Port of Latakia
| Port of Latakia ميناء اللاذقية Port de Lattaquié | |
|---|---|
 Port of Latakia | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| Location | |
| Country | Syria |
| Location | Latakia Latakia Governorate |
| Coordinates | 35°30′48″N 35°46′14″E / 35.51333°N 35.77056°E |
| UN/LOCODE | SYLTK[1] |
| Details | |
| Opened | Ancient harbor: 2000 BC Modern harbor: 1950 |
| Operated by | Public Company of the Port of Latakia |
| Owned by | State-owned |
| Type of harbour | Natural |
| Size of harbour | 135 hectares (0.52 sq mi) |
| Land area | 15 hectares (0.058 sq mi) |
| Size | 150 hectares (0.58 sq mi) |
| No. of wharfs | 32 |
| General Manager | Suleiman Asaad Baloush |
| Cranes | 18 |
| Channel depth | 14.5 metres (48 ft) |
| Warehouse space | 62.8 hectares (0.242 sq mi) |
| Statistics | |
| Vessel arrivals | 1805 |
| Annual cargo tonnage | 8,093,000 |
| Website http://www.lattakiaport.gov.sy/ | |
The Port of Latakia (Arabic: ميناء اللاذقية, French: Port de Lattaquié) is a seaport located on the Mediterranean sea in the city of Latakia. Established on 12 February 1950,[2] it has since served as Syria's main seaport.
Its imported cargo include clothing, construction materials, vehicles, furniture, minerals, tobacco, cotton, and food supplies such as lentils, onions, wheat, barley, dates, grains and figs, and in 2008 the port handled about 8 million tons of cargo.
The port is also a link in six organized cruises between Alexandria, İzmir and Beirut. In addition, there are irregular ferry services to Cyprus. In 2005, approximately 27,939 passengers used the port.[3]
History
The port of Latakia is connected to the history of settlement in this region.[4] There has been a port here since the early Roman Empire. When Syria became independent in 1945 it was the only seaport in the country. The export of cotton was handled by the port.[5] In 1971, 1.6 million tons of cargo were loaded in the port. After an expansion in 1981, it was over twice as much at 3.6 million tons. Today, petroleum products such as bitumen and asphalt are exported via the port, as well as grain, cotton, vegetable oil and tobacco ("Latakia tobacco").
The embargo on Syria in response to Assad's conduct in the Syrian civil war has affected transshipment in the port since 2011. Since 2019, Iran leases parts of the port of Latakia for civilian and military use. This was followed closely by Russia, which operates its only naval base in the Mediterranean in nearby Tartus. Observers[who?] see the treaty with Iran as the attempt of a partially economically isolated country to gain access to the Mediterranean.[6]
On 28 December 2021, shortly before dawn, the Israeli Air Force struck the port, causing heavy damage to a number of shipping containers.[7] The site was also targeted by Israel a few weeks earlier on 7 December.[8] An anonymous source claimed the containers were carrying weapons from Iran.[9] According to SANA, the missile attack also wrecked the facades of a hospital, some residential buildings, and shops.[10] The blaze was brought under control and no casualties were reported by Syrian authorities.[11]
On the night of December 9, 2024, as part of a larger plan to neutralize Syrian military assets, the Israeli Navy launched a strike on warships in Latakia, sinking them. Photographs from the port of Latakia revealed sunken Osa-class (Project 205) missile boats, with P-15M Termit (SS-N-2C Styx) launchers visibly protruding above the water’s surface.[12]
General statistics
| Year | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imports * | 3.644 | 3.871 | 5.083 | 6.239 | 6.931 | 6.349 | 6.800 |
| Exports * | 0.905 | 0.996 | 1.019 | 1.083 | 1.162 | 1.471 | 1.262 |
- * figures in millions of tonnes
References
- ^ "UNLOCODE (SY) – SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC". service.unece.org. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "حول مرفأ اللاذقية". Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
- ^ Transport, Latakia-city.gov.sy, 2008, archived from the original on 6 October 2011, retrieved 10 March 2009
- ^ "Latakia". Portalseite Syrien (in German). Archived from the original on 15 July 2019.
- ^ 1980–1983 Expansion of Lattakia Harbor – Lattakia. T. C. C. Pictures of the expanding harbour
- ^ "Syria leases Mediterranean port to Iran". Asia Times. 5 April 2019.
- ^ Gross, Judah Ari; TOI staff. "Israel said to strike key Syrian port of Latakia, causing 'massive' damage". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
- ^ Gross, Judah Ari; Agencies. "In rare strike, Israeli warplanes said to attack Latakia port". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
- ^ "Israel hits Syrian port for second time this month - Syrian army". Reuters. 28 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
- ^ "Israeli attack on Syria port causes 'significant material damage'". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ^ "Israeli airstrike sets port of Latakia ablaze, says Syrian media". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 28 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
- ^ Ozberk, Tayfun (10 December 2024). "Israeli Navy Destroys Syrian Fleet In Latakia".
- ^ Official figures
Bibliography
- Ring, Trudy; Salkin, Robert M.; La Boda, Sharon (1994), International Dictionary of Historic Places, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 978-1-884964-03-9.
- Ball, Warwick (2000), Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-11376-2.
- Maʻoz, Moshe; Yaniv, Avner; Gustav Heinemann Institute of Middle Eastern Studies (1986), Syria Under Assad: Domestic Constraints and Regional Risks, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0-7099-2910-2.