Introduction To Seaports

Faculty of Maritime Management and Administration Department
Asst. Prof. Pınar Sharghi

MMC204 Ports and Terminals
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION TO SEAPORTS
A. DEFINITION OF SEAPORT
B. THE IMPORTANCE OF SEAPORTS

C. FUNCTIONS OF SEAPORTS
DEFINITION OF SEAPORT
Seaports are areas where there are facilities for berthing or anchoring ships and
where there is the equipment for the transfer of goods from ship to shore or ship to
ship. To use more modern jargon, it is a ship/shore interface or a maritime
intermodal interface.
To understand the nature of competition in the port sector, it is necessary to start

with a correct definition of a port. This will help to delimit the different types of port
activities and their relevant markets. The focus in this contribution is on large
seaports that are characterised by three important elements:
• the maritime aspect, that is, location on the shore and/or the capacity to handle
ocean-going vessels;
• the goods-handling function;
• the distribution function, including hinterland connections.
A port’s maritime accessibility depends not just on its proximity to the sea, but also,
primarily even, on its capacity to handle ocean-going vessels. Most seaports may be

MMC 204 Ports and Terminals
categorized as such merely on the basis of the location criterion. Some, like the port
of Antwerp, are located further inland but are nevertheless accessible to sea-going
ships, so that they too may be regarded as ‘seaports’. In addition, there are inland
ports which are not accessible to sea-going vessels, but which nevertheless fulfil an
important function in accommodating goods flows. The distinction between seaports
and inland ports is however becoming increasingly blurred, due to the deployment of
feeder vessels, shortsea shipping services, estuary shipping services and the like.
Definitions of a seaport used to stress the goods-handling aspect.
The definition proposed by Flere (1967, p. 3) is a case in point: ‘A port exists to

provide terminal facilities and services for ships, and transfer facilities and
services for waterborne goods and/or passengers’. This formulation suggests
that one of the principal functions of a seaport is the transfer of freight from ship to
land or onto other vessels. This aspect also comes to the fore in the functional
models from that period.
Legal definitions
Port means an area within which ships are loaded with and/or discharged of cargo
and includes the usual places where ships wait for their turn or are ordered or
obliged to wait for their turn no matter the distance from that area.
Safe Port means a port which, during the relevant period of time, the ship can reach,
enter, remain at and depart from without, in the absence of some abnormal
occurrence, being exposed to danger which cannot be avoided by good navigation
and seamanship.

FUNCTIONS OF SEAPORTS
• Traffic function: the port is a nodal point in the traffic, connecting water- and
various land modes.
• Transport function: ports are tumtables for various cargo flows. Besides these,
ports can have several secondary functions, such as:
• Industrial activities, often in relation to the cargo flows, to ship repair and
shipbuilding, or offshore-supply. But the vicinity of sea transport may in itself be the
reason to locate an industry.
• Commercial and financial services, including banks. The traffic function requires
three conditions to be fulfilled, i.e. a good "front door", a good "backdoor" and
sufficient capacity and services in the port itself: • Entrance from sea, needs to be
accessible and safe;
• Port basins and quays, adequate space for manoeuvring and berthing of the ships,
capacity for handling and storage; • Hinterland connections, road, rail, inland
waterways, pipeline, depending on the transport function.
The safety of ships and crew is most important and receives much attention. This is
understandable, when recognising that ships are designed for manoeuvring in open
water and at cruising speed. Entering a port means speed reduction, entailing poor
manoeuvrability, stopping in limited waters and often having other ships around. For
this reason the nautical services are essential: starting with nautical aids (buoyage,
lights), getting pilot assistance and tugs, and moving to high-tech aids to navigation:

the Vessel Traffic Service (VTS), which implies monitoring of all vessel movements
in a port by central radar. 3-2
THE MAIN FUNCTIONS AND FEATUREOF A PORT
Civil engineering features

— Sea and land access.
— Infrastructures for ships berthing.
— Road and rail network.
— Industrial area management.
Administrative functions
— Control of vehicles, all modes, entering and leaving the port.
— Environmental control.
— Control of dangerous cargo.
— Safety and security within the port area.
— Immigration, health, customs and commercial documentary control.
Operational functions
— Pilotage, tugging and mooring activities.
— Use of berths, sheds, etc.
— Loading, discharging, storage and distribution of cargo.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SEAPORTS
Ports should be considered as one of the most vital aspects of a national transport
infrastructure. For most trading nations they are:
 — The main transport link with their trading partners and thus a focal point
for motorways and railway systems.

 — A major economic multiplier for the nation’s prosperity. Not only is a

port a gateway for trade but most ports attract commercial infrastructure in
the form of banks, agencies, etc., as well as industrial activity.
Ports should also be considered as one of the most important aspects of maritime
transport because they are the location:
 — Where most maritime accidents happen. This is inevitable, as it is a

focal point, usually in shallow water, where ships converge.
 — Where cargo is damaged or stolen. Again this is inevitable as a port is a
place where the cargo is handled and a place where valuables are
concentrated. One of the initial reasons for building enclosed docks at the
beginning of the last century was to reduce theft. However, with full
container loads reducing handling in port and the increasing speed of
throughput the significance of this element should be reducing.
 — Where repairs are carried out. Although a port is obviously the only
place where many repairs can be attempted the more modern practice of
planned maintenance means that shipowners can plan at which port the
repairs or maintenance will be done.
 — Where most costs are incurred. Although some of these costs and
delays form part of the essential and inevitable activities of a port, others,
such as documentary costs and delays, are simply part of an historical
tradition which could and should be changed.
 — Where delays are most likely to occur.
 — Where surveys take place.

 — Where most shipping services are located, e.g. agents, brokers, etc.
This still seems to be the case in spite of modern communication systems.
 — Where industries are situated. This has greatly accelerated since the
Second World War.
 — Where cargoes come from.
 — Where customs and government policies are implemented.


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Faculty of Maritime Management and Administration Department

Asst. Prof. Pınar Sharghi

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION TO SEAPORTS

B. THE IMPORTANCE OF SEAPORTS

To understand the nature of competition in the port sector, it is necessary to start

• the goods-handling function;

• the distribution function, including hinterland connections.

Asst. Prof. Pınar Sharghi

The definition proposed by Flere (1967, p. 3) is a case in point: ‘A port exists to

Asst. Prof. Pınar Sharghi

Asst. Prof. Pınar Sharghi

THE MAIN FUNCTIONS AND FEATUREOF A PORT

Civil engineering features

THE IMPORTANCE OF SEAPORTS

Asst. Prof. Pınar Sharghi

 — A major economic multiplier for the nation’s prosperity. Not only is a

 — Where most maritime accidents happen. This is inevitable, as it is a

 — Where delays are most likely to occur.

 — Where surveys take place.

Asst. Prof. Pınar Sharghi

 — Where cargoes come from.

 — Where customs and government policies are implemented.

Asst. Prof. Pınar Sharghi

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