Port Canaveral

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Port Canaveral is a seaport in the U.S. state of Florida. In addition to the Port of Miami, he is considered as the second largest cruise port in the world. The port had a passenger throughput of 2.7 million passengers in 2010. In addition, Port Canaveral is also used for cargo handling and as a naval base. The port leads the UN / LOCODE USPCV.

Geography

The deep water Port Canaveral is located on Merritt Iceland, an island in Brevard County on Florida's east coast in the Bay of Canaveral. The harbor entrance for seagoing vessels has a length of about 13 km and a water depth of up to 12.5 meters. North of the harbor is the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center.

History

The efforts to create a port on Merritt Iceland, go back to the year 1878, when the United States Navy brought a request to the Congress of the United States. The project, however, was not permitted until 1929. Construction began in 1951 and on 4 November 1953, designed for military and civilian use port was opened. The first branch of industry, who settled in the port area, was commercial fishing. In the 1960s, oil, paper products and orange juice were mainly loaded. 1966 million tons of cargo have been handled, the share of petroleum products was about 93%.

The cruise operation began in the early 1970s. The first cruise liner terminal was opened in 1982 and the " SS Scandinavian Sea" was the first passenger ship that was stationed in Port Canaveral. The port serves several shipping companies as a starting point for cruises, including Carnival Cruise Lines, Disney Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International.

With the advent of space missions from the nearby Kennedy Space Center and the importance of the port rose. In order to transport large rocket parts over the harbor to the Kennedy Space Center, 1965, the Canaveral lock was put into operation, connecting the harbor with the Banana River. During the Space Shuttle program, the external tank was brought to Port Canaveral and also the return of the solid rocket boosters that were dropped during the starting phase above the Atlantic Ocean and recovered again, was on the military section of the port area.