Port of New Orleans, USA

The Port of New Orleans is located in the State of Louisiana in the United States. Lying between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain about 180 kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico, the Port of New Orleans is about 220 kilometers west-southwest of the Port of Mobile in Alabama and over 360 kilometers east of Port Arthur in Texas. The Port of New Orleans is the State's largest city and an important deep-water port. Named after Phillippe II, Duc d'Orleans and Regent of France, the Port of New Orleans is known for its multi-lingual, multi-cultural heritage, architecture, and cuisine. Being the birthplace of American jazz, it is the home to many celebrations and festivals, including Mardi Gras and lively celebrations by more than a million people on Bourbon Street. In 2007, over 239 thousand people lived in the Port of New Orleans, and more than 1.1 million lived in the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner metropolitan area.

The Port of New Orleans is one of the biggest and busiest ports in the world and the center of a busy maritime community. It is a fundamental transportation and distribution hub for water-borne commerce with many shipping, shipbuilding, freight forwarding, logistics, and commodity brokerage companies either headquartered in or otherwise located in the Port of New Orleans. The Port of New Orleans region accounts for much of the country's oil refining and petrochemical production, including corporate headquarters for on-shore and off-shore producers of natural gas and petroleum. It is home to two of the four Strategic Petroleum Reserve facilities and to 17 petroleum refineries with a combined capacity to distill almost 450 thousand cubic meters of crude oil per day. The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) serves ultra-large oil tankers, and the Port of New Orleans contains many major pipelines that supply the United States (Chevron, Exxon, BP, Shell, Texaco, and many others). Many other energy-related companies are located in the Port of New Orleans. The Port of New Orleans is also an important center for the healthcare industry and supports a busy and productive manufacturing sector. Tourism and conventions are a vital part of the Port of New Orleans's economy, accounting for as much as 40% of the city's tax revenues. The United States' government has many facilities in the Port of New Orleans area, including NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, USDA's National Finance Center, the US Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, and the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In August 2005, the Port of New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina when the city's levees were breached and much of the city was flooded, killing hundreds and forcing an evacuation of the city. Called by some the "worst civil engineering disaster in US history," as much as 80% of the Port of New Orleans was flooded. While the city was not destroyed, it was hit hard. Historians think it may be the worst disaster in the United States since the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. Fortunately for visitors to the Port of New Orleans, the city's historic, cultural, and business districts are on slightly higher ground and fared relatively well in the storm. In 2009, tourism returned to the Port of New Orleans. Transportation, including the popular New Orleans street cars, is available for visiting the city's popular attractions, many of which have reopened. Public services in the Port of New Orleans are still struggling to return to normal, and the city is experiencing an increase in crime. However, the city is passionate about rebuilding, and the future is bright for the Port of New Orleans.

In 1717, John Law's Company of the West based in Paris decided to establish the Port of New Orleans a year after France took control of Louisiana. The founders envisioned the new settlement as a transshipment and trade center for goods from upriver in the Mississippi River Valley. Jean-Baptiste le Moyne de Bienville was responsible for the city's beginnings when the brush was cleared in 1718. Many problems beset the engineers in charge of the development of the Port of New Orleans ? supply shortages, convict labor, two heavy hurricanes, and mosquito-infested swamps. The first dwellings were crude, constructed of reeds and bark.

The Port of New Orleans's first citizens were a diverse mix of back-woodsmen from Canada, craftsmen and troops from John Law's Company, convicts, prostitutes, slaves, and wanderers. In 1721, a census revealed a population of 470 people that included 277 whites, 172 blacks, and 21 Indian slaves. In 1722, the Port of New Orleans became the Louisiana colony's capital. After 1731, more reputable colonists started coming to the Port of New Orleans even though the city still suffered many difficulties. In its early years, the Port of New Orleans economy relied on the export of tobacco and indigo and the import of rice and vegetables. Unfortunately, the value of goods did not justify the use of France's ships, and growth was slow.

France ceded the unprofitable Port of New Orleans, together with the Louisiana Territory west of the Mississippi River, to Spain through the 1763 Treaty of Paris. Despite initial rebellion, the Port of New Orleans prospered under Spanish rule. Port of New Orleans' trade grew with British colonies in the New World despite the limitations Spain imposed. During this period, English-speaking colonists began to move west, creating settlements along the Mississippi and its tributaries. Called "Kaintucks," they started moving their cargoes down the Mississippi to the Port of New Orleans during the decade of the American Revolution. Unhappy with the conduct of the Americans in New Orleans, the Spanish suspended their rights to deposit goods in New Orleans several times.

Louisiana and the Port of New Orleans were returned to Napoleonic France by secret agreement in 1800. By 1803, Napoleon sold the territory to the United States. In 1803, some eight thousand people lived in the Port of New Orleans, half of them white. Over 2500 residents were slaves, and some 1300 free people of color were included in the population.

In 1803, the exports from the Port of New Orleans were bound primarily for United States ports in the east. That year, the value of exports was almost $2 million, revealing the city's prosperity as a new United States territory. The Port of New Orleans was incorporated as a municipality in 1805, and it began to grow beyond its original boundaries. It annexed the Faubourg (suburb) Sainte Marie, which became the "American section" of the city. New suburbs grew up north and south of the Port of New Orleans and across the river that were taken into the Port of New Orleans in the 1870s.

