Ports At War
Ports and convoys
A problem ports had to face in wartime was due to ships having
to sail in convoys so that they could be protected from enemy
action. Convoys included large numbers of ships, anything up
to a hundred or more. All the ships in a convoy arrived at once,
needing to be unloaded, refuelled and sometimes repaired. The port
was therefore put under great strain at times, whilst at others it
could be quiet. The congestion in ports caused by the convoy system
actually caused more delays than losses did through enemy
action. To help cope with this problem, much unloading of ships was done
on the River Clyde in Scotland. This had the advantage of being
relatively remote from German airfields. However, there were not
enough dock facilities to cope. Therefore, much cargo handling was
done with ships at anchor. As a result, large numbers of
dockworkers were moved to the Clyde. Many small craft were also
sent there to ferry cargo from ship to shore.
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