Port

The left-hand side of a vessel when facing forward towards the bow.

Port and starboard stay fixed to the boat, regardless of which way a person is facing. A vessel’s port sidelight is red and its starboard sidelight is green. Looking forward from the cockpit, your left is port; looking aft, the boat’s port side is on your right.

Port can also mean a harbour

For the place where vessels arrive and depart, see Port (Harbour). The harbour and facilities explanation below describes that separate meaning.

A harbour or designated maritime area equipped and administered for vessel arrival, departure and associated operations.

A port may provide cargo and passenger terminals, berths, pilotage, towage, bunkering, customs, immigration, waste reception and repair services. Some ports include several harbours or anchorages, while a harbour need not be a commercial port.

Port limits, authority, traffic rules, reporting, security and available services are locally defined. “Port” also means the left-hand side of a vessel when facing forward, a separate glossary meaning.

What’s the difference between a Harbour and a Port?

Port

• Ports include docks, cranes, terminals, warehouses, customs offices, fuel stations, and more.
• Ports are where ships load and unload cargo or passengers.
• Every port is a place of business, while a harbour might not be.

Harbour

• It can be natural (a bay or inlet) or man-made (with breakwaters or sea walls).
• Harbours provide a safe place for vessels to take shelter, load, or unload.
• Not all harbours have facilities or infrastructure for commercial shipping.

So a port is what you use, and a harbour is where you use it.

Port

• A facility where vessels load or unload, cargo or passengers.
• Has docks, terminals or other infrastructure.

Harbour

• A sheltered body of water where vessels can anchor or moor.
• Protected by natural or artifical barriers.

Quick Analogy: