| Port of Naples | |
|---|---|
| Harbour | |
| Location | |
| Country | Italy |
| Location | Naples |
| Details | |
| Owned by | Port Authority of Naples |
| Type of harbor | Natural/Artificial |
| Size of harbor | 266 ha (2.66 sq km) |
| Land area | 142.6 ha (1.426 sq km) |
| Size | 408.6 ha (4.086 sq km) |
| Available berths | 38 |
| Wharfs | 75 |
| Employees | 4,866[1] (2007) |
| General manager | Antonio Del Mese |
| Statistics | |
| Vessel arrivals | 63,788 vessels (2008)[2] |
| Annual cargo tonnage | 20,269,163 tonnes (2007)[3] |
| Annual container volume | 460,812 TEU's (2007)[4] |
| Passenger traffic | 8,988,056 people (2007) |
| Annual revenue | US$ 950 million (2007)[5] |
| Net income | US$ 253 million (2007)[6] |
| Website | www.porto.napoli.it |
Port of Naples is one of the largest Italian seaports and one of the largest seaports in the Mediterranean Sea basin having an annual traffic capacity of around 25 million tons of cargo and 500,000 TEU's.
The port is also an important employer in the area having more than 4,800 employees that provide services to more than 64,000 ships every year.
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The foundation of Naples and its port dates back to the period of Greek colonisation; in the ninth century B.C. a group of sailors from Rhodes reached this part of the coast of Italy and, between the seventh and sixth centuries B.C., the Greek colony was founded on the Acropolis of Pizzofalcone.[7]
In 475 BC the inhabitants of Cumae founded Neapolis (new city) in the eastern part of the original city. As a mainly military port in Greek and Roman times, the Port of Naples gradually became more open to sea traffic and grew in importance.[8]
It was under Norman rule that the port enjoyed a period of great splendour becoming the only one of the Italian marine republics to join the famous Lega della Compagnia, known as the Hanseatic cities. However, it was with the Anjovins in the second half of the thirteenth century, and in particular during the reign of Charles I of Naples, that the port expanded and it acquired new buildings, while the city became the most heavily populated and admired city in Europe. The fortification of the port and the construction of warehouses, storage depots and factories continued under Catalan-Aragonese rule (fifteenth century) and under the Spanish viceroy.[9]
It was not until the dynasty of the Bourbons (eighteenth century) that the port became established as one of the most well-equipped and strongest in Europe and the city became one of the great European capitals alongside Paris and London. Indeed, it was under the Bourbons that the arsenal became an enormous shipyard and the day of September 27, 1818 saw the launch of the Real Ferdiando I, the first steamship of the Mediterranean Sea.[10]
The Port of Naples is situated in the centre of Naples, very close to the extremely central Piazza Municipio, 10 mins from Piazza Garibaldi ( FS and MN terminals) and 15 km from Naples Airport.
In 2007 the Port of Naples handled 20,269,163 tonnes of cargo and 460,812 TEU's making it one of the busiest cargo ports in Italy and one of the largest container ports in the country.[11]
| Year | 2007 |
|---|---|
| RoRo* | 7,135,851 |
| Liquid bulk* | 4,454,580 |
| Dry bulk* | 4,705,940 |
| Nr of passengers | 8,988,056 |
| Containers (TEU's) | 560,812 |
| Containers* | 3,972,792 |
| Total*' | 20,269,163 |
The terminal has a storage capacity of 1,336,000 m2, 70 mooring places, 11.5 km of docks and an annual traffic capacity of around 500,000 TEU's. [13]
The commercial cargo section of the port has four terminals: one for timber, one for cellulose and two for cereals with a total storage area of 75,000 m2 (35,000 sq m for timber and cellulose and 40,000 sq m for cereals).[14]
The Port of Naples has one RoRo terminal with a total length of 850 m, a land area of 120,000 m2, storage capacity of 8,000 cars and a transshipment capacity of 900,000 units per year. The daily traffic with Sicily alone is 700 vehicles per day.[15]
In 2007 the RoRo terminal handled 370,000 trucks and 475,000 cars.[16]
The Port of Naples is one of the largest passenger ports in Italy and one of the largest passenger ports in Europe with a total traffic of 8,988,056 people in 2007.[17]
The cruise terminal has ten mooring places, seven mobile walkways, 12 computerised check-in desks and an annual traffic capacity of around 1.5 million passengers.[18]
The shipyards are an important part of the Port of Naples. The structures of the ports shipyards consist of 3 brick-built docks and 4 floating docks.
The sector involves four large companies and 60 small workshops which undertake ship repairs, that have a total number of 2,000 employees and a turnover over US$ 200 million.[19]