| Mina Salman Port | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map of Mina Salman Port | |
| Location | |
| Country | Bahrain |
| Location | Manama |
| Coordinates | 26°12′04″N50°36′25″E / 26.201°N 50.607°E /26.201; 50.607 |
| UN/LOCODE | BHMIN[1] |
| Details | |
| Opened | 1962 |
| Operated by | General Organisation of Sea Ports — Bahrain |
| Type ofharbour | Natural |
| Land area | 80 hectares |
| No. ofberths | 15[2] |
| Statistics | |
| Annual cargotonnage | 2.5 million[2] |
| Annualrevenue | BD 49,8542009[3] |
| Website Mina Salman Port | |
Mina Salman (Arabic: ميناء سلمان ) is aseaport located inManama,Bahrain. Mina Salman was anatural harbour prior to the establishment in 1962 of the port covering 80 hectares.[4] It is the primary cargo port andcustoms point of Bahrain.[5] The port has 15 containerberths, enabling it to handle 2.5 million tonnes of cargo a year.[2]
The port is part of the MaritimeSilk Road that runs from the Chinese coast to the south via the southern tip ofIndia toMombasa, from there through the Red Sea via theSuez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub ofTrieste with its rail connections toCentral Europe, Eastern Europe and theNorth Sea.[6][7]
The port is named afterSalman bin Hamad Al Khalifa I, the grandfather of the currentKing.[8]
The Manama harbour, where Mina Salman is now located, was first mentioned inIslamic texts that have been dated to 1345 AD.[9] The area was occupied in 1521 by thePortuguese, and the Persians gained control in 1602. The currentAl Khalifa dynasty have ruled the country since 1783.[9] The harbour was not suitable forocean liners, with reports of ships having to anchor up to 6 km offshore.[9] Approach channels were built in 1954, and apier was built in 1956, which was mainly used bydhows.[8] In 1958, it became afree port and in 1962, a deep waterwharf composed of six berths was constructed.[9] The wharf allowed cargo to be directly loaded onto the port for the first time. In the 1960s, the port had refrigeration, storage facilities and equipment for handling large ships.[9]
In 1975, 1.5 million tonnes of cargo was handled in the port, which led to severe overcrowding.[10][11] This led the Bahraini government to launch a series of expansions in the next decade, including the opening of theMina Salman Container Terminal in 1979.[11] The port was also the only port in thePersian Gulf to be completely operated by citizens, rather thanforeign workers.[11] Over 75% of the port's cargo iscontainerised.[5]
On 6 December 2014, theUnited Kingdom's Defence SecretaryMichael Fallon announced that an agreement had been signed with Bahrain to establish a permanentRoyal Navy base at Mina Salman,HMS Jufair. The new base would serve to support Royal Navy ships operating in the Persian Gulf, in addition to the Royal Navy mine hunter force already based in Bahrain.[12] Work began on construction in October 2015.[13] On 5 April 2018, the UK Naval Support Facility was officially opened by Bahraini Crown PrinceSalman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Britain'sPrince Andrew.[14]
The port consists of an 800m finger pier, which comprises 10 berths. Three additional 200m conventional berths are located next to thefinger pier and two 300m container berths with a depth of 11m.[11] An Outer arm quay of 285m, alongside a 7m depthdraught and storage space consists of 10 sheds plus additional open storage and container storage areas totaling 538,000m sq, are present.[4] Thecargo handling area covers an area of 60,000m sq.[9][15]