PORTS AND HARBORS

Ports
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air
transport. Airports often have facilities to store and maintain aircraft, and a control
tower. An airport consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible
open space including at least one operationally active surface such as a runway for
a plane to take off or a helipad,] and often includes adjacent utility buildings such
as control towers, hangars and terminals. Larger airports may have airport
aprons, taxiway bridges, air traffic control centres, passenger facilities such as
restaurants and lounges, and emergency services. In some countries, the US in
particular, they also typically have one or more fixed-base operators, serving general
aviation.
An airport solely serving helicopters is called a heliport. An airport for use
by seaplanes and amphibious aircraft is called a seaplane base. Such a base typically
includes a stretch of open water for takeoffs and landings, and seaplane docks for tying-
up.
An international airport has additional facilities for customs and passport control as well
as incorporating all of the aforementioned elements. Such airports rank among the most
complex and largest of all built typologies with 15 of the top 50 buildings by floor
area being airport terminals.
Purpose of Port
Airports are much more than places to catch planes, attend an in-transit business
meeting, or do some duty-free shopping; they are among the largest investments a city
and region make. Earlier I charted the geography of airport activity across U.S. metros.
Today I take a close look at how airports affect the economic growth and development
of cities and regions.
Airports have a bigger effect on economic development by moving people as opposed
to cargo. Both the number of passengers and flights are related to economic output,
wages, and incomes. However, we find little association between any of the above and
cargo.
Airports move two kinds of things—goods or cargo and people. In fact, a good deal of
the argument about airports and economic development has focused on moving things
and the business and industries that grow up around that. But in today’s economy, the
ability to move people who generate and share knowledge matters even more. 

Types of Ports

Civil Airports
A place where aircraft take off and land, usually
equipped with hard-surfaced landing strips, a
control tower, hangars, aircraft maintenance and
refueling facilities, and accommodations for
passengers and cargo.

Military/Federal Government Airports

A government contract flight is a type
of charter airline operation contracted with a
government agency.
In the United States, the massive mobility
requirements during World War II proved that
military transport could not meet all the
logistical needs that might arise. As a result,
the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) was
developed to use airline capacity to provide
maximum airlift support in wartime situations.
As a benefit, airlines that commit planes to CRAF are able to receive peacetime
government contracts in an amount proportional to the airline's potential wartime
mobilization value. This is the basis for most routine military charter flights. The
government receives an extremely economical source of emergency capacity as well as
reasonable costs for peacetime military transportation.
Private Airports
Academic studies using complicated
financial ratios and productivity analysis are
not conclusive. Depends. There are also
many types of privatization. From
contracting out only certain services, such
as handling, restaurants or parking facilities
to an all out selling of the airport facility, as
in the transaction to sell off the British
Airport Authority that took place with
Margaret Thatcher in 1987. Many other intermediate steps exist.

Aerodrome
An aerodrome or airdrome is a location from
which aircraft flight operations take place,
regardless of whether they involve air cargo,
passengers, or neither. Aerodromes include
small general aviation airfields, large
commercial airports, and military airbases.

Towered Airport
A towered airport has an operating control
tower. Air traffic control (ATC) is
responsible for providing the safe, orderly,
and expeditious flow of air traffic at airports
where the type of operations and/or
volume of traffic requires such a service.
Pilots operating from a towered airport are
required to maintain two-way radio
communication with air traffic controllers,
and to acknowledge and comply with their
instructions. Pilots must advise ATC if they cannot comply with the instructions issued
and request amended instructions. A pilot may deviate from an air traffic instruction in
an emergency, but must advise ATC of the deviation as soon as possible.
Non-towered Airport
A non-towered airport is
an airport without a control tower, or air
traffic control (ATC) unit. The vast majority
of the world's airports are non-towered. In
the United States there are close to 20,000
non-towered airports compared to
approximately 500 airports with control
towers. Airports with a control tower
without 24/7 ATC service follow non-
towered airport procedures when the tower
is closed but the airport remains open, for example at night.

Air Cargo
Are airports that serve aircraft carrying
only cargo, with a total annual "landed
weight" of 100 million pounds. "Landed
weight" means the weight of aircraft
transporting only cargo. An airport may
be both a commercial service and a
cargo service airport.

