Chapter 1: Ports & Terminals Flashcards
(50 cards)
Types of ports: geographical
What are the most important geographical types of ports? Give examples. [TRACAN]
- Tidal Estuary Ports
Examples: Port of London (UK), Port of Rotterdam(Netherlands), Port of Hamburg (Germany)
- These ports are located at the mouths of tidal rivers, allowing deep-draft ships to access inland areas.
- Ria Ports
Examples: Sydney Harbour (Australia), San Francisco Bay (USA), Plymouth (UK)
- Formed by submerged river valleys, rias create natural deep harbours.
- Artificial Harbours
Examples: Port of Los Angeles (USA) – A massive man-made shipping hub; Port of Jebel Ali (UAE) – One of the world’s largest fully artificial deep-water ports.
- Built where natural harbours are lacking, these ports are engineered for large-scale trade.
- Coastal Post-Glacial Submergence Ports
Examples: Southampton (UK), New York Harbor (USA), Hamburg (Germany), Kolkata/Haldia (India)
- Developed in areas where land sank after glacial melting, creating natural deep-water access.
- Delta Ports
Examples: Shanghai (China, Yangtze River Delta) – The world’s busiest port; Chittagong (Bangladesh, Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta) – Bangladesh’s largest port.
- Found in sediment-rich delta regions, often prone to siltation but strategically important.
- Non-Tidal River Ports
Examples: Duisburg (Germany) – Europe’s largest inland port on the Rhine River; Mannheim (Germany) – An industrial port also on the Rhine.
- Located inland along navigable rivers, these ports support domestic and regional trade.
What is a RIA
(River-dominated Inlet Area)= is a coastal landform that forms when a river valley is partially submerged by rising sea levels.
It looks like a drowned river valley, where the sea has flooded the lower part of the river, creating a wide, deep, and irregularly shaped inlet.
What is a Tidal estuary
a port located at the mouth of a river where freshwater meets the sea and is influenced by tides.
These ports are often found in broad, shallow estuaries with mudflats, sandbanks, and deepwater channels formed by tidal and river processes.
Many require regular dredging to keep channels deep enough for large ships.
What is a Delta
A delta port is a port located in a river delta, where a river splits into multiple channels before reaching the sea. These ports are built on low, flat land formed by river sediments over time.
✅Shallow waters – Needs regular dredging to stay deep enough for ships.
✅Prone to flooding – Affected by tides, monsoons, and seasonal river flow changes.
✅ Major trade hubs – Located in highly populated, fertile regions with strong economies.
What is a Coastal post-glacial submergence port
a port located in an area where the land sank (subsided) after the last Ice Age, causing the sea to flood former river valleys or lowlands.
This process is called post-glacial submergence and happens when heavy ice sheets melt, reducing pressure on the land, but the coastline remains drowned instead of rebounding.
Artificial harbours
An artificial harbour is a man-made port created by building breakwaters, seawalls, or dredging to provide a safe area for ships.
✅ Built where natural harbors don’t exist.
✅ Protected by breakwaters to stop strong waves.
✅ Often deepened by dredging to allow large ships.
✅ Used for trade, military, or fishing.
Non -tidal river ports
A non-tidal river port is a port located on a river that does not experience tides because it is far from the sea or has dams/locks controlling water flow.
✅ Found on large inland rivers.
✅ No tidal changes, so water levels are stable.
✅ Often connected to canals and railways for trade.
✅ Used for bulk goods, industry, and transport.
Types of port: operational
The geography of a port can impact a port’s operational advantages and disadvantages. What can you say about a ports operations?
Some ports a highly specialised, meaning they have one specific operational area that they focus on. One example is bulk loading ports. Most ports combine different types of operations, such as the port of Rotterdam that has been accommodated/customised to cater various types of operations: dry bulk, liquid bulk, gas containers, passenger and offshore operations.
Other ports can be ‘loading ports’, such as Ras Tanura which focuses entirely on tanker ops and offshore support.
A port’s specialisation can be influenced by its geiography/location. Mineral extraction centres = bulk loading [These areas produce large quantities of raw materials like coal, iron ore, or oil that need to be shipped in massive volumes. Bulk terminals are designed to efficiently load these goods onto large cargo ships.]
Example: Port Hedland in Western Australia – known for iron ore exports due to its proximity to mining operations.
Consumption centres = container facilities
These areas import a wide variety of finished goods, which are typically transported in containers. Container terminals allow fast and efficient transfer of goods between ships, trucks, and trains.
Example: Port of Los Angeles, USA – a major container port serving the urban and commercial needs of Southern California.
What are the types of container ports?
They are gateway and transhipment (although they are often not entirely isolated from each other)
Gateway container ports have 3 sub categories.
1. Deep sea gateways
2. Short sea gateways
3. Feeder
Transhipment ports have 2 sub categories:
1. Hub-and-spoke
2. Relay
What is a gateway port?
