Port of Odessa: basic information, history, port activity

A lot of ports exist in the world. They began to appear many centuries ago, when the most convenient means of transportation were sea routes. They were used primarily for trade, and only later for travel. Of course, such movements were not always safe. But there could be no other ways. Sea voyages have always been shrouded in romance and various fascinating stories. It would seem that over the years the relevance of shipping is gradually declining. However, this is not at all the case. Currently, there are many sea knots, among which the Odessa port is especially prominent. In this article, it will be about this object, its history and features.

Odessa port: basic information

Now we should understand what the sea knot represents. To begin with, you should give a general description of it and tell you about the importance it has for modernity. So, the Odessa sea port is a large object, it can even be said, the sea gate on the Black Sea coast. It is characterized as one of the largest trade hubs that has an important international status. It is located, as already mentioned above, on the coast, in the Odessa Gulf. Separately, it should be noted that the port includes one of the largest passenger terminals in Europe. And in this part can compete with the largest sea nodes of the world.

When did he appear?

Many are interested in the question of when the Odessa port was built. The beginning of construction refers to the end of the XVIII century, to be exact, by 1794. Of course, the facility was not built in one year. Approximately in 1905 he got a look, close to his current appearance. If you turn to the history of the Russian Empire, the port of Odessa took the second place in terms of turnover of various goods. According to these indicators at that time it was only ahead of the St. Petersburg sea knot.

History

So, we presented the basic information about what the Odessa sea port is, and also some details of its functioning. Now it is worth to learn more about its history, because it is really rich in various events. Initially, this object had high expectations. It was planned that the main export of goods from Novorossia and Ukraine to other countries through the Black Sea would be carried out here. It was this goal that was pursued during the construction.

As already mentioned above, the construction of the object began in 1794. It is no coincidence that already by 1801, Odessa became the leader in freight turnover and the main center of trade . By that time Odessa Port took a prominent place. More than 300 thousand rubles were spent on its construction, which at that time was considered a huge sum. By his 50th anniversary, the sea knot had already justified all the hopes placed on him and broke all sorts of records. From Odessa at that time, more grain was exported than from the whole of America. On freight turnover from all Russian ports it was second only to St. Petersburg.

Participation of the port in the Great Patriotic War

It is worth noting that Odessa took a great part in the Great Patriotic War. In 1941 the city was surrounded. It took incredible heroic efforts to repulse the attack of the German invaders. Defense lasted quite a long time - as long as 73 days. Port of Odessa rendered invaluable assistance in this difficult time. He allowed to facilitate many processes, for example, supplying soldiers with various ammunition, weapons and other necessary things.

It was the port that allowed people to be evacuated from the city, wounded fighters and equipment of various enterprises. The existence of this node and the possibility of delivering the necessary items by sea routes made it possible to conduct a successful and incredibly long defense of the city, which at that time was surrounded. During this time the port was significantly destroyed. However, its restoration began in 1944, even before the end of the war.

Interesting Facts

Thus, it now became clear how important the port played in the life of the city and the country for all of its existence. The sea gates of the Black Sea have indeed been and remain an important transport hub. In addition, there are many interesting facts and stories related to this most important object. One of them is connected with the warehouses built here. These are the premises used as warehouses.

Here they were built in the early XX century and attracted the attention of many famous writers. They came as some kind of attractions in the city guide. V. Kataev also mentioned about them in his work "The Cemetery in Skuljany". Description of warehouses is also found in another Russian writer - A. Kuprin. In one of his stories called "Gambrinus" you can find an interesting passage. He talks about how the unloading of ships took place. And the writer described this process from nature.

Port today

So, the important strategic importance of the port at all times was considered. Many, probably, will be asked such a question: what is his role in our days? Has it lost its relevance? There is no single answer to this question. Nowadays Odessa port also plays a significant role in various cargo transportation. Of course, it should be noted that in the 1990s, like most other facilities, he experienced a crisis, as the volume of goods transported decreased markedly. Many employees in such a difficult situation had to look for work in other ports.

However, since the beginning of 2000, the situation has begun to be corrected: cargo turnover has been gradually increasing. By now, there has been a significant update of this facility. The berths of the port of Odessa have a length of more than 9 kilometers. Many constituent parts were reconstructed. For example, a marine station, a hotel and others. As of 2009, the port's cargo turnover for the year was about 34 million tons of cargo, which is an excellent indicator.