Ports of Europe have worked hard to break down barriers between the port and the local community Modern ports are not everyone's favourite neighbour. Once, ports were thought of as the probable raison d'être of a city's very existence, and the port and port-related industries were huge employers of large numbers of people who had a vested interest in the port's prosperity.But today, in the depopulated and automated world of modern cargo handling, there may be far smaller numbers of people directly or even indirectly dependent on ships and their terminals. And whereas there may be an audience of enthusiasts who like to see the ships come and go, many more people will regard the port on their doorstep as a nuisance. They will suggest that its operations generate vast numbers of heavy road vehicles blocking up the port approaches, while they might complain at the noise, dirt, dust and congestion from all the cargo handling that goes on. They may not even like the smells!Ships tend to work around the clock, so night will bring no remission from the noise of clanking container or ore terminals, the ship's generators will be heard and there may even be complaints of ...
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