Where is the largest port in the world? Rating and interesting facts about seaports

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

All great travelers went on the most distant wanderings with the sole purpose of finding new trade routes, at the same time discovering new lands. And today, most of the cargo is transported by sea vessels. Even today, it is the cheapest and most reliable way to deliver goods to the consumer. Therefore, each country strives to have its own outlets to the sea and develop shipping. But where is the largest port in the world located? What does it depend on and why did it happen?

Seaports of China

More than half of the top ten ports are in China. And this is not an accident. Today there is no country that does not have trade relations with China. Every year, goods worth hundreds of millions of dollars are exported from the republic, and, of course, most of them are transported by sea. If you look at the largest ports in the world on the map, most of them are located on the east coast of China. These are Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Ningbo, Guangzhou, Qingdao and Tianjin. Their total cargo turnover is more than 100 million per year. TEU.

Worth noting among all these ports is Shanghai and Hong Kong. For quite a long time in the ranking of "The largest port in the world" they occupy the first and third places, respectively. This is due, first of all, to their favorable location and the development of trade relations between the Celestial Empire and the rest of the world. In fact, after Beijing, this is the 2 largest industrial and economic center in China. In addition, Hong Kong is in a special position and has a number of tax benefits, which contributes to the development of international economic relations.

Singapore is another major port in Asia

Until 2010, Singapore proudly bore the title of "the largest port in the world." However, today it occupies an honorable second place, second only to Shanghai in terms of cargo turnover. Despite this, it has not lost its relevance. At least 31.7 million containers are shipped from this port every year. This is only 3% less than the leader of the rating. And all thanks to the successful location at the intersection of trade sea routes in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. And the port of Singapore itself is striking in its scope. More than 50 container berths and 172 cargo cranes are located on an area of more than 600 hectares. And this despite the fact that the population of the country slightly exceeds 5 million people.

Where else?

Of course, the largest seaports in the world are located not only in China and Singapore. So, 3 more ports included in the top ten are located in the UAE (Dubai), South Korea (Busan) and the Netherlands(Rotterdam). South Korean Busan occupies a worthy fifth place in the ranking, and, according to the leadership of this country, this is not the limit of its capabilities. Every year, its throughput increases, including through the exchange of experience with Chinese and Singaporean colleagues. Today, its cargo turnover is just over 22 million containers a year.

But the port in Dubai, unfortunately, only loses its position and takes 9th place. Most of its cargo is oil and products of its processing. But poor management and a series of risky operations brought him to the brink of bankruptcy. Today, the UAE authorities (the state owns most of the port) are trying to restore its position on the world stage by issuing shares on the London Stock Exchange and developing economic relations.

Closes the same rating called "The largest port in the world" Rotterdam in the Netherlands. This single European port on our list handles over 10 million containers a year. An interesting fact is that 20 years ago it occupied a higher position, but with the development of trade and economic ties with Asian countries, it ceased to be so popular. However, its role for the development of European countries should not be underestimated. Moreover, other European ports have not even been included in the top twenty for quite a long time.

And what about in Russia?

Despite the fact that the length of Russia's maritime borders is about 40 thousand kilometers (this is 2/3 of the total), not a singlethe largest port in the world is not located on the domestic coast. The largest port in Novorossiysk handles no more than 1 million containers per year and is not even included in the TOP-20. Other major sea hubs of the Russian Federation, such as Khabarovsk, Nakhodka, Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg, have even less capacity. It is worth noting that their role for the state is much greater than for the world economy as a whole.