The Port of Pozzallo is the major port of the province of Ragusa

Province of Ragusa

The Province of Ragusa is a province in the autonomous region of Sicily in Italy, located in the south-east of the island. Its capital is the city of Ragusa, which is the most southerly provincial capital in Italy.-Geography:...

 on the Mediterranean coast

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 of Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

 and is one of the most important harbours on the island.
The port was initially designed for a volume of goods of only 500.000 tons a year but today it has risen to over 1.500.000 tons. The port is located at the western end of Pozzallo

Pozzallo

Pozzallo is a town and comune in the province of Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. The beaches of Pozzallo have received the Blu Flag by FEE award. A prestigious award given to beaches which meet strict criteria dealing with water quality, environmental education and information, environmental management,...

, which is 50 nautical miles (92.6 km) from Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

. It is well placed for connections to north Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

.

History

The first steps in construction were taken by the authorities in 1935 in Pozzallo but the first structure was not built until 1960 when a pier was built for petrol products. The late 1980s saw building works started which were not completed until well into the 1990s.

Passenger service

There is a catamaran

Catamaran

A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...

 service to Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 which runs throughout the year. The journey takes 90 minutes.

Statistics

General statistics between 2006 - 2008

Year	2006	2007	2008
Goods*	1.266.852	1.514.755	1.521.095
Passengers	107.000	---	166.406

• figures in tonnes