The British threatened to invade the Port of New Orleans during the War of 1812, approaching the city by sea from the Gulf of Mexico. General Andrew Jackson led an army of local volunteers and frontiersmen against the invaders and saved the Port of New Orleans (although the war had already ended).

The early half of the 19th Century was the Port of New Orleans's golden age, as it was a very important port for cotton, the southern states' major product. In 1835, the Port of New Orleans achieved a total $54 million in commerce. By 1840, some 400 steamboats traveled the Mississippi River. The same year, the Port of New Orleans was considered to be the world's fourth busiest port.

During the 1840s, many immigrants came to the Port of New Orleans from Ireland and Germany. By 1850, more than 116 thousand people lived there. Unfortunately, the population faced health threats from polluted drinking water, inadequate drainage, and frequent flooding. The decade of the 1850s was marred by outbreaks of yellow fever and cholera. In 1853, over eight thousand people died of yellow fever in the Port of New Orleans.

The Confederate States did not fully appreciate the value of the Port of New Orleans's strategic position during the American Civil War. In 1862, a Union fleet under Admiral David Farragut captured the city and placed it under military command. Local Port of New Orleans officials were removed from office, and the next years became known for Commander Nathaniel Banks' poor treatment of the people. During Reconstruction from 1865 to 1877, Carpetbaggers and Scalawags controlled local and state politics, helped into office by black voters, and drove up considerable debt for the municipality.

In 1872 when amnesty was given to ex-Confederates, local whites in the Port of New Orleans once again took control of the city government even though city policy and the state government remained firmly under Radical Republican control until the later part of the decade. In the last two decades of the 19th Century, the Port of New Orleans slowly paid off its debts and attempted to recover from Civil War hardships.

The modern Port of New Orleans was born in 1879 when jetties were constructed in South Pass, creating an approach channel of some 12 meters that allowed sea-going vessels to enter and leave the Mississippi River. In 1896, the State legislature created the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans and took control of wharf facilities from private contractors to the "Dock Board." Even so, by 1900, the Port of New Orleans had dropped from the 4th to the 12th busiest port in the United States. During the latter part of the 1800s, yellow fever was better controlled, and it was eradicated by 1906.

In 1908, the Port of New Orleans Dock Board was able to issue bonds to improve Port of New Orleans facilities. Public wharves were rebuilt an expanded. The 9-kilometer Industrial Canal was constructed, linking the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain and the Intracoastal Waterway.

Just before World War I, the Port of New Orleans had reached a low point. Steamboats on the Mississippi could not complete with railroads, and most of the goods moving to the East were carried by rail. With the introduction of barges that could carry large volumes of cargo and towboats, however, the Port of New Orleans's competitive position improved. By the end of World War II, the Port of New Orleans had recovered to hold the second position among United States ports.

During the 1950s, city infrastructure improvements were made in the Port of New Orleans. A new rail terminal and a huge civic center were built. The petrochemical industry began moving into town. In 1963, a ship channel (called the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet) was opened, shortening the trip to the gulf by 64 kilometers.

In the 1970s, many oil refineries were constructed in the Port of New Orleans area. The oil crisis of the 1980s brought a serious slow-down to the Port of New Orleans's economy. Middle-class residents began to move to the suburbs, and modern urban problems of crime plagued the inner city. By the middle 1990s, the Port of New Orleans' reputation was suffering, with police corruption added to the list of ills. The Port of New Orleans took changing its reputation very seriously, and the latter half of the 1990s saw a positive change as the tourism-based economy grew.

The hurricanes of 2005 brought unheard of problems to the Port of New Orleans and surrounding area. While a few wards evaded serious damage, large areas of the city were destroyed. Many Port of New Orleans buildings were left unusable due to the serious flooding. Most of the city's population had to move elsewhere temporarily, and many decided not to return to the Port of New Orleans. Reconstruction efforts have been slow and difficult, and many questioned whether the city was viable.

Since the early 1980s, bulk exports from the Port of New Orleans have grown substantially. The Port of New Orleans is an important grain port for the country and the world. It also exports raw and processed agricultural products, chemicals, fabricated metals, textiles, tobacco, paperboard, and petroleum and petroleum products. From the decade of the 1980s, the Port of New Orleans has been the world's lighter aboard ship (LASH) cargo and Seabee barge capital. It is responsible for over 160 thousand jobs in the Port of New Orleans area, some $8 billion in earnings, $17 billion in spending, and $800 million in taxes across the state.

Port of Manila, Philippines

 

The Port of Manila is the capital city and chief port for the Philippines. It lies on the mouth of the Pasig River in western Luzon Island and stretches along Manila Bay's eastern shores. The Port of Manila is about 645 nautical miles southeast of the Port of Hong Kong and about 880 nautical miles east-northeast of Saigon Port. The Port of Manila is also the country's main economic, cultural, and political center. Metropolitan Manila contains 17 cities and municipalities, including the Port of Manila. One of the world's most densely populated cities, the Port of Manila was home to almost 1.6 million people in 2000, but the metropolitan area had a populating of over 9.9 million souls.

The Port of Manila has a diverse economy. In addition to housing the Philippines' major seaport, it is an important center for publishing and manufacturing. Products manufactured in the Port of Manila include textiles, chemicals, clothing, electronics, watches, leather goods, shoes, and iron and steel. Local businesses process commodities for export, including plywood, rope, refined sugar, coconut oil, and copra. The food, beverages, and tobacco sectors employ many of the city's residents.

