Question.
How are ports helpful for trade? Give a classification of ports on the basis of their location.
(Class 12 geography, Fundamentals of Human Geography, Chapter 9. International Trade )
Answer.
Ports are helpful for trade in the following ways:
Ports are important components and nodes of seawater transport as they provide facilities like docking, loading, unloading, and storage facilities of cargo. Apart from the movement of goods, the ports also facilitate the movement of passengers through seawater.
Ports are considered the gateway of international trade as most of the international trade of coastal countries is done through ports.
In general, coastal countries are more prosperous than non-coastal countries because they have ports for international trade.
The importance of ports is judged by the size of the cargo and the number of vessels they handle.
The volume of cargo handled by the port is an indicator of the level of development of its hinterland; The greater the development of the hinterland, the greater will be the volume of trade. For example, the interior of Mumbai port is more developed than Paradip port (Orissa); That is why the volume of Mumbai Port is higher than that of Paradip Port.
Ports can be classified on many bases like location, size, functions, etc. There are following three types of ports on the basis of their location:
- Inland port
- outer port
- Origin port (we call it simply port, eg Mumbai port, which is located near the sea coast)
Inland Ports:
Inland ports are located away from the coast and are usually connected to the sea through rivers or canals.
Such ports provide access to flat-bottomed vessels only.
Examples of inland ports are:
Manchester Port (United Kingdom); It is on the Manchester Ship Canal which is usually an estuary.
The Port of Memphis in the United States is on the Mississippi River.
Mannheim and Duisburg in Germany are located on the Pattnarain River.
The Kolkata port of India is situated on the Hooghly River (the distributary of the Ganges River).
Outer Port:
Outer ports are deepwater ports that are built away from the original port and they serve the original port (actual port) as larger ships are unable to reach the origin port.
For example, the external port of Athens (Greece) is Piraeus.
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