The Port of Benghazi is a major

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

in the city of

Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη (''Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghazi ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

, on the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

coast within the

Gulf of Sidra The Gulf of Sidra ( ar, خليج السدرة, Khalij as-Sidra, also known as the Gulf of Sirte ( ar, خليج سرت, Khalij Surt, is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya, named after the oil port of Sidra or ...

History

A natural seaport, it was founded as

Euesperides Libya's second largest city, Benghazi, has a history which extends from when the city was first inhabited in the 6th century BCE to the present day. Throughout its history, the city has been continuously conquered by different ancient and colonial f ...

by the

ancient Greeks Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cultu ...

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...

in the 6th century BC. After passing it to the

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...

Ptolemy III, it was renamed Berenice to honor his wife. The city's current name honors benefactor Ghazi. From the third century onwards, it surpassed Barce and Cyrene as the region's main center. Under the kings of Libya, it was a joint capital with

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

, resulting today in state level institutions being located in the second city. This resulted in a rivalry, which being located in different tribal districts, was only intensified. Following a period of slow decline, it was redeveloped after occupation by the

Italians , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...

in 1912, until the start of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Western Desert campaign from 1942. This resulted in it becoming a hub in the eastern part of the

Italian Libya Railways Italian Libya Railways was a group of small railways built in the Italian colony of Libya between the two World Wars. History The Kingdom of Italy built in Italian Libya nearly 400 km of railways with gauge. Projects The Italian authorit ...

, connecting it inland to Soluch and Barce. The port was subject to heavy damage in World War II, as it moved between

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

and

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

control five times. The

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

finally took the Port of Benghazi in 1942, during the

Battle of El Agheila The Battle of El Agheila was a brief engagement of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. It took place in December 1942 between Allied forces of the Eighth Army (General Bernard Montgomery) and the Axis forces of the German-Ita ...

Present

Today the Port of Benghazi is run and owned by the state-owned Socialist Ports Company. It has been developed as a modern port with associated and linked manufacturing and industrial facilities. The port facility itself serves general, bulk cargoes and containers, handled through eight transit sheds covering . Major exports include wool, hides, sheep and goats, hair fabrics, and wool rugs. Important imports include foodstuffs, textiles, pottery, tobacco, and chemical products. Industries developed within the port include oil refining, food and salt processing, cement manufacturing, fishing, brewing, and tanning. The port is also the location of one of the biggest

water desalination Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in soil desalination, which is an issue for agriculture. Saltw ...

plants in the world.

Facilities

Accommodating vessels of up to long with drafts of up to , the port has six main berths:Port of Benghazi at World Port Source
/ref> *Inner harbour: 3 berths at Rasif Libya Wharf and Rasif Juliana Wharf, total in length. Can handle

roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...

, with two dedicated tanker berths: **Rasif Libya, depth of **Rasif Juliana, depth of . An extension buoy can handle vessels to with drafts of up to *Outer harbor: 3 berths, in length, depth of Work is underway to add of additional quay and related facilities.

Access

The two approaches to the port are from the southwest and north. Strong westerly winds during the winter cause heavy seas, that make anchorage in the tidal range dangerous.

Transport access

After the railways developed by the Italians fell into disrepair, the major transport routes to and from the port are either accessed by sea or major

dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

roads. Air access is via

Benina International Airport Benina International Airport ( ar, مطار بنينة الدولي) serves Benghazi, Libya. It is located in the borough of Benina, 19 kilometres (12 mi) east of Benghazi, from which it takes its name. The airport is operated by the Civil ...

References

External links

Port of Benghazi at World Port Source
{{Coord, 32, 6, 33, N, 20, 2, 51, E, display=title Buildings and structures in Benghazi

Italian Libya Cyrenaica