Port of Ploče
| Port of Ploče | |
|---|---|
Tugboat Altair in the Port of Ploče | |
Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| Location | |
| Country | Croatia |
| Location | Ploče |
| Coordinates | 43°03′N 17°26′E / 43.050°N 17.433°E |
| UN/LOCODE | HRPLE |
| Details | |
| Opened | July 15, 1945 |
| Operated by | Port of Ploče Authority Luka Ploče d.d. |
| Land area | 238 ha (590 acres) |
| No. of berths | 16 |
| Draft depth | 18.0 m. |
| Employees | 816 (2010) |
| Director of the Port Authority | Tomislav Batur |
| Luka Ploče d.d. chairman | Ivan Pavlović |
| Statistics | |
| Vessel arrivals | 2,555 (2008) |
| Annual cargo tonnage | 4.529 million tonnes (2010) |
| Annual container volume | 20,420 TEU (2010) |
| Passenger traffic | 145,945 (2008) |
| Annual revenue | 157.5 million kuna (2010) |
| Net income | 15.6 million kuna (2010) |
| Website http://www.ppa.hr/ | |
The Port of Ploče (Croatian: Luka Ploče) is a seaport in Ploče, Croatia, near the mouth of the Neretva river on the Adriatic Sea coast. It was formally opened in 1945 after a railway was built as a supply route to connect the site with industrial facilities in the Sarajevo and Mostar areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was then part of Yugoslavia. As of 2010, it ranked as the second largest cargo port in Croatia—after the Port of Rijeka—with a cargo throughput of 4.5 million tonnes, consisting mostly of general cargo and bulk cargo, including 20,420 TEU Containers. In 2008, the Port of Ploče recorded 2,555 ship arrivals. It is managed by the Port of Ploče Authority.
The Port of Ploče recorded a steady growth and development from 1945, but suffered a sharp decline between 1991 and 1996 due to the Croatian War of Independence and the Bosnian War. In the late 2000s, Luka Ploče d.d., the primary concessionaire of the Port of Ploče, embarked on an ambitious investment plan, aiming for a substantial increase in the volume of port operations. Funding was secured in 2007, and Luka Ploče d.d. plans to invest €91 million in port infrastructure and around €180 million in port equipment by 2014.