these vessels. Cranes and refrigerated storage may be provided by private interests or public bodies. Often, canneries or other processing facilities will be located very close by.

The term seaport is used for ports that handle ocean-going vessels, and river port is used for facilities that handle river traffic. Sometimes a port on a lake or river also has access to the ocean, and is then referred to as an inland port. A fishing port is a type of port or harbor facility particularly suitable for landing and distributing fish. While the term airport is derived from port, such places are never referred to as ports.

Critical to the functioning of seaports and river ports are:

• Presence of deep water channels (40 feet or 12 meters minimum) and berths
• Protection from wind, wave, and surge
• Access to intermodal transportation (trains and trucks)

Seaports and river ports are often equipped with large cranes for the loading and unloading of containers from container ships. These are usually operated by longshoremen. Pilot s and tugboats are also used to safely maneuver the ships in tight quarters.

Major ports

The world's major ports and their throughputs are as follows (as of December 2004):

1. Shanghai, People's Republic of China
2. Rotterdam, The Netherlands
3. Singapore, Singapore, 320.5
4. Hong Kong, People's Republic of China, 205.8
5. Ningbo, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China, 185.2
6. Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China, 171.1
7. Tianjin, People's Republic of China , 161.8
8. Nagoya, Japan 153.2
9. Antwerp, Belgium, 142.9
10. Qingdao, Shandong, People's Republic of China, 140.9

Source: World's Major Ports 2000–2003, by metric tons and by TEUs, Port of Rotterdam http://www.portofrotterdam.com/abouttheport/images/29_56582.pdf , p4 (Adobe PDF format, 2.2Mb)

See also

• List of seaports
• Fishing
• Ship transport
• Transport

External links

• Port rankings from the AAPA http://www.aapa-ports.org/industryinfo/statistics.htm
• World Port Rankings 2002, by metric tons and by TEUs, American Association of Port Authorities http://www.aapa-ports.org/pdf/WORLD_PORT_RANKINGS_2002.xls (Microsoft Excel format, 26.5kb)