Since the beginning of the age of industrialization, ports have been an unchallenged portion for transporting goods. The position of international ports is a dominating factor in the ranking of the 10 largest ports in the world. It also depends on the number of standard containers handled at each port.
A standard container has a width of 2.438 meters and a length of 6.058 meters. Here is the list of the 10 largest ports in the world.
10. Rotterdam – Netherlands
Although the port of Rotterdam in the Rhine-Maas-Delta at the mouth of the Rhine is by far Europe’s largest port facility, the Port of Rotterdam only occupies the last place in the ranking of the world’s ten largest ports with approximately 12 million standard-sized containers.
9. Dubai – Dubai City
The Dubai port is the largest man-made deepwater port yet. It is located about 40 kilometres from Dubai City and was developed into an international free trade zone in the 1970s.
Here at the edge of the desert, an average of 13 million standard containers are handled.
8. Qingdao – China
As of yet, the port of Qingdao is the eighth largest port but according to predictions, the Chinese port will be the largest in the world by 2020. The port of Qingdao currently has a total of 81 berths.
More than 13 million containers are transacted each year. If it becomes the world’s largest port, it should be transacting at least 30 million standard containers per year.
7. Guangzhou – China
This Chinese port facility is ranked by experts as the third-largest Chinese economic factor after Beijing and Shanghai.
With almost 15 million containers going in and out of the port each year, it is now China’s fourth-largest port – or the number five, if Hong Kong is counted.
6. Ningbo-Zhoushan Port – China
It originated from the merger of the Chinese ports of Ningbo and Zhoushan in January 2006. Today, the port on the east coast of China handles about 15 million standard containers each year.
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5. Busan – South Korea
Relatively stable, this South Korean port occupies a middle place in the ranking of the world’s ten largest ports. Container throughput is growing steadily and currently stands at around 17 million. This port is also South Korea’s most important logistics centre.
4. Shenzhen – China
The port of Shenzhen in the south of Guangdong province is currently the second largest port in China with a container throughput of approximately 23 million standard containers.
3. Hong Kong – Hong Kong
Even in times when Hong Kong was still a British crown colony, the port of Hong Kong was the world’s most important hub for international industrial products.
Today, Hong Kong is a high-net-worth special administrative area on the south coast of China – with an average throughput of about 25 million containers. Hong Kong’s port is the third-largest port in the world.
2. Singapore – Singapore
‘Majulah Singapura’ is the motto of the smallest area state in Southeast Asia. Translated from Malay, that means ‘Forward, Singapore’.
True to this claim, the Port of Singapore has become the second-largest port in the world, with some 30 million containers handled every year.
1. Shanghai – China
Shanghai is by far the most important industrial city in the People’s Republic of China. Six major terminals and the new Yangshan Deepwater Port in Hangzhou Bay are the major portals of Chinese foreign trade and intra-coastal trade in the Port of Shanghai.
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The merger of various high-performance systems currently produces around 32 million standard containers.
If you are into the business of import-export which is relatively common in today’s world, it is worthwhile to know the best ports in the world.