Kherson Seaport

a commercial port on the right bank of the Dnieper, 25 km from the Dnieper Liman and 96 km from the sea. The port is under the authority of the Black Sea Steamship Line.

Kherson Seaport was established in 1737. The shallowness of the Dnieper at first prevented the port from being used for international trade, but in the late 1890’s, after the ship channel was deepened, Kherson Seaport became a major point for the export of grain, wool, and timber. It handled nearly 800,000 tons of cargo annually, and in 1900 it was Russia’s fourth-largest port in export volume.

Under Soviet power the port was modernized: the artificial ship channel was deepened and widened, docks were constructed and were provided with automated material-handling equipment, and warehouses, industrial buildings, and public facilities were built. The port was destroyed during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–45, but between 1946 and 1950 it was essentially rebuilt.

Kherson Seaport handled more than 4 million tons of cargo in 1975. Every year the port’s ten docks receive and process more than 1.000 ships carrying export-import and coastal cargoes, including general cargoes (for example, cement, cotton, and metal), bulk cargoes (bauxite, sulfate, and grain), timber, and building materials. The port’s equipment includes gantry and floating cranes with lifting capacities of up to 27 tons, as well as front-end loaders and electric lift trucks. Approximately 93 percent of the freight-handling is fully mechanized. The port has an elevator and an oil-handling terminal. Kherson Seaport serves more than 100,000 passengers annually. (SeeDNIEPER BASIN RIVER PORTS.)