History and current status of Kushiro Port

　The Port of Kushiro dates back to when the lord of the Matsumae clan dispatched ships to trade with the Ainu in the mid-17th century. It was officially opened in 1899,designated as a major port in 1951, and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1999.
　The renovation plan for Kushiro Port was laid out in 1888 by C.S.Make, a British engineer working for the Hokkaido Government, and the construction plan was drawn up later by Dr.Isamu Hiroi. The design proposal was completed by Sekiya, an engineer workinng for the Hokkaido Government in 1908.

　After the budget for the renovation of Kushiro Port was approved by the Imperial Diet in 1909, full-scale improvement work began in the present East Port. The improvement of the West Port began in 1969, and improvement work up to the 3rd wharf was completed in 1995. However, while the volume of cargo handled has steadily increased in resent years, the approximate time spent by arrived ships waiting off the coast has reached 30,000 hours, improvement of port functions has thus become an urgent matter. To this end, arevised port project, scheduled for completion by around 2008, was approved in December 1996, and the construction of the 4th wharf and island breakwater began an 1998 with partial completion of the 4th wharf in 2002 and opening of 3 berths including the first 14-meter-deep quay wall in eastern Hokkaido. At the same time container liners for exernal trade with Pusan Port, Korea, started operation.

　Fisheries, coal and paper & pulp have long been Kushiro's three mainstay industries, which was accompanied by the development of ports and harbors in Kushiro. Kushiro Port's hinterland is home to the nation's leading dairy and agricultual farming regions, and the volume of cargo handled for these industries reached 2.093 million tons in 2001.