A port that interfaces directly with inland markets via land-based transport networks (rail, road, or river), serving as an entry/exit point for international trade.
It integrates maritime and hinterland logistics.
What is a transhipment port?
A port primarily used to transfer containers between vessels on different maritime routes, with minimal direct hinterland interaction.
These ports are key nodes in global shipping networks.
What are Deep Sea Gateway container ports?
Major ports handling intercontinental container traffic, connected to global shipping routes and extensive hinterlands via rail and road.
Example: Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands
What are Short Sea Gateway container ports?
Ports that support regional or coastal shipping within a continent, often linked to regional economic zones.
Example: Port of Gdańsk, Poland (Baltic regional trade)
What are Feeder Gateway container ports?
Smaller ports serving localised hinterlands, typically connected to larger hub ports via feeder vessels.
Example: Port of Cork, Ireland (feeds to Rotterdam/London Gateway)
What is a hub and spoke transhipment port?
Central ports where large vessels offload containers for redistribution by feeder ships to regional ports.
Example: Port of Singapore
What is a relay transhipment port?
Ports where containers are transferred between long-haul vessels on different global routes, without hinterland involvement.
Example: Port of Colombo, Sri Lanka
What are the upsides of multipurpose ports?
- Can handle different cargo types (e.g., containers, bulk, Ro-Ro, general cargo), making them adaptable to shifting trade demands.
- Ideal for regions with limited trade volume in any one sector—maximises port utility.
- Not reliant on a single type of cargo, which spreads economic risk.
- Shared use of cranes, berths, and storage reduces need for highly specialised (and expensive) terminals.
- Useful in areas where exports/imports include raw materials, manufactured goods, and consumer products.
What are the downsides of multipurpose ports?
- May not match the speed or scale of specialized ports for high-volume container or bulk handling.
- Coordinating different cargo types increases operational complexity (e.g., varied handling equipment, safety protocols).
- Mixed-use areas can cause congestion and delays, especially in busy ports.
- Balancing infrastructure for multiple cargo types may limit deep investment in high-efficiency systems for any one category.
- May struggle to compete with major hub ports in terms of scale, automation, and turnaround times.
Give a short explanation of multipurpose ports.
Designed to handle a variety of cargo types—containers, dry bulk, liquid bulk, general cargo, and sometimes passengers. They are especially useful in regions where trade volumes are diverse but not high enough to justify specialised terminals.
Where they are normally found:
- Developing countries or emerging economies
Where limited trade volume across sectors makes flexible infrastructure more viable.
Examples: Port of Tema (Ghana), Port of Colombo (Sri Lanka)
- Island nations and remote regions
Where a single port must serve multiple purposes due to space and economic constraints.
Examples: Port of Suva (Fiji), Port of Apia (Samoa)
- Smaller coastal cities or regional ports
Supporting local industries, agriculture, and mixed import/export needs.
Examples: Port of Mombasa (Kenya), Port of Klaipėda (Lithuania)
What is a reefer port?
Specialised ports or terminals equipped to handle refrigerated cargo—mainly perishable goods like fruits, vegetables, meat, seafood, dairy, and pharmaceuticals.
The term “reefer” comes from refrigerated containers (reefer containers) used in cold chain logistics.
- handling techniques
What are the five main raw materials transported by sea? COFGO
How much was transported in 2024?
- Coal - Around 1.2 billion tonnes were shipped by sea
- Oil - Approximately 2.5 billion tonnes were transported globally.
- Fertiliser -
- Grains
- Ores
According to UNCTAD’s Review of Maritime Transport 2024, 62% of the world’s maritime trade volume was dry card = coal, iron ore, gran as well as manufactures goods.
What can you say about dry bulk ports?
Dry bulk ports are specialised terminals designed for the import, export, and handling of dry bulk cargo—non-packaged, loose cargo materials that are transported in large quantities.
Major Bulk Commodities: Coal, Iron Ore, Grain (e.g., wheat, corn, soybeans), Cement, FertiliSers, Bauxite
Minor Bulk Commodities: Salt, Phosphates, Limestone
There are dry bulk ports that are equipped to specilise in being export ports or import ports
What is a dry bulk export port?
These ports specialise in handling and exporting raw materials, which are typically produced locally or regionally.
They are often located in regions that produce large quantities of bulk materials. i.e.
Port of Dampier, Australia
Specialization: Primarily iron ore and liquid bulk.
Export Focus: Australia is one of the largest exporters of iron ore, and the Port of Dampier plays a major role in the global supply chain for iron ore.
What is a dry bulk import port?
These ports are located in regions that rely heavily on the import of raw materials for industrial use, energy production, and food processing. They are specilised in storing and handling the imported materials.
Port of Qingdao, China
Specialization: Iron ore, coal, grain.
Import Focus: China, being the largest importer of iron ore and coal, utilises Qingdao to receive these materials for its steel and energy industries.
