Batumi Seaport

Port of Batumi in 1881

The history of the Batumi seaport dates back to the Roman Empire, when during the reign of Hadrian, the port of Batumi was one of the most important points of the Roman merchant network.

Batumi port was and still is distinguished by its geostrategic and natural advantages. In particular, The port is located in a natural deep-water, which allows large tonnage vessels. Also, It is not necessary to cross the canal to enter the port, which exempts the owner from paying the canal fee. In the formation of the current global economic network in the second half of the 19th century, the above advantages led to the fact that the port of Batumi received the status of "Porto-Franco" (freeport) from 1878 to 1885. The main factor in the development of the city of Batumi and the port was the oil transported by rail from Baku to Batumi. Along with oil refining, various demands also increased, which led to improvements in the city's infrastructure. This was revealed by the fact that the Baku-Batumi pipeline was built in 1900. It was one of the first oil pipelines in the world.

In his book, The Prize, Daniel Yergin, president of the Cambridge Energy Research Associates, notes that because of the port's geostrategic location and advantages, oil was first shipped from the Batumi port in August 1892 via the Murex tanker, which was also the first tanker. Suez Canal on 22 August of the same year.

The authors of this project were such prominent personalities as Nobel, Rothschild, Samuel (founder of the firm "Shell"), Mantashev and others. So, the port of Batumi has long been known as the most important part of the Eurasian and international transport corridor. Today, the port of Batumi is a connecting transport line that connects Europe with Asia and vice versa. The port is connected to the countries of the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia and Turkey by road and rail.[3]

• List of ports in Georgia (country)
• Poti Sea Port

• Georgian Travel Guide Official site
• Forbes Georgia