Port of Saint-Nazaire, Maritime logistics center in Loire-Atlantique, France

The Port of Saint-Nazaire occupies the right bank at the mouth of the Loire, with an outer harbour of 7 hectares enclosed by two jetties, two wet docks (Saint-Nazaire, 580 by 165 metres; Penhoët, 1,080 by 240 metres) and the Louis Joubert lock. A 400-tonne crane stands among the lifting equipment. Fishing boats with coloured buoys moor along stone and concrete quays below grey stone warehouses and a lattice crane.

The port was established in 1856 and grew rapidly into one of France's major cargo hubs. It also became a center for shipbuilding, which shaped the region's industrial character for more than a century and a half.

The port's name comes from the town of Saint-Nazaire, whose residents are called Nazairiens. The Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, founded by the Pereire brothers in 1855, made the port the starting point of regular passenger lines to Colón, Veracruz and the Antilles from 1862. Around fifty companies, including the Chantiers de l'Atlantique, still work within the port area.

The avant-port, the South lock and both floating basins are aligned, so the layout reads as one straight sequence from the estuary inward. The harbour is a working industrial site with restricted access; the public viewing points are along the waterfront and near the old harbour office by the East lock. Allow time to walk between them.

The port has specialized facilities for assembling large wind turbine components that are then shipped across the Atlantic to renewable energy projects. This role makes Saint-Nazaire a key hub in Europe's transition to clean energy infrastructure.