Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms

Difference Between

Home / Countries / Geography / Difference Between Harbour and Port

Difference Between Harbour and Port

May 19, 2011 Posted by Olivia

Harbour vs Port

Most of us have heard about harbours and ports and think we know what they are. Though they may serve similar purposes, there are many differences between a harbor and port that will be talked about in this article. Ports are commercial places along the coastline that are used for import and export of goods and cargo from one country to another. One can relate a port with an airport where airplanes arrive and depart. On the other hand, a harbour can be a man made or a natural feature connecting a piece of land with a large water body that is mainly used to provide shelter to ships and vessels from bad weather. Harbours are used for safe anchorage of ships. Natural harbours are surrounded by land on most sides but have an entrance point to the sea.

When harbours are artificially created, they serve as ports. In ancient times, places that had natural harbours were of strategic importance for the purpose of trade between countries. These were the places where some of the most important cities were built in those times. Ports are mostly manmade, and their location along the coastline is chosen where the water is navigable and also close to land facilities and infrastructure. There are cases where ports have been lost because of coastal erosion.

One point to remember is that ports are built inside harbours but there are harbours not used as ports also. The major purpose served by ports is loading and unloading of cargo ships while harbour is utilized mainly for providing safe parking or anchorage to ships. Ports are commercial entities and are very large having many facilities like buildings and warehouses for storing goods after unloading the ships and a well built transport system like a railway or roads to carry goods deep inside the country after their arrival and unloading on the port.

In brief:

Harbor vs Port

• While a harbour and a port may look like similar structures along a coastline, they serve different purposes

• A harbour is either natural or manmade

• Ports are mostly manmade and are bigger and have many facilities

• Harbours provide safe anchorage to ships in conditions of bad weather

• Ports are mainly used for loading and unloading of ships.

Related posts:

Difference Between a Basin and a ValleyDifference Between a Basin and a Valley Difference Between Pacific Time and Eastern TimeDifference Between Pacific Time and Eastern Time Difference Between Freight Forwarder and Broker Difference Between Earthquake Magnitude and Intensity Difference Between CST and ISTDifference Between CST and IST

Filed Under: Geography Tagged With: anchorage of ships, Cargo, harbor, harbor and port, harbors, harbour, Natural harbors, Natural harbours, Port, port and habour, port and harbor, port and harbour, ports, purpose of harbors, purpose of harbours, purpose of ports, shelter to ships and vessels

About the Author: Olivia

Olivia is a Graduate in Electronic Engineering with HR, Training & Development background and has over 15 years of field experience.

Comments

  1. meena says

    January 24, 2014 at 11:33 am

    This website gives me good answers and helps me to solve my assignment. So, thank you very-very much. # #
    I
    ********

    Reply
  2. Cobalt Blue says

    May 6, 2014 at 1:02 am

    Thank you! Much help on homework 😀

    Reply
  3. Dr. sanjay kumar says

    October 20, 2017 at 3:04 pm

    Thank you!!! I can understand the difference between the two of them easily without any confusion

    Reply
  4. Okey says

    April 11, 2018 at 3:13 pm

    This is apt and direct, with this explanation,
    I am guided

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Request Article

Featured Posts

Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms

Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms

Difference Between Coronavirus and SARS

Difference Between Coronavirus and SARS

Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza

Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza

Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19

Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19

You May Like

Difference Between DPI and PPI

Difference Between Semaphore and Mutex

Difference Between Phosphine and Phosgene

Difference Between Phosphine and Phosgene

Difference Between Microglia and Macroglia

Difference Between Microglia and Macroglia

What is the Difference Between Atelectasis and Pneumonia

What is the Difference Between Atelectasis and Pneumonia

Latest Posts

  • What is the Difference Between Foundation and BB Cream
  • What is the Difference Between Cybrids and Hybrids
  • What is the Difference Between Hapten and Adjuvant
  • What is the Difference Between Omphalocele and Gastroschisis
  • What is the Difference Between Autonomic and Somatic Reflexes
  • What is the Difference Between Plagiocephaly and Craniosynostosis
  • Home
  • Vacancies
  • About
  • Request Article
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2010-2018 Difference Between. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy: Legal.