Praia Harbor (Portuguese: Porto da Praia, pronounced[ˈpoɾtuðɐˈpɾajɐ]) is the port of the city of Praia in the southern part of the island of Santiago, Cape Verde. It is situated in a natural bay of the Atlantic Ocean. Since the latest modernization in 2014, it has 2 long quays, 3 shorter quays, a quay for fishing boats with fish processing installations, 2 container parks, 2 roll-on/roll-off ramps and a passenger terminal. The total length of the quays is 863 m, and the maximum depth is 13.5 m.[3] The port of Praia played an important role in the colonization of Africa and South America by the Portuguese. With 817,845 metric tonnes of cargo and 85,518 passengers handled (2017),[2] it is the second busiest port of Cape Verde, after Porto Grande (Mindelo).
The first mention of the Praia harbour dates from 1497, when explorer Vasco da Gama anchored there on his way to India.[4]: 26 There was a settlement at the bay already in 1515.[4]: 94 In the 16th century the port developed into an important port of call for ships towards São Tomé and Brazil, in rivalry with the nearby older port city Ribeira Grande (now Cidade Velha).[4]: 95 Between the end of the 16th century and the end of the 18th century, both Ribeira Grande and Praia suffered many pirate attacks, including those by Francis Drake (1585) and Jacques Cassard (1712).[4]: 195 The harbour was mentioned as "P. Praya" in the 1747 map by Jacques-Nicolas Bellin.[5] Praia gradually superseded Cidade Velha to become the most important port of Cape Verde, and became the capital of Cape Verde in 1770.[6]
In the beginning of the 1960s new port facilities were constructed on the east side of the bay, 1 km southeast of the city centre. In the following years it was expanded and modernized, most recently in 2014.[3]
^Theal, George McCall (1897) History of South Africa under the administration of the Dutch East India Company, 1652 to 1795. (S. Sonnenschein & co., Ptd.). p.181.