PORT STRUCTURE

AND FUNCTIONS
Unit - 1
What is a port and harbour ?
◦ A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbours where ships can
dock and transfer people or cargo to the land or from the land.
◦ A port is a place on the coast that facilitates loading and unloading cargo. 

◦  harbour is a sheltered area of the sea in which vessels could be launched, built or taken for
repair; or could seek refuge in time of storm; or provide for loading and unloading of
cargo and passengers.
Types of Ports :
◦ Inland port
◦ Fishing port
◦ Dry port
◦ Warm-water port
◦ Seaport 
INLAND PORTS
◦ An inland port is a port on a lake, river or
canal with access to a sea or ocean, which
therefore allows a ship to sail from the
ocean to inland for loading or unloading its
cargo. Example: St. Lawrence Seaway which
allows ships to travel from the Atlantic Ocean
several thousand kilometers inland to Great
Lakes ports like Duluth- Superior and
Chicago.
FISHING PORTS
◦ It is a port for landing and distributing
fish. It may be a recreational facility, but
it is usually commercial.
Example: mangalore bunder
DRY PORT
◦ A dry port is an inland intermodal terminal
directly connected by road or rail to a
seaport and operating as a centre for the
transshipment of sea cargo to inland
destinations. Example: NMPT, Mangalore
WARM WATER PORTS
◦ A warm-water port is one where the
water does not freeze in wintertime as
they are available throughout the year.
Example: Petropavlovsky
in Russia
SEA PORTS
A seaport is a port accessible to a seacoast and providing accommodation for seagoing vessels. A
seaport is further categorized as a
◦ cruise port : Cruise port is the port where cruise-ship passengers board to start their cruise and end
the cruise ship at the end of their cruise
◦ cargo port : Cargo ports are the port where cargo and large shipments are loaded and unloaded to
ships or vessel.
TYPES OF HARBOURS
◦ Natural harbours
◦ Semi natural harbours
◦ Artificial harbours
NATURAL HARBOURS
◦ A natural harbor is a landform where a
section of a body of water is protected by
the land and deep enough to allow
anchorage.

◦ Natural harbors occur where land and water

converges in such a way as to protect ships
from wind and waves as they enter and
dock. 
SEMI NATURAL HARBOURS
◦  This type of harbour is protected on sides by
headlands protection and it requires man-
made protection only at the entrance.
ARTIFICIAL HARBOURS
◦ Artificial or man -made harbours
are constructed by dredging and
erecting a wall against the sea along the
coastline.
FEATURES OF PORTS
◦ Ports are important interfaces in the supply chain between sea and land transportation
◦ Ports reflect national heritage & local commercial attitudes
◦ Ports require long-term, expensive, and specialized investments and resources that
represent a part of national economy
◦ Ports are large civil engineering undertakings and a collection of activities which
minimizes cost compared to other means of transport
IMPORTANCE OF PORTS
◦ Ports provide facilities for berthing and anchoring ships 
◦ Ports serve as the prominent network for road and rail transportation
◦ Ports provides equipment for transfer of goods from ship-shore, shore-ship & ship-ship.
◦ Ports function as distribution centres
◦ Ports function as industrial zones
◦ Ports acts as the energy supply bases
◦ Ports facilitates in development of trading centers with banks, brokers, and traders
◦ Fosters urbanization and city redevelopment centers
◦ Acts as the cruise passenger ship terminals & private yacht marinas
FUNCTIONS OF PORTS
◦ To ensure safety for seagoing vessels entering, operation in and leaving the port
◦ To provide facilities and equipment necessary for seagoing vessels to anchor, load and unload cargo,
and embark and disembark passengers
◦ To provide cargo transportation, loading and unloading, warehousing and preservation service in
the port
◦ To provide shelter, repair, maintenance of necessary services to seagoing vessels and other crafts in
emergency cases
◦ To provide other services to seagoing vessels, people and cargo
ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS OF PORTS
◦ Maintainence of proper inflow and outflow o goods
◦ Control of all modes of vehicles entering and leaving the port
◦ Fosters Environmental control
◦ Avoid Dangerous and hazardous cargo
◦ Ensures Safety and security within the port area
◦ Maintains the functions like Immigration, health, customs, and commercial documentary
control
OPERATIONAL FUNCTIONS OF PORTS
◦ Facilitating arrival and departure of ships
◦ Providing navigational aids and Vessel Traffic Separation (VTS: it is an essential shore-based
system to ensure safety and efficiency of vessel traffic in national waters) facilities
◦ Pilotage, tugging and mooring activities 
◦ Controls proper usage of berths, sheds, etc 
◦ Loading, discharging, storage and distribution of cargo
◦ Facilitating supply chain logistics and management
SERVICES AND FACILITIES FOR SHIPS IN
PORTS
◦ Pilotage (The act carried out by a pilot of assisting the master of a ship in navigation when entering or
leaving a port.)
◦ Tugs (A tug or more commonly a tugboat is a secondary boat which helps in mooring or berthing
operation of a ship by either towing or pushing a vessel towards the port.)
◦ Boatmen (helpers involving various shipping operations in the port)
◦ Waste collectors
◦ Bunkering conventional fuels
◦ LNG bunkering in the port (LNG Bunkering is the practice of providing liquefied natural gas fuel to
a ship for its own consumption.)
◦ Medical services
CARGO TRANSFER
◦ The transfer of shipments or goods from ship to land or land to ship or ship to ship shall
be termed as cargo transfer.

