The shipping platform

Location: Faro & Olhao is a S Portuguese port located 282km to the NW of Gibraltar. General overview: Faro is a busy commercial port on the W side of Ria Formosa, a marshy estuary. The commercial Port of Faro offers 200m quay length and nearly 14.000m2 of storage area. It is equipped with 3 cranes, 2 forklifts and a 1.000m2 warehouse, being able to receive vessels up to 120m l.o.a., 6,4m of draft and 7.500 DWT. The cement produced on the Cimpor cement plant, located in Loulé, is the main cargo exported to Algeria and Cabo Verde. The port also handles rocks, iron and tile, exported to Gibraltar, as well as the Algarve's carob, exported to England, the salt from Olhão, the rock-salt from Loulé and tuna fish captured along the Algarve's coast and exported to Japan. Olhao stands on the E side of the estuary 4.5nm E of Faro and is an important fishing port. There is a general cargo and bulk cargo terminal in the port, 200 meters long and 7.92 meters deep. An oil tanker wharf is at the oil terminal station, with a water depth of 6.10 meters. Traffic figures: Approx 200 vessels and 532,000t of cargo handled annually. Load line zone: Summer. Max size: Length 110m, draught 6.4m. Vessels in excess of LOA 110m must obtain prior authorisation from the Port Authority for berthing.