Ports have been in use since ancient times, the emergence of ports as gateways of international trade became important after the coming of the European traders and colonisation of the country by the British. This led to the variation in the size and quality of ports. There are some ports which have vast area of influence and some have limited area of influence. The major ports handle larger share of the total traffic.
The British used the ports as suction points of the resources from their hinterlands. The extension of railways towards the interior facilitated the linking of the local markets to regional markets, regional markets to national markets and national markets to the international markets. Cargoes and travellers pass from one part of the world to another through these ports. The sea ports provide facilities of docking, loading, unloading and the storage facilities for cargo. In order to provide these facilities, the port authorities make arrangements for maintaining navigable channels, arranging tugs and barges, and providing labour and managerial services. The importance of a port is judged by the size of cargo and the number of ships handled. The quantity of cargo handled by a port is an indicator of the level of development of its hinterland.
a. List the facilities provided by a sea port.
b. Name two factors that decide the importance of sea port.
c. Why are the sea ports considered as chief gateways of international trade?