Southampton’s port has been in the history books for centuries – the Normans brought wine and wool through it in 1300, the Italians landed good in 1402 and by 1930 it was named England’s ‘gateway to the world’.
Sea City Southampton Celebrating Southampton's connection with the sea. Sea City is a programme to help celebrate the relationship of the city and the sea by enabling the community of Southampton to actively participate in sea themed events and activities. Visit the website for information from Maritime walks to the International Boat Show.
Discover the story of merchant shipping and port life in Southampton with PortCities Southampton, the online maritime information archive that has been developed in conjunction with from Southampton City Council, Lottery Fund and Lloyds Register. The site holds numerous archives of photographs, maps, sound clips, documents, games and other objects.
Including the below:
Ports connected to Southampton by Sea
Image and Biography galleries
Register and Records
Wrecks and Accidents
Life of Southampton Port
Sea People
Diversity of Ships
EPOC is a virtual exhibition that traces the story of Southampton from its early growth as a maritime port city, through the ups and downs of the late twentieth century, to the revival in its fortunes today. It has been produced as part of the New Epoc project (ReNEWing Economic prosperity for POrt Cities), funded by the European Union and developed by Southampton City Council.
Southampton has a long-standing twinning link to other port cities such as Qingdao, China and Le Harve, France.More information from Southampton City Council website
At the present day Southampton is the UK’s leading vehicle-handling port, and has long been the UK’s principal cruise port. It is also a major handler of liquid and dry bulks and containers, and almost half of the UK’s containerised trade with the whole of the Far East is handled at this port. Over 24 million tonnes of oil and petroleum-related products are handled at the oil refineries of Esso, at Fawley, and BP, at Hamble, each year. More current information available from ABP
Galleries and webcams:
Cruise Ships webcam from ABP
Desktop Wallpapers from Southampton Port Information Network
Ship Spotting Gallery from the BBC website where most pictures have been taken in Southampton
Cruise Ship Webcam includes great liners such as Oceana, Arcadia, Oriana and Aurora from the BBC website.
Southampton Eastern Docks webcam from BBC
Photographs and information about the ships on Southampton water from Southampton Ships website
Useful Information:
Port Maps available from APB website
Passanger Cruise Ship Schedule information from ABP
Vessels in port, a current list of recent and future movements from the Sea City website
Viewing Maps for the Cruise Liners entering in and departing Southampton’s Docks available via the Sea City website