Harbor and port

Question

Previously, I asked about the different meaning of Pier and Warf, Port and Harbor.

and I got the following answer.

'Pier' and 'wharf' are essentially the same thing. A 'port' is usually the town or facilities, while a 'harbor' is the protected body of water.

I need some examples using port and harbor on the sentence.

"port logistics" and "harbor logisitics" , do these two have different meaning?

which one is commonly used?

Thank you.

Mr Wordy · Accepted Answer

To me, a "pier" is, strictly speaking, a structure built out over the water on stilts, whereas a "wharf" is a structure built on the shore. But I guess this counts as "essentially the same thing".

I'd usually understand "port logistics" and "harbour logistics" to both refer to the operational procedures for moving ships in and out, and loading and unloading them, so there's little difference. I suppose in certain contexts there might be a slight distinction since "harbour" can refer to the extended body of water adjacent to the port, as well as the port itself. Google search suggests that "port logistics" is more common.

Randomly Googled example sentence illustrating a difference between "port" and "harbour":

"Portsmouth was a port [i.e. it was used for landing ships] by the 9th century, but was formally founded in 1170 when wealthy landowner and merchant Jean de Gisors was attracted to the area by the natural harbour [enclosed body of water, safe for ships] and the possibilities for trade."

Edit: I used the British English spelling, "harbour", in my reply. The American spelling is "harbor".

Harbor and port

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