THE IMPORTANCE OF PORT FACILITIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A 

 MERCHANT MARINE AND COMMERCE. 



By Rear Admiral H. H. Rousseau (C. E. C), U. S. Navy, Visitor. 



[Read at the twenty-ninth general meeting of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, held 



in New York, November 17 and 18, 1921.] 



Commerce involves transportation on a large scale, and the vessels comprising our 

 merchant marine are the necessary vehicles of and serve the needs of our sea-borne foreign 

 and domestic commerce. Commerce of these twro classes involves at least three major trans- 

 portation movements or stages, which for outgoing shipments are as follows : 



First Movement: On land (or water) from the point of origin to the port of departure. 



Second Movement: On water, from the port of departure to the port of destination. 



Third Movement: On land (or water) from the port of destination to point of delivery. 



While the first and third stages may each be made up of several minor movements and 

 may be by canal, river, ocean, highway, or railroad, or any combination thereof, railroads 

 are by far the greatest transportation factor from a tonnage standpoint, and these two move- 

 ments may therefore be considered to be made on land. In some foreign countries water 

 carriers are employed to a greater extent than in ours for inland transportation. For goods 

 and merchandise produced or originating in the immediate vicinity of a port, the first trans- 

 portation movement may consist merely of a short haul to the water-front by truck, and 

 this would also hold for the third movement when the point of delivery is in the immediate 

 vicinity of the port of destination. 



In addition to the. foregoing three major transportation movements, each shipment also 

 requires at least two transfers, which for outgoing traffic are as follows : 



Fir^t Transfer: From land carrier to water carrier at the port of departure, between the 

 first and second stages of the journey. 



Second Transfer: From water carrier to land carrier, at the port of destination, between 

 the second and third stages of the journey. 



In export business, the second transfer and the third transportation movement are, of 

 course, not under the jurisdiction of the country making the shipment. For incoming busi- 

 ness the foregoing description applies also, except for changes in numbering the movements 

 and transfers, etc., due to reversing the direction of traffic. 



The end of any transportation line is its terminus, while a terminal has been defined as 

 the end of any transportation movement. For freight, a terminal means any point where de- 

 livery is made to the consignee or where transfer is effected to another carrier for another 

 stage of a journey. Terminals take their names from the character of service and from the 

 carrier. For example, there are freight terminals and passenger terminals ; also railroad ter- 

 minals, canal terminals, steamship terminals, water terminals, and marine terminals. In 

 its usual meaning a port terminal, or marine terminal, is a water terminal that is located at 

 a seaport. The word "port" is variously employed. It is commonly used interchangeably 

 with "harbor," meaning a protected body of water, natural or artificial, that is suitable for 

 use by vessels as a haven of refuge from the elements. In law, a port indicates a gateway 



