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A port is a facility for receiving ships and transferring cargo to and from them. They are usually situated at the edge of an ocean or sea, river, or lake. Ports often have cargo-handling equipment such as cranes (operated by stevedores) and forklifts for use in loading/unloading of ships, which may be provided by private interests or public bodies. Often, canneries or other processing facilities will be located very close by. Harbour pilots , barges and tugboats are often used to safely maneuver large ships in tight quarters as they approach and leave the docks. Ports which handle international traffic will have customs facilities.
The terms "port" and "seaport" are used for ports that handle ocean-going vessels, and "river port" is used for facilities that handle river traffic. Some ports on a lake, river, or canal have access to a sea or ocean; they are sometimes called "inland ports". A "fishing port" is a type of port or harbor facility particularly suitable for landing and distributing fish. A "dry port" is a term sometimes used to describe a yard used to place containers or conventional bulk cargo, usually connected to a seaport by rail or road.
The presence of deep water in channels or berths, the provision of protection from the wind, waves and storm surges and access to intermodal transportation such as trains or trucks are critical to the functioning of seaports and river ports.
Cargo containers allow for efficient transport and distribution by eliminating the need for smaller packages to be loaded individually at each transportation point, and allowing the shipping unit to be sealed for its entire journey. Standard containers can just as easily be loaded on a ship, train, truck, or plane, greatly simplifying intermodal transfers. Cargo often arrives by train and truck to be consolidated at a port and loaded onto a large container ship for international transport. At the destination port, it is distributed by ground transport once again.
Ports and shipping containers are a vital part of modern Just in Time inventory management strategies.
Ports sometimes fall out of use. Rye, East Sussex, England was an important port in the Middle Ages, but the coastline changed and it is now 2 miles from the sea. Also in England London, on the River Thames, and Manchester, on the Manchester Ship Canal, were once important international ports, but are no longer so.
Water port topics
Other types of ports
Companies
Support to seafarers