Kingston Harbour | |
|---|---|
Harbour | |
 Kingston Harbour c. 1870 | |
  Kingston Harbour | |
| Coordinates:17°57′N76°48′W / 17.95°N 76.80°W /17.95; -76.80 | |
| Country | Jamaica |
| Parish | Kingston |
| Area | |
| • Water | 52 km2 (20 sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
Kingston Harbour inJamaica is the seventh-largest naturalharbour in the world. It is an almost landlocked area of water approximately 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) long by 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) wide. Most of it is deep enough to accommodate large ships, even close to shore. It is bordered to the north by the city ofKingston, the capital ofJamaica; to the west by Hunts Bay and themunicipality ofPortmore; and to the south and east by thePalisadoes strip, which protects it.[2][1]
The harbour is home to the Kingston Container Terminal, Jamaica's largest port. Other docks on Kingston Harbour are at the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica in downtown Kingston and at the Jamaica Flour Mills and the Caribbean Cement Company at Rockfort. Fresh water, along with industrial and domestic waste, is discharged into Hunts Bay from rivers and drainage gullies, including Rio Cobre and Sandy Gully.
Norman Manley International Airport, Jamaica's second busiest international airport, is also located in the outer harbor, on the Palisadoes strip.
There is a fishing village at Rockfort and fishing docks atHarbour View and atPort Royal.
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As a large, natural, well-protected harbour, it was doubtless used byindigenous people, and has been used by Europeans since the very beginning of their exploration and settlement of the island. Initially the main settlement was atPort Royal but following its destruction in the1692 earthquake, the English foundedKingston and began development of its waterfront.[3]
Historically, the harbour was safe from attack with its narrow entrance being protected by twoforts, one the tip of thePalisadoes atPort Royal and the other on a small sand spit opposite.[3]
Throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries it handled a large local trade and was the chiefentrepot for British exports to theSpanish colonies.[3] For the remainder of the 19th century its development as a port was retarded by a decline in the Jamaican economy.[3] Throughout this period there was a gradual increase in the number offinger piers andwharves along its long sheltered waterfront.[3]
In November 1720, the body ofJohn Rackham was gibbeted at the entrance of the harbour alongside other members of his crew as a warning to otherpirates.
In modern times Kingston Harbour has suffered a number of pollution incidents. In one such during 2009, 300 tons of sulphuric acid are said to have been accidentally discharged from one of the wharves.[4]
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