Types
◦ Ship – shore
◦ Shore – ship
◦ Ship – ship
SHIP TO SHIP TRANSFER
◦ ship-to-ship (STS) transfer operation is the
transfer of cargo between seagoing ships
positioned alongside each other, either while
stationary or underway
◦ Cargoes typically transferred via STS methods
include crude oil, liquefied gas (LPG or LNG
), bulk cargo, and petroleum products.
  PHASES OF A STS TRANSFER OPERATION
◦ Pre-arrival planning : STS management, ship compatibility,
transfer area & coastal State requirements, STS equipment.
◦ Arrival : control of operation, communications, safety issues &
emergencies, navigational issues.
◦ Berthing : Maneuvering alongside, maneuver control, mooring
arrangement, weather considerations
◦ Transfer : of cargo Pre-transfer procedure, cargo transfer,
operations after completion of cargo transfer
◦ Departure : unmooring plan, unmooring procedures and
unberthing procedure, report to Authorities, record the operation
SHIP TO SHORE TRANSFER
◦ ship-to-shore transfer operation is the
transfer of cargo between ship and shore while
vessel is stationary.

◦ Pre-arrival
◦ Arrival
◦ Berthing
◦ Transfer (loading and unloading)
◦ Departure
Stakeholders in Port Authority
◦ Stakeholders :
individual or group that
has an interest in any
decision or activity of an
organization.
Port health organisation
◦ Port health organization is government
medical organization which ensures the
control of international spread of various
diseases from one country to another and also
to maintain port health & cleanliness in and
along side the port.
Resposibilities and duties of PHO (functions)
◦ Inspection of ship/vessels, baggage, cargo, containers, goods, postal parcels and human remains
from departing and arriving ships/vessels, so that they are maintained in such a condition that they are
free of sources of infection or contamination
◦ Health screening and medical examination of travellers for yellow fever disease.
◦ Supervision and coordination of measures so that facilities used by travellers at points of entry are
maintained in a sanitary condition and are kept free of sources of infection or contamination
◦ Responsible for the supervision of any deratting, disinfection, disinsection or decontamination of
baggage, cargo, containers, conveyances, goods, postal parcels and human remains or sanitary
measures for persons
◦ Responsible for the supervision of the removal and safe disposal of any contaminated water or
food, human or animal waste, waste water and any other contaminated matter
◦ Take all practicable measures consistent with the Indian Port Health Rules
◦ Responsible for coordinating additional health measures at the port as decided by the Central
Government in the event of PHEIC like passenger screening, isolation & quarantine, contact listing,
aircraft disinsection, transportation, arranging logistics for various public health measures etc
◦ Implementation of Food Safety and Standard Act,(FSSA)-2006 & Food Safety and Standards
(Packing and labelling Regulations, (FSSR)-2011 by assisting the Customs department for clearance
of imported food and acting as Local Health Authority for Food catering Units in Local Port Areas.