ABSTRACT
A protected harbor with a safe approach, good holding ground for ships' anchors, and deep water close to shore is desired to permit economical wharf construction with minimum dredging. In many less developed areas, the improvement of facilities for ocean and waterway transportation is requisite to further growth. Characteristically, such improvements should be made at existing natural port sites and on inland waterways which previously have not been developed to a very high degree. They can include the provision of more modern terminals at ocean ports to handle rising volumes of commerce, the straightening and deepening of existing waterways, and the provision of waterway terminals for more efficient service to traffic, especially bulk cargoes. Planning for the development of ocean ports, inland waterways, and terminals commonly takes place as an element in a coordinated national development program. It is possible to predict quite accurately the maximum occupancy which may be expected at marine terminal berths through theoretical frequency distribution functions.
