Warehousing of goods is one of the main areas of economic activity for seaports. Warehousing technology is determined on one hand by the transportability of the cargo (type, physical and chemical properties of the goods, method and type of packaging, value of the goods), and on the other hand by the port’s superstructure (storage capabilities, size and type of storage area) as well as legal regulations regarding storage and port customs.
Specifics of warehousing in a seaport
<\/strong>In literature and practice, port storage area is divided into covered area, which consists of port warehouses, and open area, known as storage yards. Warehouses store goods that, due to their properties, require varied protection against weather conditions, damage, and theft. This group primarily includes various types of general cargo, as well as some bulk cargo (for example, cement). Storage yards, on the other hand, are mainly used at container terminals for containers and vehicles, but also for many bulk and ro-ro cargoes that are resistant to weather conditions. Among port warehouses – due to their construction and functions performed – one can distinguish so-called handling-transit warehouses (hangars) and long-term warehouses (depots). Warehouses of the first group are located in close proximity to the quay line (hence their name: first-line warehouses) and are intended for storing cargo for a short time. The basic activities performed in first-line warehouses are preparing goods for loading onto a ship and receiving cargo after unloading. They can also serve as buffer depots to eliminate potential delays in the delivery of goods to the port. As a rule, they are single- or two-story structures. Located at a distance from the port quay, often in peripheral areas of the port or outside its territory, are long-term depots (so-called second-line warehouses), also called retention warehouses. Long-term warehouses, which primarily perform a distribution function, are generally two- or multi-story structures.
The port area is a place where we can find a whole cross-section of storage structures. Alongside universal warehouses intended for storing general cargo that does not require special protection, there are special warehouses for cargo that, due to its biological, physical, or chemical properties, requires specific storage conditions. These include, for example, dome silos for storing bulk dry cargo, steel tanks for liquid bulk cargo, grain elevators, or cold stores for cargo requiring controlled storage temperature. A specific type of warehouse is the so-called ripening facility, where the fruit ripening process is controlled. All changes occurring in the warehousing activities of ports are a derivative of changes taking place in the technology of transport and storage of goods, both bulk and general cargo (the latter mostly transported in cargo units), as well as logistical challenges. Their result is a greater demand for extensive storage yards for containers and vehicles and significantly less use of first-line warehouses. These transformations are also observed in the dynamically developing port in Gdynia.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 4/2008.