subject: Colombo Harbour A World Class Port That Is Rich In History [print this page] The Colombo Harbour otherwise known as the Port of Colombo is the busiest and largest port in the tropical island of Sri Lanka. The harbour is an extremely important one in Asia due to its excellent location amid the sapphire waters of the Indian Ocean, thus attracting fleets of cargo ships from different parts of the world. Apart from its trading significance, the harbour acts as the base for the Sri Lanka Navy Western Fleet. Built in the 14th century, this historic harbour saw rapid modernization take place in its quarters during the period of the 1980s when state of the art containerization facilities were implemented to accommodate the trading usage of the port. Numerous cranes and gantries were installed for this purpose.
The Colombo Harbour was initially titled the Port of Kolomtota in the 14th century, which was a named derived from the ancient Kotte Kingdom of Sri Lanka. The harbour, due to its strategic location, attracted early merchants from countries that included India, Persia and China as they were interested in the islands rich spice industry. However in the year of 1505, the Portuguese sailed into the harbour and occupied the country for a long period. This was followed by a Dutch occupation period and a British occupation period that lasted until after the Second World War when the island gained her independence. The port was further developed and made into a sheltered harbour during the final part of Britains reign over the island. Today, this world class harbour is recognized as one of the top 35 harbours across the globe.
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