Reliever Airports
Are airports that relieve overcrowding at
commercial service airports. These
airports provide you with greater access
to air transportation and may be publicly
or privately-owned.
Structures under Ports
Passenger terminal buildings
An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between
ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from
an aircraft.
Within the terminal, passengers purchase tickets, transfer their luggage, and go through
security. The buildings that provide access to the airplanes (via gates) are typically
called concourses. However, the terms "terminal" and "concourse" are sometimes
used interchangeably, depending on the configuration of the airport.
Smaller airports have one terminal while larger airports have several terminals and/or
concourses. At small airports, the single terminal building typically serves all of the
functions of a terminal and a concourse.

(Mactan-Cebu International Airport)

Control towers

A control tower for supply chains is a central hub with the required technology,

organization and processes to capture and use transportation data to provide enhanced
visibility for short- and long-term decision-making aligned with strategic objectives.
When you add optimization functionality to a control tower, better decisions and
improved efficiency and/or service are within reach.

Cargo buildings
A freight terminal is a processing node
for freight. They may include airports, seaports,
railroad terminals, and trucking terminals. As
most freight terminals are located at ports,
many cargo containers can be seen around the
area.

Hangar
A hangar is a closed building structure to
hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are
built of metal, wood, or concrete. The
word hangar comes from Middle
French hanghart ("enclosure near a
house"), of Germanic origin, from
Frankish *haimgard ("home-enclosure",
"fence around a group of houses"), from *haim ("home, village, hamlet")
and gard ("yard").
Hangars are used for protection from the weather, direct sunlight and for maintenance,
repair, manufacture, assembly and storage of aircraft.

Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Facilities

Maintenance, repair, and overhaul, or most often referred to by the acronym MRO, is
a phrase widely used these days to describe aircraft maintenance activity. For many
people, the MRO organization is thought to be one of those large companies that
holds numerous repair station authorizations from different aviation authorities around
the world, and it accomplishes major maintenance on transport category aircraft that
primarily belong to airlines and leasing companies.

Administrative Building
The airside area includes all parts of the airport around the aircraft, and the parts of
the buildings that are only accessible to passengers and staff.
Runway

 Single runway -- When using this

layout, airport engineers will orient the
runway so aircraft can take advantage of
prevailing winds.

 Parallel runways -- The

distance between the two
runways depends on the size
 and number of aircraft using the airfield. Close parallels
have less than 2,500 feet between runways; intermediate
parallels are between 2,500 and 4,300 feet (762 and 1,310
meters) apart; and far parallels are greater than 4,300 feet
apart. Dual-line layouts feature two sets of parallels spaced
4,300 feet apart.
 Open-V runways -- Two
runways that converge but
don't intersect make an open-
V layout. This arrangement
gives air traffic controllers
greater flexibility as they
maneuver planes on the
runways. For example, if no
wind is blowing, they'll use both runways. But if the wind
becomes strong in one direction, they'll shut down one
runway and use the one that allows planes to take off into
the wind.

 Intersecting runways --
Runways that cross each
other are common at airports
where the prevailing winds
can change throughout the
year. The intersection point
can be in the middle of each
runway, near the threshold (where aircraft touch down) or
far from the threshold (where aircraft lift off).
Harbor
A harbor (American English) or harbour (British English; see spelling differences)
(synonyms: wharves, haven) is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats,
and barges can be docked. The term harbor is often used interchangeably with port,
which is a man-made facility built for loading and unloading vessels and dropping off
and picking up passengers. Ports usually include one or more harbors. Alexandria
Port in Egypt is an example of a port with two harbors.
Harbors may be natural or artificial. An artificial harbor can have deliberately
constructed breakwaters, sea walls, or jettys or they can be constructed by dredging,
which requires maintenance by further periodic dredging. An example of an artificial
harbor is Long Beach Harbor, California, United States, which was an array of salt
marshes and tidal flats too shallow for modern merchant ships before it was first
dredged in the early 20th century.[1] In contrast, a natural harbor is surrounded on
several sides by prominences of land. Examples of natural harbors include Sydney
Harbour, Australia and Trincomalee Harbour in Sri Lanka.
Kinds of Harbor
Coastal natural. Represents a sheltered site
the outcome of a natural profile of the coast,
creating a natural barrier such as a cape, a reef
or an island. About 2,100 (46.0%) ports are in
this category, underlining that the selection of a
port site is dominantly influenced by the quality
of the harbor.

Coastal breakwater. An harbor lying behind an

artificial breakwater construction, built from
scratch or built to add to an existing natural
shelter. It is particularly the case for harbors
exposed to dominant winds, waves or the sea
currents. About 810 ports (17.6%) are in this
category.

Coastal tide gates. An harbor behind a set of

locks or other mechanical devices built to insure
sufficient water levels in the harbor for all tide
levels. In many cases ships can enter or exit the
port only at certain times of the day when water
levels are adequate. Only 39 (0.8%) such ports
exist, such as Mumbai, India.
Open roadstead. An harbor with no natural or
artificial protection. They are often built to
accommodate very large ships (such as oil tankers)
or are in a setting where there are limited tides,
implying that sheltering infrastructure are much less
required (Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Mexico).
580 (12.5%) ports are in this category, including
Ra’s at Tannurah, Saudi Arabia, a major oil port in
the Persian Gulf.

River natural. An harbor located along a river

where water is not retained in any artificial means.
The harbor often consists of quays or wharves
parallel to the river banks. Piers may also extend
into the river. About 850 (18.5%) such ports exist,
such as Jacksonville or Montreal.

River basins. A river harbor where basins have

been excavated to accommodate ships, often
parallel to the flow of the river. This confers the
advantage of additional berth space without
impeding fluvial navigation. 77 (1.6%) such ports
exist, including Bremen.

River tide gates. A river harbor behind a set of locks

or other mechanical devices built to insure sufficient
water levels in the harbor for all tide levels. Such
harbors tend to be located close to the ocean, such as
in a river delta or estuary for the case of Antwerp
(Scheldt estuary) and Bremerhaven (Weser estuary).
Only 47 (1.0%) such ports exist.
Canal or lake. A harbor located along an artificial canal or by a river accessible through
a navigable waterway. 67 (1.4%) such ports exist, including Balboa in Panama and
Brugge in Belgium.

Structures in Harbor
Breakwater
A common breakwater design is based on an inner mound of small rocks or rubble, to
provide the basic stability, with an outer covering of larger boulders, or armouring, to
protect it from removal by the sea. The design of this outer armouring has fostered
considerable ingenuity. The larger the blocks, the less likely they are to be disturbed,
but the greater the cost of placing them in position and of restoring them after
displacement by sea action. Probably the least satisfactory type of armour block,
frequently used because of its relative ease of construction, is the simple concrete
cubic, or rectangular, block. Even the densest concrete seldom weighs more than 60
percent of its weight in air when fully immersed in seawater; consequently, such blocks
may have to be as much as 30 tons (27,000 kilograms) in weight to resist excessive
movement.
Solid breakwaters
In certain circumstances, particularly in
parts of the world where clear
water facilitates operations by divers,
vertical breakwaters of solid concrete
or masonry construction are sometimes
employed. Some preparation of the seabed
by the depositing and leveling of a rubble
mound to receive the structure is necessary,
but it is usual to keep the crest of such a
mound sufficiently below the surface of the
water to ensure its not becoming exposed to
destructive action by breaking waves. Repulsion of the waves by vertical reflection
rather than their absorption is the philosophy of protection in all such cases, but it is not
possible to state categorically which arrangement produces the most economical
structure.

Floating breakwaters
Because of the large quantities of material required and the consequent high cost of
breakwaters of normal construction, the possibility of floating breakwaters has received
considerable study. The lee of calm water to be found behind a large ship at anchor in
the open sea illustrates the principle. The difficulty is that, to resist being torn away in
extremes of weather, the moorings for a floating breakwater must be very massive.
They are therefore difficult to install and subject to such constant chafing and movement
as to require substantial maintenance. Another problem arises, especially in areas of
large tidal range. The unavoidable—indeed, essential—slack in the moorings may allow
the breakwater to ride large waves, so that they pass underneath it carrying a
considerable proportion of their energy into the area to be sheltered.
Docks and quays
Because the principal operation to which harbour works are dedicated is transfer of
goods from one transportation form to another (e.g., from ships to trucks), it follows that
docks, wharves, and quays are the most important assets of a port.
Ships must lie afloat in complete shelter within reach of mechanical devices for
discharging their cargoes. Although in emergencies ships have been beached for
unloading purposes, modern vessels, particularly the larger ones, can rarely afford
contact with the seabed without risking serious structural strain. The implications of
cargo handling, as far as civil engineering works are concerned, do not differ much
whether the loading and discharge are effected by shore-based cranes or by the ship’s
own equipment. In either case, large areas of firm, dry land immediately alongside the
ship are required; the engineer must find a way to support this land, plus any
superimposed loading it may be required to carry, immediately adjacent to water deep
enough to float the largest ship.