With more than a million visitors each year, tourism is a thriving and important economic sector in the Port of Manila. Except for the Port of Manila, every district in the city has its own public market where local commerce is busy, particularly in the early morning. The urban renewal program includes refurbishing some of these markets. The Port of Manila also has plenty of modern shopping malls and chain stores.

Called Seludong or Sleurung under the Malay aristocracy, historians believe that the future Port of Manila was the capital of the Ancient Tondo. With busy trade relations with China, the kingdom flourished during China's latter Ming Dynasty. The local Tondo rulers had the status of kings, rather than chieftains. The Namayan, a confederation of barangays, began to peak in the late 12th Century, and their territory stretched from Manila Bay to Laguna de Bay. Their capital in Sapa is called Santa Ana today.

The Port of Manila pre-dates the Spanish invasion of the Philippine islands. Going back as early as the 9th Century, the Port of Manila had trade relations with China, Japan, India, and modern Malaysia and Indonesia. The Port of Manila traded often with Arab merchants, even after Spanish rule, although the Spanish Port of Manila most often traded with Mexico, Spain, and China.

Built atop older towns, the Port of Manila was well fortified with a trading quarter on the Pasig River in the 13th Century. In the late 15th and early 16th Centuries, the Kingdom of Tondo's was attacked by the Sultanate of Brunei in an attempt to break the Port of Manila's trade with China. Under the Salalila, a new dynasty arose to challenge the Tondo rulers.

In the middle of the 16th Century, the area of today's Port of Manila belonged to the maritime Muslim Rajahs. Rajah Lakandula reigned over the Tondo, Hundu-Buddhist communities north of the Pasig River. Muslim communities south of the river united into the Kingdom of Maynila. The Malay-speaking city-states had diplomatic ties with the Bolkiah Dynasty of Brunei (today's Borneo).

Portuguese pirates drove the Spanish Governor General, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi , from Cebu Island to Panay Island in the late 1560s. Hearing rumors of great wealth in Luzon, the governor sent an expedition to Luzon to the south of Manila Bay. His envoys sent messages of friendship to Maynila. While Rajah Sulayman would accept friendship, he would not submit to Spanish rule, and he went to war against the Spaniards. In 1570, Spanish forces attacked Maynila, capturing the city.

With the Kingdom of Maynila under assault, the remaining Rajah Matanda formed an alliance with the Lakandula of Tondo in 1571. However, powerful city-states began to challenge the long-standing rule of the Tondo and the Maynila. In the early 1570s, Governor Legazpi led the full force of Spanish troops as they returned to the island. When the natives saw them coming, they burned the city and escaped to Tondo.

The Spanish took what was left of Maynila and established a settlement. In 1571, Legazpi titled the Colony of Manila a city, and the Spanish crown affirmed the status in 1572. The Port of Manila became a colonial trading post for the Spanish. A Viceroyalty of New Spain was established that governed the Philippines, and the Governor-General ruled from Port of Manila but was subordinate to the Viceroy in Mexico City. From 1571 until 1815, the galleon trade route between the Philippines and Mexico flourished, and the Port of Manila became famous.

The Chinese population in the Port of Manila was subjected to Spanish commercial laws and restrictions, and they had to pay tribute to Spanish officials. In 1574, 62 Chinese warships and some three thousand men attacked the Port of Manila in rebellion against the Spanish. They were easily defeated. In order to prevent future rebellions, the Spanish made Chinese merchants and residents move into a separate district.

In 1591, Governor-General Legazpi began building a fort at the Port of Manila and began to court Rajah Lakandula of Tondo. The Rajah was eventually converted to Christianity, and local nobles sold their loyalty to the Spanish for privileges and titles. Soon, Augustinian monks came to the Port of Manila to spread Roman Catholicism , and they were followed by Franciscans , Dominicans , and Jesuits in the later centuries.

In 1595, the Port of Manila was named the official capital of the Philippines, and a municipal government was established with a Spanish-style community called Intramuros within fortified walls. Today, it is the oldest district in the modern Port of Manila.

During the 17th Century, the Chinese again revolted against the Spanish several times. They even threatened to capture Intramuros. In the middle 17th Century, a conspiracy arose to kill all the Spaniards in the Port of Manila, ending in the eviction of the Chinese form the city and country. However, the Chinese community continued to exist over the following years.

The British occupied the Port of Manila for two years in the early 1760s during the Seven Years' War between France and Britain. Fleeing from the British, the Spaniards destroyed many valuable historic documents. Even though the British occupied the Port of Manila, it continued to be the capital of the Philippines under a provisional British governor. The Philippines were returned to the Spanish Crown, by omission, under the provisions of the Peace of Paris signed in 1763.

By the middle of the 19th Century, the Port of Manila was opened to trade with all foreign ports. In the late 19th Century, the Port of Manila became a hotbed of anti-Spanish sentiment and propaganda. In 1886 a novel by Jose Rizal planted the seeds of revolution. Although the author was exiled to Dapitan , organizations were formed with the goal of ending Spanish rule. Open rebellion broke out in 1896. Rizal was made a martyr to the revolution when the Spanish executed him by firing squad. After months of fighting, a revolutionary government was formed, but it did not survive.

