Maritime Transportation Impact on Port Evolution and Operations
What Has Maritime Transportation Brought to the Ports?
Ports were born as protected places with a sea connection. Over the years, this concept produced an operational loss to vessels, up to 30% of their useful life, because they were obliged to stay at port docks for a long time, loading and discharging cargoes. This caused high operational costs, affecting freight rates and ultimately impacting end users. On the other hand, there was no other vision.
What Originated This Stagnant Situation in the Ports?
- Ports were only considered to be an infrastructure for National Defense of countries.
- Ports did not enter the transformation of the port-maritime business because most of the ports were state-owned.
- They did not modernize port equipment to update them to the new standards required by the market.
- Governments maintained the old port concept.
- Globalization was not considered important in the development of maritime transportation.
- Ports remained static; they did not look for new clients.
- Long strikes, due to the city’s pressure on the ports.
What Elements Produced These Changes?
- The high increase in ship sizes: The high cargo volume generated by the increasing international trade and the necessity to generate more competitive freight rates in a much globalized environment has promoted this trend.
- Communications: The substantial improvement in this area, especially after the Second World War and the basic need for country protection, control of their armed forces, and the trade facilitation of Commerce, impulsing the goods volume, the industry modernization, and the world integration, either digital or multimedia.
- Containerization: This process allows the cargo agglomeration and unitization under one same unit named container, permitting cost savings in operation and providing higher operational speed in the loading and discharging activities, as well as further cargo manipulation at a more competitive fashion.
- Containerized cargo as a unifying element: In 1966, the container revolution pushed experimentally the conversion of the Tanker “Fair Land” to move containers between New York and Bremen, Germany.
All These Activities Led To:
- Avoidance of piracy.
- Less merchandise loss because it will travel together.
- More efficient and faster transportation.
- Reduction of Operational Costs.
How Do You Define a Port?
It is defined as a group of works, installations, and services that are provided in a space of calm waters needed for the safe stay of vessels while the operations of cargo loading and discharging are being performed, as well as cargo storage and passenger transit.
What Are the Functions of a Port?
- Commercial.
- Modal transference between maritime and land transportation.
- Vessel’s station.
- Regional development source.
What Are the Parts or Areas of a Port?
Waterfront Waters
- External Works
- Mouthpiece
- Main Navigation Channel
- Outer Port and Anchorage
- Ciaboga Basin – Maneuver Basins
- Secondary Channels
- Service Basin
Land Areas
- Dock
- Cargo Transference Area
- Storage
- Traffic Areas
- Maintenance
- Services