All the great travelers went on the farthest journeys with the sole purpose of finding new trade routes, at the same time discovering new lands. And today, most of the cargo is transported precisely by sea vessels. Even today, this is the cheapest and most reliable way to deliver goods to the consumer. Therefore, each country seeks to have its own access to the sea and develop shipping. But where is the largest port in the world? 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. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of goods are exported annually from the republic, and, of course, most of them are transported by sea vessels. 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 TEU per year.
It is worth noting separately among all these ports 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 successful location and the development of China's trade relations with the rest of the world. In fact, after Beijing, these are the 2 largest industrial and economic centers 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 held 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, he did not lose his relevance. At least 31.7 million containers are shipped annually at this port. This is only 3% less than the leader of the rating. And all thanks to a good location at the intersection of trade routes in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. And the port of Singapore itself is striking in its scope. On an area of more than 600 hectares, more than 50 container berths and 172 cargo cranes are located. 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, another 3 ports included in the top ten are 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. Its throughput is increasing annually, including through the exchange of experience with Chinese and Singaporean colleagues. Today, its cargo turnover is a little more than 22 million containers per year.
But the port in Dubai, unfortunately, is only losing its position and occupying 9th place. Most of its cargo is oil and its refined products. But bad management and a number of risky operations put him on 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 under the name "World's Largest Port" Rotterdam in the Netherlands. This only European port on our list ships more than 10 million containers annually. An interesting fact is that 20 years ago he held higher positions, but with the development of trade and economic ties with Asian countries ceased to be so popular. However, its role for the development of European countries should not be minimized. Moreover, other European ports have not been included in the top twenty for a long time.
And what about Russia?
Despite the fact that the length of the sea borders of Russia is about 40 thousand kilometers (2/3 of the total), not one of the largest ports in the world is 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 large maritime nodes of the Russian Federation, such as Khabarovsk, Nakhodka, Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg, have even less throughput. It is worth noting that their role for the state is much greater than for the global economy as a whole.