During the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War , troops from the United States invaded the Port of Manila in 1898. Spain was defeated, and the United States took control of the Port of Manila and the Philippine islands in a brutal assault. Under Admiral George Dewey , the American Navy defeated the Spanish in the Battle of Manila Bay. Spain transferred the islands and the Port of Manila to the United States in the 1898 Treaty of Paris , ending over three centuries of Spanish rule.

The Filipinos did not want to accept rule by the United States, having just won independence from Spain. Emilio Aguinaldo declared the First Philippine Republic , but the United States did not recognize the new republic. War broke out in 1899 between the Filipinos and the Americans. In 1901, General Aguinaldo surrendered. The Americans immediately invaded and occupied the islands and the Port of Manila.

The Filipinos continued to resist US control and undertook a guerrilla resistance with limited success. General Douglas MacArthur was brought in to suppress the rebellion. Rumors of brutality and bloody suppression by the Americans continue today.

In 1901, a civil government was established for the Port of Manila. The Philippine-American War continued until 1903, with many Port of Manila lives lost. In 1935, the US government agreed to grant Philippine Independence after a 10-year period that was extended by one year due to World War II.

In December 1941, the Port of Manila was declared an open city, and American troops were ordered to withdraw from the city in hopes of sparing the Port of Manila destruction at the hands of the invading Japanese. The Japanese bombed the Port of Manila nonetheless. On January 2, 1942, the Japanese Imperial army marched into the Port of Manila. The Japanese gave the Port of Manila leaders three choices as to how they would be governed. They chose government by commission selected by Filipinos and established the Philippine Executive Commission that would manage greater Manila; however, this was later extended to the whole Philippines.

In October 1944, General Douglas MacArthur fulfilled his promise to return to the Philippines. After a terrible battle at the Port of Manila's Intramuros district, a devastated Port of Manila was liberated by American and Filipino troops. However, they did not arrive in the Port of Manila soon enough to stop the Manila Massacre . The city was nearly destroyed, having received more damage than any other city during World War II except for Warsaw . On July 4, 1946, the Philippine flag was raised for the first time ever in Rizal Park.

From 1972 until 1981, the Port of Manila and the country were under Martial Law declared by President Ferdinand Marcos . During his rule, the local economy disintegrated, and corruption was rampant. Tens of thousands of Filipinos disappeared or were imprisoned if they opposed Marcos' martial law. When he was deposed in 1986, claimants against Marcos were awarded over US$500 million in compensation.

When opposition leader Benigno Aquino arrived in the Port of Manila in 1983, he was killed as he de-boarded the airplane. The people of the Philippines increasingly opposed the rule of Ferdinand Marcos. When the People Power Revolution succeeded in 1986, Aquino's widow, Corazon , was installed as president, and she survived six unsuccessful coup attempts. Since the early 1990s, the Port of Manila's mayors have worked hard to fight crime, provide education, improve social welfare, and marshal urban renewal projects.

In the early 1970s, there were almost 600 national and municipal ports and 200 private ports scattered throughout the Philippine islands. The Bureau of Public Works was responsible for maintaining ports and harbors, but the need for coordination and long-range planning was overwhelming. The Bureau of Customs proposed a new government agency to integrate port operations and development, and the World Bank made creation of a port authority a condition of a 1973 port development loan.

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) was created by Presidential Decree in late 1975 to plan, develop, finance, operate, and maintain ports and port districts for the nation. A National Ports Advisory Council was created to facilitate cooperation between government and private interests. In 1987, the PPA was given financial autonomy and the additional responsibility for construction port facilities.

Port of Chennai, India

 

 Formerly known as Madras, the Port of Chennai is called by many the "Gateway to South India." Located on India's southern Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal, the Port of Chennai is about 565 kilometers northeast of the Port of Cochin and some one thousand kilometers southeast of the Port of Mumbai. The Port of Chennai is an important cultural and administrative center and the capital of India's Tamil Nadu state. In 2001, over 4.3 million people lived in the city, and over 6.5 million lived in the urban area of the Port of Chennai.

The Port of Chennai is one of the oldest and biggest commercial ports in India. It was an important port for travelers before taking on its role in maritime trade. The Port of Chennai is a vital part of Tamil Nadu's growing economy, particularly for the growth in South India's booming manufacturing sector. Its major industries include factories that produce vehicles, rubber, and fertilizers as well as electrical engineering and a refinery. The major exports leaving the Port of Chennai are iron ore, leather, and cotton textiles. The major imports entering the Port of Chennai are wheat, raw cotton, machinery, and iron and steel.

The region surrounding the Port of Chennai has been an important military, administrative, and economic center since the 1st Century AD under the rule of many South Indian dynasties, including the Pallava, the Pandya, the Chola, and the Vijaynagar dynasties. The Christian apostle Thomas preached in the area between 52 and 70 AD.

The ancient town of Mylapore, which is now part of the Port of Chennai, was an important port for the Pallavan dynasty that reigned from the 6th to 9th Centuries. In 1522, the Portuguese built a port on the site of today's Port of Chennai, naming it Sao Tome after St. Thomas.

The Dutch arrived at Pulicat, some 33 kilometers north of the Port of Chennai, in 1613. In 1639, the British East India Company bought a band of coastline from Peda Venkata Raya, the Vihayanagara King, and the regional ruler, Damerla Venkatapathy, gave permission to the British to build a warehouse and factory on the site. The next year, the British established a colony called Madras and built Fort St. George on the site of the future Port of Chennai.

