Hello! Today, we got to head down to Limassol’s port, the largest commercial port in Cyprus. This port is used for delivery of cargo, fuel, and passengers, making it a quite busy port for its size. Cruise ships, fuel tankers, freighters, battleships, and more all must communicate and plan ahead with the port in order to preserve efficiency. Each and every wasted minute due to schedule mishaps could cost one or more of these organizations thousands of dollars, so it’s critical that delays are avoided or minimized. We visited all four different organizations who have a role in the port’s operations: Cyprus Port Authority, Eurogate, DP World, and P&O Maritime.

Starting with Cyprus Port Authority, this is the semi-governmental agency that basically owns the entire port of Limassol. They mainly run administrative tasks, making sure that all the 3 privatized companies working in the ports are working together and in line with Cypriot, European, and international maritime regulations. Their role in the supply chain is predominantly managerial, having the task of keeping the port operation in order for other pieces of the supply chain to be able to have access to the rest. Meanwhile, Eurogate deals with goods inside of large shipping containers, loading and unloading from a specific dock at the port. They clearly are helping with the distribution aspect of supply chain, as well as temporary storage for the containers. DP World operates the multi-purpose terminal, handling passengers from cruises, cargo, and— what we were lucky enough to see when we were there— naval military vessels. Similarly to Eurogate, it is clear that their primary purpose in the supply chain is easing the transportation of the vessels who are distributing cargo from point A to point B. The most peculiar of these companies, however, may be P&O Maritime. This company bears the weight of one specific role: guiding ships into the dock. Instead of loading, unloading, and storing any goods, P&O Maritime’s crew of only a couple of pilot boats and tug masters worked around the clock to safely and securely park the waiting ships in at the appropriate dock. While having a less dominate role in terms of the supply chain, they still are a crucial gear in the machine of Limassol port, being relied upon by the other companies in order for them to do their jobs. I had no idea that ports were so complexly run and organized, giving me a new perspective into how much effort is put into the travelling of products by sea.