A port for @ll
Nowadays, almost all activities carried out by man require the help of transport to get them done. Just think for a moment about the number of journeys you and other members of your family make throughout the year to get to school, work, the shops, to go on trips, to visit family and friends, to go on holiday, etc. Today, transport is an essential part of our lives that allows people and goods to be transported to increasingly distant locations in ever shorter periods of time.
back top
Panoramic view of the Port of Santander
One of the most used forms of transport by man throughout history has been sea transport. The natural means of sea transport is the hydrosphere* and boats and ships are used to transport goods and passengers using this means. The infrastructures that house the facilities for collecting and distributing transported goods and passengers are ports.
back top
Panoramic view of the Port of Santander
In order to meet the aforementioned needs, significant economic activity is generated that translates into a valuable source of wealth and employment for the towns surrounding the ports.
The Port of Santander contributes significantly to the wealth of our region. At the beginning of the 1990s, around 3,000 employees were directly involved in the work carried out at the port. If we take into consideration the jobs linked to port activity, as well as those jobs that indirectly depend on this activity, the number of employees connected in some way to the port's activity is much greater. In fact, out of every 100 people working in Cantabria, 16 of them are linked, to a greater or lesser extent, to the port.
back top
Panoramic view of the Port of Santander
Ports also make possible the development of other activities linked to exploitation and the use and enjoyment of hydrosphere resources, such as fishing*, which uses these infrastructures as the organisational centre of its activity, industry*, which is located in ports in order to be closer to the markets that supply the raw materials and sell the products produced, sport, which has led to the creation of specific port facilities for recreational and competition boats, as well as military boats, as ports are used as a base for warships. It is however the commercial activities, in other words, the tasks needed to carry out transfers between producers and consumers that make up the majority of activity at large ports.
back top
Panoramic view of the Port of Santander
All of the aforementioned activities can be seen at the Port of Santander and the port area is organised to meet the needs of these activities. This area is made up of two sections:
- Sea: which can be identified as the water area used by boats for circulation, navigation, manoeuvring and anchoring*.
- Land: which includes the quays and boat docking facilities, the areas where goods are deposited, stored and, in certain cases, handled, land, rail and road access points that ensure that the port is linked to the main transport networks, areas in reserve, which will guarantee the possibility of developing port activities in the future and those facilities that are now too old for port use, but which are used for urban purposes.
- Each of these activities has a specific location and allocated area within the port, so that it is possible to identify and characterise the different facilities according to the different activities carried out in the different areas.
back top