Гернси аралындағы Сент-Питер Порт портының тарихы

Port Harbour located in Guernsey

Saint Peter Port Harbour is located in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. It was a natural anchorage used by the Romans which has been changed into an artificial harbour that is now the island's main port for passengers. Loose cargo, liquids and gas are shipped to and from St Sampson's harbour. Castle Cornet has formed the harbour main defence for centuries. The castle was formerly a tidal island, but since 1859 a breakwater has connected it to the enlarged harbour.

The earliest evidence of shipping was the discover of a wreck in 1982 in the entrance of the harbour, which has been named "Asterix". It is thought to be a 3rd century Roman cargo vessel and was probably at anchor or grounded when the fire broke out. The first breakwater, from before the 13th century was a mole, made of loose stones, where the Albert Pier now stands. In 1605, a Royal Charter authorised a pettie Custume tax on imports to Guernsey to pay for harbour development. The English Civil War saw the harbour in the firing line in 1643 between the Royalist held Castle Cornet and the Parliamentarian held town. Cannonballs fired from the castle caused some damage to the town. In 1831 gas lamps replaced oil lamps on quays, in 1857 electric lights were demonstrated. Problems were experienced with many piers, quicksand, subsidence and bulges were often solved with piles and by reducing the weight through making problem piers hollow. On 28 June 1940, German commanders sent a squadron of bombers over the islands and bombed the harbours of Guernsey and Jersey. In St Peter Port some lorries lined up to unload tomatoes for export to England were mistaken by the reconnaissance for troop carriers. Forty four islanders were killed in the raids. The BBC then broadcast the message that the islands had been declared "open towns", after Prime Minister Winston Churchill refused to announce the demilitarisation through diplomatic channels, and later in the day reported the German bombing of the island. The Second World War saw the town also bombed by Allied bombers which killed harbour workers and caused damage to the harbour, such as on 14 June 1944, having been identified by Cryptanalysis of the Enigma intercepts, which was confirmed with a solo photographic reconnaissance Spitfire from No. 541 Squadron RAF, German submarine U 275 was attacked by no less than 8 Hawker Typhoon strike attack aircraft of No. 263 Squadron RAF while tied up in harbour. No damage was caused to the submarine; escorting vessels were not so lucky, where the rockets hit a Dutch coaster M. V. Karel in the harbour. Many windows in town were shattered including most of those in the Town Church. The Nazi German forces improved the defences of the harbour including building a number of steel and concrete bunkers and casemates, most of which are located on the Castle pier. One bunker was removed from the New Jetty after the war due to fears that weight may collapse the jetty. Considerable work has recently been undertaken strengthening the New Jetty. A workshop erected by the Germans on the Albert Pier was demolished in the 1970s. During the mid 1980s the harbour was dredged to provide easier access for shipping, with the excavated aggregate pumped through pipes to reclaim the land currently used for the North Beach parking, between the harbour and the Queen Elizabeth II Marina.

A passenger terminal and customs facilities are located on St Julian's Pier. Facilities at the harbour include two ro ro ramps for cars and lorries that travel on car/passenger ferries such as the 102m long trimaran Condor Liberation or freight/car/passenger traditional ferries such as the Commodore Clipper. Two large cranes and a number of smaller ones facilitate the loading/unloading of containers.

The southern arm of the original harbour going east from near the Town Church was originally a mole, referred to in 1275 by Edward I of England when it was mentioned as needing reconstruction, given permission to raise a local tax to cover the cost, little was done until a dry stone pier, was constructed by 1580. Improved in 1861 63 with north return arm now at right angles. The first weighbridge was built on the pier in 1861, and is the largest tender port for cruise liners in Europe. The restricted size of the harbour will not allow cruise ships to enter resulting in the ships needing to anchor in the roads. The disembarkation of passengers, mainly using their own ships tenders was, until 2014 using a ro ro ramp on the White Rock pier until an alternative pontoon and ramp were installed attached to the Albert Pier. Initially the ramp caused complaints as it was considered too steep to passengers to climb when tides were very low, in 2015 this was rectified with a longer ramp which reduced the gradient. Businesses are developing for transporting and entertaining the 100,000+ annual visitors, with some queues being experienced on days when two large ships arrive on the same day.