In 1746, French forces captured and plundered Madras, Fort St. George, and surrounding villages. Three years later, the Port of Chennai and town were returned to the British under the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. They then strengthened the fort to defend the Port of Chennai from the French and from the increasingly powerful Sultan of Mysore.

Most of the southern India region had been conquered by the British by the late 1700s, and they established the Madras Presidency with Madras/Chennai as its capital. The future Port of Chennai flourished under British rule, becoming an important naval base and urban center.

At the time, the natural harbor was so shallow that ships had to anchor over a kilometer offshore, and cargo was delivered to and from the Port of Chennai shore in Masula boats. Cargo losses were high, and a 335-meter pier capable of berthing larger vessels was built in 1861. A cyclone destroyed the pier in 1881, and it was rebuilt in 1885.

In the late 19th Century, India's new railways connected the Port of Chennai to other important cities, like Bombay (Mumbai) and Calcutta (Kolkata), in the British colony. With stronger communications and trade routes, the port continued to grow.

In 1904, a new north-eastern entrance was added to control siltation in the basin. New quays were built in the Port of Chennai over the following decades. The South Quay opened in 1913. Five West Quay berths began operating between 1916 and 1920.

The Port of Chennai was the only city to be attacked by the Triple Alliance powers during World War I. A German cruiser, the SMS Emden, shelled the oil depot in 1914, and it raided vessels using the Indian Ocean shipping lanes, disrupting trade.

Between the world wars, the Port of Chennai gained new facilities. In the inner harbor, the North Quay was built in 1931, and South Quay II started operating as the Dr. Ambedkar Dock in 1936.

In 1947 when Indian won its independence, the Port of Chennai was made the capital of the Madras State, which was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969.

In 1961, the Port of Chennai's Jawahar Dock was inaugurated by India's Prime Minister, Bahadur Shastri. The Bharathi Dock was built in the outer harbor to handle vessels with as much as 16.2 meters draft. In 1970, an oil jetty was constructed to handle imports of crude oil destined for the Manali Oil Refinery (today the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited). In 1974, the Iron Ore berth was added to the Port of Chennai for exports to Japan and other countries in the Far East. Another oil jetty was added in 1985 to meet increasing demands for crude oil and petroleum products.

The Port of Chennai began handling containerized cargoes in the 1970s. A container terminal was built at the Bharathi Dock with a 380-meter quay, a 51 thousand square meter container yard, and a six thousand square meter container freight station. In 1991, the Port of Chennai's container terminal quay was lengthened by 220 meters. In 2001, the container terminal and back-up area was privatized through a 30-year concession with Chennai Container Terminal Private Limited. Continually increasing container traffic resulted in another 285-meter extension of the quay in 2002.

In 1996, the city of Madras was renamed Chennai, and the Madras Port Trust was renamed as Chennai Port Trust. In 2000, the Port of Chennai began to handle pure-car-carrier shipments of automobiles.

The 2004 tsunami devastated the shores of the Port of Chennai, taking many lives and permanently changing the face of the coast.

Port Of Da Nang, Vietnam

Da Nang Port lies at the south end of a bay off the South China Sea in east central Vietnam some 622 kilometers north-northeast of Saigon Port in Ho Chi Min City. One of the country's biggest cities, Da Nang Port has an excellent harbor enclosed to the east by the Tien Sa Peninsula and Cape Da Nang. In 2008, about 900 thousand people lived in Da Nang Port.

In addition to being one of the country's major container ports, Da Nang Port is an industrial city with a fast-growing economy. The major products produced in Da Nang Port's 4900 factories are seafood, furniture, household goods, and clothing. Tourism is also important to the local economy.

Da Nang Port was first ceded to France in 1787, but it was not part of the French protectorate. Called Tourane by the French, Da Nang Port was, however, a French concession outside the protectorate. When Vietnam was partitioned in 1954, Da Nang Port grew in importance.

In the 19th Century, the Nguyen Dynasty ruled that all western cargo vessels could only trade at the Han estuary, making Da Nang Port a center for foreign trade. Da Nang Port also benefited from the silting up of the Co Co River, ending the advantage of the commercial port at Hoi.

Under orders from Napoleon III, French troops landed in Da Nang Port in 1858, beginning the French colonial occupation of the city. It was soon one of five major cities in Indochina.

During the United States' Vietnam War, the city held a major US air base, and Da Nang Port facilities were expanded by the Americans.

In the 1960s, a new modern textile mill was added to the traditional textile and silk-spinning facilities in Da Nang Port. Beverage-making plants and machinery appeared in Da Nang Port in the 1970s. In 1976, a new hospital and polytechnic college were established in the city, and Da Nang Port was linked to Ho Chi Minh City (previously Saigon) by both highway and rail.

Until 1997, Da Nang Port was part of Quang Nam-Da Nang province. In 1997, the city became Vietnam's fourth independent municipality, being separated from Quang Nam Province.

After a century of growth and development, Da Nang Port has become the busiest port in central Vietnam and a vital component of the regional and national economy. Recognized by the government for its outstanding performance, Da Nang Port has also become one of the country's most modern ports. As the gateway to trade for the East-West Transport Corridor that includes Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, Da Nang Port is an import-export center serving central Vietnam and the country's highlands.

