Port international de Port-au-Prince
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The (
UN/LOCODE UN/LOCODE, the United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations, is a geographic coding scheme developed and maintained by United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). UN/LOCODE assigns codes to locations used in trade and transpor ...
: HTPAP) is the
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 H ...
in the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince. It suffered catastrophic damage in the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Some of docks and warehouses are operated by the government's '' Autorité Portuaire Nationale'' (APN), and some are run by private companies.


History

On 13 June 1872, a German fleet composed of SMS ''Vineta'' and SMS ''Gazelle'' seized Haitian Navy ships ''Union'' and ''Mont Organisé'' which were anchored in the port, as a means of pressure to have the Haitian government pay a 20,000 thaler debt to a German businessman. In 1906, a Haitian-American company gained a 50-year concession to manage and operate the port. In 1956, at the end of this term, the ( en, Port Administration of Port-au-Prince) was created, supervised by the Banque de la République d'Haïti (BRH). In 1973, The Port Administration became an autonomous body with the power to operate other ports; and in 1978, it was renamed the french: Autorité Portuaire Nationale ( en, National Port Authority) under Haiti's secretariat of economic affairs. The APN was given control of all of Haiti's other ports as well in 1985. On October 11, 1993, USS ''Harlan County'', carrying 200 American and Canadian troops in implementation of the Governors Island Accord, attempted to enter the port, but was met by angry crowds, denied access to the dock, and ordered to leave Haiti the next day. On October 13, the United Nations re-imposed an oil and arms embargo. In 1999, this port was believed to be "the most expensive port at which to dock and unload in the Americas", causing ships to unload in the neighbouring
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
.


7.0 magnitude 2010 earthquake

On 12 January 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck, and crippled the port. The access road to the docks buckled, and slabs of concrete rose six feet above grade. Derrick cranes were thrown into the harbour; the shipping container unloading cranes were left leaning with their bases submerged. The seawall on some slips crumbled, and quayside areas slumped sideways into the harbor, carrying shipping containers into the water. The main pier on the northern end of the port was completely destroyed, with the cranes in the water, and the terminal collapsed. The south pier was severely damaged.Washington Post
"Quake-damaged main port in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, worse off than realized"
Peter Slevin, ''28 January 2010'' (accessed 28 January 2010)
On the 19 January 2010 HNLMS ''Pelikaan'' (A804), a Royal Netherlands Navy logistic support vessel was the first ship to enter the crippled harbor. After an extensive hydrographical survey of the harbor, a route was cleared using the ship's crane and HNLMS ''Pelikaan'' could finally dock and unload its cargo and marines. On January 21 it was announced by the Dutch Ministry of Defense that HNLMS ''Pelikaan'' had finished unloading its cargo and would depart for
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Guantanamo Bay Naval Base ( es, Base Naval de la Bahía de Guantánamo), officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or NSGB, (also called GTMO, pronounced Gitmo as jargon by members of the U.S. military) is a United States military bas ...
to pick up the 20 men of Mobile Dive and Salvage Unit 2 (MDSU 2).
U.S. Defense Secretary The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The s ...
Robert Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by president George W. Bush a ...
announced on 20 January 2010 the dispatch of a port clearance ship with cranes to help the port become operational again. On 21 January 2010, French vessel '' Francis Garnier'' moored to the damaged pier, although this is considered unsafe by US military divers. On 27 January 2010, it was discovered that the south pier was more damaged than initially appeared, and cannot be used safely. It had previously been used by one ship at a time, unloading one container at a time, gingerly. The port is continued to be used by military landing craft of the type used in amphibious warfare to force a beachhead from a seaborne invasion. As of 24 February 2010, the port had ramped up to handle container traffic around 600 containers a day, despite still having infrastructure damage. This is in excess of the 250 containers a day that it had been handling before the quake. The functioning of the port allows increased aid shipments arriving in-country.The Gazette (Montreal)
"Haiti port capacity boosted, repairs advancing"
Pascal Fletcher, 24 February 2010 (accessed 1 March 2010)


Facilities

Before the 2010 earthquake, the facilities of the port were as follows: *Number of berths: 7 *Two Ro-Ro berths: one 14 metres wide; the other 29 metres wide *Total length of berths: 1,250 metres *Depth of water alongside: 8 to 10 metres *One gantry crane of 30 tonnes capacity *One 33 tonne capacity forklift *Six other forklifts with capacities between 3 and 7 tonnes *Sixteen truck trailers *Eight flatbeds for moving containers *Fifteen chassis Also, there were these private quays in the bay of Port-au-Prince: The bay has 11 buoys:


See also

*
Killick Killick (formerly the Admiral Killick Haitian Navy base;''Washington Post''"Coast Guard cutter delivers medical supplies, help; 'we saved a lot of lives'"Spencer S. Hsu, 15 January 2010 (accessed 22 January 2010)'' also called Point Killick'') i ...


References


External links

* Washington Post
"Structural damage in Port-au-Prince hampers relief efforts"
— Description of damage to the harbor {{2010 Haiti earthquake Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince 2010 Haiti earthquake relief