The shipping industry plays an essential role in stabilizing the economic growth of a country. This industry is growing speedily because of the massive increase in the import and export of goods. Different means of transportation are used for importing and exporting goods.
In the shipping industry, some common terminologies are terminal, port, harbor, quay, pier berth, and jetty. Everyone connected with the shipping industry needs to know about these terminologies. You may suffer a heavy loss if you don’t have clear concepts about shipping’s different terminologies.
Besides other terminologies, Port and Terminal are widely used words. Most of us don’t know the difference between a port and a terminal. In this blog post, we’ll learn about these two terms.
What is a Port?
The landed area where boats and cargo took shelter is known as a port. A port acts as a point of trade where freight movements are negotiated. In other words, the port is vital in facilitating the consumers within the harbor where a ship is parked for commercial use. Different activities of cargo shipment, i.e., offloading of goods and management of cargo or fixing different problems of the shipments or loading of passengers, took place at the port.
Various activities of different businesses took place at a port in a safe environment. Port wonderfully plays an essential role in the land and sea boundary. In other words, a port acts as a meeting point where trains, trucks, or ships arrive to offload cargo and passengers. It is where exported products get loaded into the ship or picked up as cargo off a ship.
Different countries have their ports along the rivers. At ports, all activities are done under administration. Port Authority is responsible for keeping the prices and all activities under control. It is also responsible for giving goods safety surety. Besides this, the port authority is responsible for all the construction and maintenance aspects of the ports’ international trade and transportation.
Types of Ports:
There are various types of ports depending on the goods. The most famous ports are:
- Fishing port
- Inland port
- Dry port
- Seaport
- Warm water port
Benefits of Ports:
Ports in any country offer several benefits and play an essential role in growing that country’s economy. The benefits of ports are:
A country with ports is considered the most developed country because thousands of laborers are directly connected with ports. At ports, there remains a need for workers to offload cargo. Bulky and oversized cargoes take weeks to move to a ship. Therefore, there always remains a need for more and more workers for fast and efficient work. Hence, ports offer employment opportunities to many laborers to get food for their families.
Economic & Social Development:
There is no doubt that ports play a vital role in stabilizing the economic growth of any country. Also, ports help to boost social links between the two countries during international trade. If a country has more ports, it has stable and strong social links with the neighboring countries. In this, the country’s GDP boosts in a brief time.
A Major Trade Point:
A port is an important trade center for a country. Different producers and consumers meet at ports for their trading purposes. Also, ports act as the best negotiation platform for traders by using various modes of technology.
What is a Terminal?
A terminal is where passengers and goods are loaded and unloaded. This is a place on a seaport where all types of offloading are done. There are many terminals on a seaport where the transfer of shipments smoothly takes place. At terminals, goods are transferred from semi-trucks/containers onto delivery trucks or vans to reach their last destination. Terminals have storage places too, where cargo gets stored. Different types of activities, i.e., cargo and customs officials checking documents, took place at terminals.
Benefits of a Terminal:
The useful benefits of terminals are as follows:
Useful Boundary:
A terminal is a boundary between clients, port officials, and government agencies.
Identify Illegal Activities:
Terminal plays a vital role in identifying all illegal activities because customs clearance and verification of documents take place at terminals.
The distinction between a Port and A Terminal:
A port is a station for performing various international trade activities, i.e., loading and unloading cargoes.
Conversely, a terminal is a checkpoint on a port where shipments are carefully inspected and documented.
A port is a central station where all terminals may present. It provides shelter for cargo, ships, boats, and port officials.
Terminals are specific places for particular activities of shipments. There may be various terminals in one port according to the goods, i.e., oil and gas, construction material, automobiles, crude oil, and so forth
Conclusion:
Ports and terminals have specific importance, and trading activities are impossible without their presence. They both play a role in boosting relations with neighboring countries and stabilizing the economy of a particular country. Therefore, all developed countries focus on making their ports and terminals innovatively.