Cruise ship and lake freighter, eastern gap, toronto -a

A passenger terminal is a structure in a

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

which services passengers boarding and leaving water vessels such as ferries,

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...

s and

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

s. Depending on the types of vessels serviced by the terminal, it may be named (for example) ferry terminal, cruise terminal, marine terminal or maritime passenger terminal. As well as passengers, a passenger terminal sometimes has facilities for

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

s and other land vehicles to be picked up and dropped off by the water vessel.

Facilities

Passenger terminals may vary greatly in size. A small ferry terminal servicing a commuter ferry may just have the means to tie up the vessel and a waiting area for passengers. Even for a large, vehicle-carrying cross-sea ferry, the terminal at a small island location may be similar sized, with just a short ramp to enable vehicles to be driven onto the ferry. Passengers may be loaded onto a ship from the

wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( mooring locati ...

by a gangway or by a

linkspan A linkspan or link-span is a type of drawbridge used mainly in the operation of moving vehicles on and off a roll-on/roll-off (RO-RO) vessel or ferry, particularly to allow for tidal changes in water level. Linkspans are usually found at ferry ...

. Goods packed in containers may be driven onto the vessel by a vehicle which then detaches itself from the container and returns to shore. If the passenger terminal handles vehicles (which is common especially in cross-sea ferry terminals), it will usually have the facilities, such as appropriate markings on the ground, to enable the vehicles to line up in an orderly manner. Vehicles may be driven off the ship directly, if the vessel is a

Roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...

ship. Passenger terminals in large ports usually have passenger facilities comparable with medium-sized airports, including waiting areas, ticketing desks, luggage deposit and retrieval areas, and food, beverage and other retail outlets. Ferry terminals for international ferries, such as those crossing between the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and continental Europe, also have customs and immigration inspection facilities and security control areas similar to an international airport. Historically, the largest passenger terminals were located in major coastal cities servicing large

s. With the demise of most ocean liners in the later half of the 20th century and the rise of

tourism in its stead, the largest passenger terminals today are those in " cruise home ports". In addition to extensive facilities to service passengers, these terminals must also be capable of handling the large amount of supplies required by large cruise ships and ocean liners. Major passenger ports (such as the Port of Southampton) tend to have numerous

dock A dock (from Dutch ''dok'') is the area of water between or next to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore) or such structures themselves. The exact meaning vari ...

s and wharves, some with multiple berths, in order to handle more than one ship simultaneously. Some ports → a single, large passenger terminal to service multiple docks, while others have multiple terminal buildings, each servicing a dock or wharf, so that passengers can board vessels directly from the terminal.

Major passenger terminals

Australia

Overseas Passenger Terminal The Overseas Passenger Terminal (OPT), known officially as the Sydney Cove Passenger Terminal, is a public passenger terminal servicing cruise ships and ocean liners located in Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia. Whilst commercial shipping opera ...

, in Sydney * Station Pier, in Melbourne

Canada

* Canada Place, in Vancouver

China

* International Cruise Terminal, in Shanghai

Singapore

* Marina Bay Cruise Centre

Hong Kong

Kai Tak Cruise Terminal Kai Tak Cruise Terminal is a cruise ship terminal on the former Kai Tak Airport runway in Hong Kong. Its completion date was delayed into 2013 due to re-tendering. Following an international competition, Foster + Partners was chosen to ...

, in Kai Tak * Ocean Terminal, in Tsim Sha Tsui

United Kingdom

* Queen Elizabeth II Terminal, Mayflower Terminal, City Terminal, Horizon Terminal and Ocean Terminal, in Southampton

United States

Brooklyn Cruise Terminal The Brooklyn Cruise Terminal is a cruise terminal in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The terminal is and sits on Buttermilk Channel, a tidal strait separating Brooklyn from Governors Island. It is located on land owned ...

, in New York * Manhattan Cruise Terminal, in New York * Port Everglades cruise terminal, in Fort Lauderdale

References

{{Public transport