The Vietnam National Shipping Lines is the port authority for Da Nang Port. Da Nang Port occupies 1.2 thousand hectares with a depth of from 10 to 17 meters at Danang Bay. Surrounded by the Son Tra Peninsula and Hai Van Mountain, the harbor is well protected with a breakwater that facilitates anchorage and cargo-handling throughout the year. Located hear the Danang International Airport and the national railroad station, Da Nang Port has easy access to the nation's transportation networks and the hinterland.

In 2008, Da Nang Port handled a total of 2.7 million tons of cargo, including 1.2 million tons of exports, 525.9 thousand tons of imports, and 985.6 thousand tons of domestic cargo. Cargoes included 61.9 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo. Da Nang Port also served 29.6 thousand passengers in 2008, a significant increase over prior years.

Da Nang Port contains a total of 1493 meters of berths in two major areas: Tien Sa Terminal and Song Han Terminal. Da Nang Port has capacity to handle up to five million tons of cargo per year.

The approach channel to Da Nang Port's Tien Sa Terminal from the pilot station is eight nautical miles long with a channel depth from 10 to 17 meters. The annual throughput capacity at Tien Sa Terminal is 4.5 million tons.

All berths at the Tien Sa Terminal at Da Nang Port have alongside depth of 3.7 meters. Berths 1 through 4 are each 185 meters long, and Berth 5 is 225 meters long. The 450-meter long breakwater allows berthing throughout the year, free from the affects of waves and monsoons.

The Tien Sa Terminal is a natural deep-water port with depths from 10 to 12 meters. Its berths total 965 meters at one wharf with two finger piers. The Tien Sa Terminal can accommodate general cargo vessels to 45 thousand DWT, container vessels to two thousand TEUs, or passenger vessels to 75 thousand GRT.

The approach channel to Da Nang Port's Song Han Terminal is 12 nautical miles long from the pilot station, and the channel depth is from 6 to 7 meters, and it can accommodate vessels to five thousand DWT.

The Song Han Terminal at Da Nang Port has capacity to handle one million tons of cargo per year. The terminal offers five berths at a total 528 meters long and a draft of 0.7 meters. Berth 1 is 140 meters long. Berths 2 and 3 are each 100 meters long, and Berth 4 is 90 meters long.

Song Han Terminal is located on the Han River near Da Nang city. With a total of 528 meters of berths, it serves customers in the city of Da Nang.

Da Nang Port contains a total of 229.3 thousand square meters of storage area including 29.2 thousand square meters of warehouse space and 183.7 thousand square meters of yards.

The Tien Sa Terminal contains 13.7 thousand square meters of warehouses, including a 2.2 thousand square meter Container Freight Station, and 138.3 thousand square meters of yards. The Song Han Terminal contains 3.3 thousand square meters of warehouses and 16.3 thousand square meters of yards. In addition, the Quang freight warehouse station contains 12.2 thousand square meters of warehouses and 29.1 thousand square meters of yards.

The City of Da Nang is a picturesque city on Vietnam's eastern coast. With beautiful natural surroundings, Da Nang Port is at the heart of three world cultural heritage sites: the ancient capital of Hue, ancient Hoi An town, and the holy land of My Son. Da Nang Port is a popular tourist destination with many attractions that visitors will want to check out.

The Son Tra peninsula that protects Da Nang Port is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and the peninsula is surrounded by scenic alluvial plains. The beautiful Han River is a source of pride for the people of Da Nang Port. The Han River bridge is a symbol of the new life of the city and its prosperous future. With long clean beaches, Da Nang Port is one of Vietnam's favorite vacation spots.

Being the landing point for the French colonial invasion, many reminders of the colonial period remain in Da Nang Port. There are also many reminders of the "American War" in Da Nang Port. The ruins of a military base remain on China Beach, with helicopter hangars reminding visitors and residents of the city's recent stormy past.

While many tourists miss the charms of Da Nang Port, it is one of the best places for backpackers in all of Vietnam.China Beach is now home to guest houses and shops. With some of Vietnam's most isolated and beautiful beaches, it is the perfect detonation for tourists on a budget.

While the province was not friendly to foreigners in the past, the local government has eagerly pursued tourism and foreign investment since the 1990s. Over the past decades, the city has grown quickly. Today, it sports multi-story buildings and modern beach resorts. The downtown area of Da Nang Port is relaxed and quiet, with several attractions that include a zoo, a water park, tennis courts, pool halls, and a soccer stadium as well as many night clubs.

During the relatively dry summers, temperatures can reach 36 °C (97 °F) from July to August. Tropical storms are common in October and November.

The Marble Mountains, about nine kilometers south of Da Nang Port, are a fascinating place where Buddhist temples hide in caves and grottoes and pilgrims still journey. Am Phu cave offers a steep climb from caverns filled with statues of sinners being punished to a magnificent view and many sacred sculptures from the top of the mountain. Guides are available for hire, and visitors are advised to wear climbing or walking shoes.

Ba Na Hill Station is a 1920s French Resort about 40 kilometers west of Da Nang Port that used to house villas, restaurants, and clubs enjoyed by the French colonials. In the midst of an unspoiled forest and with a temperate climate, the Ba Na Hill Station offers breathtaking views of the South China Sea and Lao mountain range. While the roads are difficult, demanding 4-wheel drive, the site is also reachable by a new cable system that takes visitors to the top of Mount Chua.

