Ten Ports Built by Canals, Colonies and Trade

Port Said was founded in 1859 during construction of the Suez Canal and named for the Egyptian ruler who authorized it. It stretches about 30 kilometers along the Mediterranean and straddles the canal northern entrance, so its shipping and duty-free trade still follow canal traffic.

Suez sits at the opposite end of the canal, on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, and also dates its establishment to 1859. It was largely rebuilt after severe damage in the wars between Egypt and Israel, and it is now a petroleum-refining and industrial center.

Colón was founded in 1850 as the Atlantic terminal of the Panama Railroad, built for traffic from the California Gold Rush. It later became the Caribbean entrance of the Panama Canal, and the Colon Free Trade Zone was established there in 1948.

Port Sudan was built between 1905 and 1909 by the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan administration to replace Suakin, whose harbor had become unusable as coral built up. It handles about ninety percent of Sudan international trade and served as the seat of government from April 2023 to January 2026.

Nouadhibou was founded in 1906 as a Portuguese-controlled fishing port and renamed Port-Etienne under French rule in 1907. Fishing and iron ore railed in from mines 704 kilometers inland drive its economy, and its harbor holds the largest ship graveyard in the world, with more than 300 scuttled vessels.

Haiphong lies about 120 kilometers east of Hanoi on the Gulf of Tonkin. The Port of Hai Phong is the largest container port in northern Vietnam and anchors manufacturing and free-trade-zone development around the city.

Santiago de Cuba was founded in 1515 by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar and was the capital of Cuba until 1589. It was the starting point for the expeditions of Juan de Grijalva and Hernán Cortés to Mexico, and Bacardi rum was founded there in 1862.

Cap-Haïtien was founded in 1670 and was known in the French colonial period as the Paris of the Antilles. On November 18, 1803, the Battle of Vertières was fought here, the decisive engagement of the Haitian Revolution that led to independence in 1804.

Belize City was founded in 1638 as Belize Town by English lumber harvesters and grew on exports of logwood and mahogany. It was the capital until 1970, when the government moved to Belmopan, and Hurricane Hattie nearly destroyed it in October 1961.

Montego Bay takes its name from the Spanish word manteca, for lard, from its early use as a Spanish colonial lard-export port. It was the site of the Baptist War of 1831 to 1832, Jamaica last major slave revolt, and is now the center of Jamaican tourism.