Liverpool
Liverpool, situated in the north-west of England, has been a major port since 1715. Originally the major link between England and Ireland, it developed into a major colonial port and became the primary link to the east coast USA ports.
Today Liverpool remains the major port serving industrial northern England. The traditional cargo of the port was cotton, wool and timber but now also handles sugar, grain, oilseeds, minerals, crude petroleum and manufactured goods. Development of the container terminals and the Free Port have kept Liverpool among the UK's top maritime ports.
The Port of Liverpool is currently the focus of major investment amounting to some £60 million, including expansion of the port and freeport area and development of nearly 93,000sq m of warehousing and light industrial units, and the construction of two in-river terminals for Irish Sea roll-on roll-off ferries.
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Rotterdam
Rotterdam-Euro port in Holland is the biggest port in the world. Rotterdam's origins date back to the fourteenth century when it was primarily a fishing port.
Situated on the North Sea at the mouth of the Rhine, it central position allows for efficient distribution to mainland Europe. Rotterdam is linked to the North Sea by a deepwater channel known as the New Waterway (constructed between 1866-90). The expansion of trade that this deepwater channel provided was responsible for the city's economic boom in the late 19th century.
Currently, Rotterdam handles approximately 300 million tonnes of cargo annually, about a third of which is transported to Germany.
During the past 10 years, Rotterdam has developed its Distripark concept. Distriparks are large-scale centres with facilities for all types of distribution activity. Terminals and the latest information and communication technology is at hand, enabling the companies at the Distriparks to offer a range of services such as storage, repacking, labeling, assembling and stripping and stuffing of containers.
Hong Kong
If Euro port is strategically placed in Europe, the same could be said of Hong Kong in Asia. Situated where the Pacific meets Pearl River it allows access to both large ocean going craft and the smaller coastal river trade craft.
Hong Kong handles about half the tonnage of Euro port but about 15 million TEUs, making it the busiest container port in the world. Over 40,000 ocean going vessels enter the port of Hong Kong each year and an average day sees about 250 ships in the port. Container ships at terminal berths are routinely turned round in less than 10 hours, while conventional vessels working cargo at buoys are usually in port for less than 2 days.
The port of Hong Kong includes 6,059 metres of quays at Kwai Chung and Stonecutters container terminals which can accommodate up to 19 'third generation' container ships simultaneously. The public cargo areas includes 7,742 metres of quays and 61 mooring buoys for ocean-going vessels. The ferry terminals process almost 18 million passenger trips a year to and from Mainland China and Macau.
New York
The port of New York and New Jersey is the largest port on the North American eastern sea-board, consisting of seven separate cargo terminals. The port is linked to an advanced road and rail system allowing forwarding to the rest of the USA.
The Port of New York/New Jersey handles about 18 million tonnes of general cargo per year including 2.8 million TEUs. New York, who pioneered containerisation in the 1950s, provides over 1,200 acres devoted to container storage.
The Port of New York and New Jersey features the largest concentration of ocean carriers among ports in North America. More than 60 general cargo lines offer regularly scheduled service between the port and the major markets in the world.
Lagos
Lagos is the principle port of Nigeria situated on the Gulf of Guinea. The port of Lagos consists of three separate sections, Lagos, Apapa and Tin Can Island. Access to the port is through Badagry Creek, a 200m wide channel which has been dredged to 8.5m.
The port of Lagos includes transit sheds and warehouses offering a covered storage area of 54,000 sq m and an open storage area of 125,000 sq m. Lagos currently handles about 3 million tonnes per year
To ensure uninterrupted power the port also has its own power station with sub-stations situated throughout the port.
The Port of Lagos is now controlled by the Nigerian Ports Authority which reports directly to the Nigerian Ministry of Transport. The location and size of Lagos allows it to offer transit shipment services to other west African countries and therefore serves as the gateway to Nigeria's land-locked neighbours.
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's capital city from 1763 to 1960 is also a major maritime port. It is located on the Atlantic coast on The Bay of Guanabara.
Rio is an important seaport located along the maritime traffic routes that link the coastal cities of northeastern Brazil and the more economically developed areas of southeastern Brazil. Rio's role as national capital for almost 200 years meant that much foreign trade has to pass through the main customs office here, and the city acts as a distribution centre for goods moving in and out of the country.
Within a radius of 350 miles of Rio are concentrated 35% of Brazil's population, 70% of its industrial output, 65% of services and 40% of agricultural production.
The port of Rio de Janeiro handles up to 20 million tonnes per year and has dedicated terminals for both cargo and containers. The shipping channel has a current depth of 18.5 meters, allowing it to receive vessels of 150,000 tonnes. The port is connected to the Brazilian road and rail network enabling transshipment to other regions of Brazil and adjacent countries.
Calcutta
Calcutta is the largest city and chief seaport in India. The capital of the state of West Bengal it is located on the Hooghly River. Despite being 126 miles from the Bay of Bengal it handles much of the cargo for the surrounding North and East Indian hinterland.
The port at Calcutta works under two systems, the Calcutta Dock System (CDS) at Calcutta and a deep water dock system at the Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) forsea borne trade. Calcutta has a sophisticated port facility with extensive storage facilities for diverse range of cargo. The port currently hosts about 3,000 vessels per year.
Calcutta handles about 30 million tonnes each year with cargos ranging from oil, tea, coal, fertilisers and minerals. Calcutta has been building up its container traffic over the last decade and now handles about 160,000 TEUs annually.