The 1915 Cham Museum in Da Nang Port contains a collection of stone sculptures that were made by the Hindu Cham civilization that lived here from about 1000 B.C. to the 14th Century AD. While the sandstone sculptures have been weathered badly, they show the skills of the artists who made them. Statues depict Shiva, garudas, nadas, and animals holy to the Hindu religion. The collections were taken from the disintegrating Cham ruins before they could be taken by looters.

So beware!!! 

Port Of Vladivostok, Russia

The Port of Vladivostok is Russia's most southeastern seaport and the administrative center of the Primorsky territory near the country's borders with China and North Korea. Lying on the shores of the Golden Horn Bay (Zolotoy Rog) off the Sea of Japan, the Port of Vladivostok is almost 470 nautical miles north-northwest of Japan's Port of Sakai and about 510 nautical miles north-northeast of the Port of Busan in Korea. The Port of Vladivostok is an important cultural and educational center for the Russian Far East, and students are a major group within the city's population. In 2005, over 586 thousand people lived in the Port of Vladivostok.

The economy of the Port of Vladivostok is largely based on maritime-oriented activities that include shipping, fishing, and the Russian Navy. Commercial fishing contributes most of the Port of Vladivostok's commercial output. The Port of Vladivostok is also home to the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet. The Port of Vladivostok imports food products, clothing and footwear, medicines, automobiles, household items, and ships. Its main exports include fish, timber, metals, and ships.

The land supporting the Port of Vladivostok has belonged to many powers that included the ancient Korean Balhae Kingdom, Manchu Dynasty ancestors (the Jurchen), the Mongols, and China. Russia took control of the area in 1858 under the Treaty of Aigun with China.

Founded as a military outpost by Russia in 1960, the Port of Vladivostok's geographic location made it an important strategic base for Russia's Navy. In 1872, the Port of Vladivostok began to grow when the country's main naval base was located there.

The arrival of the Chinese Eastern Railway in 1903 connected the Port of Vladivostok to Manchuria and gave the port a better connection to the rest of the Russian Empire and enhanced its importance as a major center in eastern Russia. The Port of Vladivostok was important as a military port that received supplies from the United States during World War I.

When the Russian Revolution of 1917 began, the Port of Vladivostok was occupied by foreign forces, primarily the Japanese, who stayed there until the early 1920s. After they left the city, the Port of Vladivostok became important to the new Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) government.

The Port of Vladivostok continued to be the home of Russia's Pacific Fleet after the USSR took control. It grew considerably after World War II as a military base, and the Port of Vladivostok was closed to foreign shipping between the late 1950s and the end of the Soviet era in the early 1990s.

During the Soviet period, the city's industries were diversified. Large ship repair yards were constructed, workshops supporting the railways were added, and a plant making mining equipment was built.

After the "fall of Communism" in Russia, the Port of Vladivostok emerged as a commercial port with links to other eastern Russian ports as well as countries of the Far East. It began to import consumer goods from Japan, China, and other nations. Today, the Port of Vladivostok is the eastern last stop on Russia's Northern Sea Route that stretches from on the country's northeastern shores near Finland. It is the principal base for supplies for Russia's Arctic ports to the east of Cape Chelyuskin.

Much of the fish caught or processed in the Russian Far East is sent to the Port of Vladivostok for distribution to the rest of the country. The Port of Vladivostok exports petroleum, grain, and coal.

Today, the Port of Vladivostok contains light industries that make instruments and radios, veneers and furniture, chinaware, and pharmaceuticals. Food industries are important to the local economy, making fish, meat, and flour. A small building industry also arose in the Port of Vladivostok making prefabricated building panels.

After the Soviet era ended, the Port of Vladivostok's industries began to decline. Only the food processing industry continued to thrive, and mechanical engineering first remained busy. Today, the Port of Vladivostok is the eastern end of the Trans-Siberian Railroad.

The Commercial Port of Vladivostok is a fast-growing Russian transport company. While the Port of Vladivostok was originally founded in 1897 for domestic cargoes, it started handling foreign cargoes in 1991.

The Port of Vladivostok holds a strategically important position at the crossroads of international shipping corridors, and it has a well-developed cargo-handling infrastructure. Its major trading partners include South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Port of Vladivostok strives to promote and develop world trade and local prosperity by creating competitive advantages for its customers and partners. The Port of Vladivostok employs over 3500 people, and it contains almost 60 port-related businesses including stevedores, freight forwarders, shipping agents, surveyors, and other marine-related enterprises.

The Port of Vladivostok has capacity to handle up to 11 million tons of cargo per year. Its major cargoes include containers, metal products, vehicles, pulp, and general cargoes. Serving 16 shipping lines, the Port of Vladivostok supports ten container lines, four roll-on/roll-off lines, and two passenger vessel lines.

The Port of Vladivostok has a total of 4.2 kilometers of quays with alongside depth of up to 15 meters. Each berth is supported by rail tracks, with a total 20 kilometers of railways serving the port. The Port of Vladivostok covers an area of 55.2 hectares, and the harbor approach is from 20 to 30 meters deep. The Port of Vladivostok's railway station has capacity for one thousand wagons. The Port of Vladivostok contains 17 berths for commercial cargoes and passengers.

