Port Port A port is a maritime commercial facility which may comprise one or more wharves where ships may dock to load and discharge passengers and cargo. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, some ports, such as Hamburg, Manchester and Duluth, are many miles inland, with access from the sea via river or canal. Today, by far the greatest growth in port development is in Asia, the continent with some of the world's largest and busiest ports, such as Singapore and the Chinese ports of Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan. Whenever ancient civilisations engaged in maritime trade, they tended to
Inland port Inland port An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the ocean. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port, which is an inland extension of a seaport, usually connected by rail to the docks. This article covers only ports that are covered by the first definition. The United States Army Corps of Engineers publishes a list of such locations and for this purpose states that "inland ports" are ports that are located on rivers and do not