Mina Salman ( Arabic: ميناء سلمان ) is a seaport located in Manama, Bahrain. Mina Salman was a natural harbour prior to the establishment in 1962 of the port covering 80 hectares. It is the primary cargo port and customs point of Bahrain. The port has 15 container berths, enabling it to handle 2.5 million tonnes a year. The port is part of the Maritime

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...

that runs from the Chinese coast to the south via the southern tip of India to Mombasa, from there through the Red Sea via the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub of Trieste with its rail connections to Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the North Sea.

Naming

The port is named after Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa I, the grandfather of the current King.

History

The Manama harbour, where Mina Salman is now located, was first mentioned in

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

ic texts that have been dated to 1345 AD. The area was occupied in 1521 by the Portuguese, and the Persians gained control in 1602. The current Al Khalifa dynasty have ruled the country since 1783. The harbour was not suitable for

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

s, with reports of ships having to anchor up to 6 km offshore. Approach channels were built in 1954, and a pier was built in 1956, which was mainly used by dhows. In 1958, it became a free port and in 1962, a deep water wharf composed of six berths was constructed. The wharf allowed cargo to be directly loaded onto the port for the first time. In the 1960s, the port had refrigeration, storage facilities and equipment for handling large ships. In 1975, 1.5 million tonnes of cargo was handled in the port, which led to severe overcrowding. This led the Bahraini government to launch a series of expansions in the next decade, including the opening of the ''Mina Salman Container Terminal'' in 1979. The port was also the only port in the Persian Gulf to be completely operated by citizens, rather than foreign workers. Over 75% of the port's cargo is

containerised Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the pro ...

. On 6 December 2014, the United Kingdom's Defence Secretary Michael Fallon announced that an agreement had been signed with Bahrain to establish a permanent Royal Navy base at Mina Salman,

HMS Jufair The United Kingdom Naval Support Facility is a Royal Navy base established in Bahrain on 13 April 1935, as part of the port at Mina Salman. In 1950, the United States Navy leased space in HMS ''Jufair'' and following Bahraini independence in 1971 ...

. The new base would serve to support Royal Navy ships operating in the Persian Gulf, in addition to the Royal Navy mine hunter force already based in Bahrain. Work began on construction in October 2015. On 5 April 2018, the UK Naval Support Facility was officially opened by Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Britain's Prince Andrew.

Facilities

The port consists of an 800m finger pier, which comprises 10 berths. Three additional 200m conventional berths are located next to the finger pier and two 300m container berths with a depth of 11m. An Outer arm quay of 285m, alongside a 7m depth draught and storage space consists of 10 sheds plus additional open storage and container storage areas totaling 538,000m sq, are present. The cargo handling area covers an area of 60,000m sq.

References

{{reflist 1962 establishments in Bahrain Ports and harbours of Bahrain Ports and harbours of the Arab League Transport in the Arab League Manama