Gravity walls
The solution initially favoured, and indeed
predominant for many years, was that of
the simple gravity retaining wall, capable of
holding land and water apart, so to speak,
through a combination of its own mass
with the passive resistance of the ground
forming the seabed immediately in front of
it. To ensure adequate support
without detrimental settlement of the wall, to ensure its lateral stability, and to prevent
problems of scour, it is necessary to carry the foundations of the wall below the seabed
level—in some cases a considerable distance below. In earlier constructions, the only
guide to this depth in the planning stage was previous knowledge of the ground and
the acumen of the engineer in recognizing the characteristics of the ground upon seeing
it. Many projects were carried out in open excavation, using temporary cofferdams to
keep out the sea. In particularly unfavourable or unstable soils, accidents caused by
collapse of the excavation were not unknown.
Concrete monoliths
The risks and difficulties attendant on the construction of gravity walls have been
avoided, in suitable conditions, through the use of concrete monoliths sunk to the
required foundation depth, either from the existing ground surface or, where the natural
surface slopes, from fill added and dredged from the front of the quay wall on
completion. This technique amounts to the construction above the ground of quite large
sections of the intended wall, usually about 50 feet square in plan, which are then
caused to sink by the removal, through vertical shafts, of the underlying soil.
Concrete caisson walls
In situations in which the depth from
ground level to the final dredged
bottom is not excessive and the
material available for retention as
reclamation is of good self-supporting
qualities, quay walls can be
constructed of precast
concrete caissons floated into position
and sunk onto a prepared bed in the
same manner as that described for
breakwaters. Care is taken to design
caissons able to withstand the thrust
of the retained material, which is carefully selected for the areas immediately behind the
quay wall. The conditions suitable for this form of construction are generally typical of
the Mediterranean, where the slightness of the tidal variation keeps the depth required
to a minimum.
The piled jetty
The high cost, difficulties, and possible
dangers of providing dock and quay
walls of the kind just described have
always encouraged a search
for alternative solutions that would
eliminate the need for operations on or
below the seabed. Of these, the earliest
and most obvious is the piled jetty—
its piles can be driven from floating craft and the deck and superstructure added thereto,
working wholly above water. 
The sheet-piled quay
Design
An extension of the piled jetty concept
is a quay design based
on steel sheetpiling, the design
becoming increasingly popular with
improvements in the detail and
manufacture of the material. Steel
sheetpiling consists in essence of a
series of rolled trough sections with
interlocking grooves or guides, known
as clutches, along each edge of the
section. Each pile is engaged, clutch to clutch, with a pile previously driven and then
driven itself as nearly as possible to the same depth. 
Enclosed docks
Whenever possible, commercial quays
are built open to the tide range to
provide maximum freedom for shipping.
There are, however, some parts of the
world in which the range between low
water and high water is so great that the
resulting variations in the level of the
ship’s decks and hatches impose
unacceptable disabilities on the handling
of cargo. In such circumstances the
quay walls may become of such dimensions as to be uneconomical.
Dry docks
The largest single-purpose structure
to be built by the maritime civil
engineer is not directly connected
with loading, unloading, or berthing
but is indispensable to prolonging
the life of ships. This is the dry dock,
which permits giving
necessary maintenance to the
underwater parts of ships. The
problem of dry-docking is aggravated
by the tendency of ships to grow in
size by increases in beam (width)
and draft (depth below waterline) rather than in length, a process that rapidly renders
many of the world’s largest dry docks useless for servicing an increasing proportion of
the traffic.