The Port of Vladivostok contains 63.4 thousand square meters of sheds and open storage area of 17.6 hectares. It contains two refrigerated warehouses, each of five thousand square meters.

The Vladivostok Container Terminal (VCT) is a joint venture between the Commercial Port of Vladivostok and the National Container Company. Operating since 1983, the Port of Vladivostok Container Terminal handles containers, heavy lift cargoes, and vehicles and serves ocean-going vessels, vehicles, and rail wagons. The VCT quay can accommodate two container ships at the same time at its quays with alongside depth of 11.6 meters. The VCT can handle 150 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo per year.

Berths 14 and 15 in the Port of Vladivostok handle containers and general cargo. The quay is 379 meters long with alongside depths of 11.5 and 14 meters, and the berths include warehouse capacity to store 160 thousand tons of cargo. The Port of Vladivostok has redeveloped Berths 14 and 15 into a dedicated container terminal that increased the port's container-handling capacity to 200 thousand TEUs per year.

The Port of Vladivostok Automobile Terminal (VAT) specializes in handling cars and other vehicles for distribution to Russian regions and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. The VAT offers temporary warehouse storage, stevedoring, and logistics services. The VAT has three warehouses for temporary storage, including a ten-story building that can accommodate one thousand cars, and 700 meters of rail tracks served by a two-level ramp.

Currently being rebuilt at Berth 11, the Port of Vladivostok's Oil Terminal is 86.8 meters long with alongside depth of 8 meters. It has capacity for storing 26 thousand cubic meters of oil products. In addition to meeting modern industrial and environmental standards, the Oil Terminal offers state-of-the-art dark oil products discharge technology and, when completed, will handle up to 1.5 million tons of cargo per year.

At Berths 1 and 2, the Port of Vladivostok Passenger Terminal has a 508.9 meter long quay with alongside depth of 9.8 meters. The Port of Vladivostok recognizes a growing need to modernize the existing passenger terminal, especially in light of the 2012 APEC Summit to be held in the Port of Vladivostok.

Aside from these specialized berths, the remaining berths are universal, handling a variety of cargoes that include containers, general cargo as well as bulk and liquid cargoes. Being the terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the Port of Vladivostok is a major transportation center for imports and exports.

The Port of Vladivostok is currently involved in several projects to modernize the port and increase its capacity. It is building an integrated container terminal at Berths 12 through 17 that will be managed by a single operator and will have capacity for 600 thousand TEUs by 2011. Berths 14 and 15 are the first to be reconstructed. The existing Port of Vladivostok Container Terminal will be the core of the new integrated facility.

The Port of Vladivostok is also building a vehicle terminal to handle, store, and forward automobiles and other vehicles. Cars will be distributed to Russia and other CIS countries by railway from the Port of Vladivostok. When construction is completed, the terminal will have capacity for 10 thousand units per year.

The new South Primorye Terminal will serve as a transport logistics complex serving the Russian Far East. It will have two main functions. The dry port cargo terminal will support ports of the Russian South Far East, and the warehousing accumulation and distribution center will provide high-tech integrated handling, storage, and distribution services for imports and exports with the biggest cities of the region.

Projects to create a specialized oil and oil products complex are being planned, and the Port of Vladivostok expects to handle about a million tons of oil-based cargoes per year and have capacity to store 41 thousand cubic meters.

Anticipating the 2012 APEC Summit, the Port of Vladivostok will rebuild its maritime passenger terminal to serve the expected passengers who will visit the port that year.

The City of Vladivostok is not a major tourist destination in itself. However, it is the terminals of the Trans-Siberian Railway and hosts many travelers who are beginning or ending their journeys in the Port of Vladivostok. It offers several attractions for visitors.

The Port of Vladivostok has a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate with bitterly-cold winters and warm summers. September is the most comfortable month of the year with sunshine and fair weather. Temperatures range from an average high of 23 °C (74 °F) in August to an average low of -17 °C (-1 °F) in January.

Visitors to the Port of Vladivostok will enjoy seeing Golden Horn Bay, the home of Russia's Pacific Fleet. At the water's edge, the city center has wide boulevards with ornate hundred-year-old buildings (that need cleaning and restoration). The hills around the bay are steep and support Soviet-style housing for residents.

Waterfront walks are popular with both residents and visitors, and you can see the Pacific Fleet anchored off the coast in Golden Horn Bay. While photographs are allowed, fines are not unusual. While you can't visit the ships of the fleet, you can tour the C-56 submarine, Korabelnaya nab. The interior is well-preserved, and visitors can explore the sub without supervision.

The Port of Vladivostok has several theaters. The Maxim Gorky Academic Theater hosts works by Russian and foreign playwrights, and performances are also offered at the Chamber Theater, the Pacific Navy Theatre, and the Puppet Show. The Philharmonic Society of Primorsky Krai has its own concert hall in an historic Port of Vladivostok building, and it hosts many famous musicians and actors.

The Port of Vladivostok's Museum for Primorsky Krai Regional Studies occupies several buildings downtown and contains exhibits on traditional aboriginal culture, the first settlers, and local extinct and endangered animals. Visitors can enjoy displays of stones, sea shells, coins, ship models, old books and photographs, and antique garments. Monuments throughout the Port of Vladivostok document the city's maritime history. Great day!