The New Port of Crotone is located on the northern side of the Ionian coast of the Calabrian town, separated from the Old Port by the industrial zone located at the tip of the Crotone promontory.
In addition to its location, the New Port also differs from the Old Port in terms of its different uses. In fact, while the Old Port is used for tourism purposes or by small local fishing boats, the New Port is mostly exploited for industrial and commercial purposes. However, with the permission of the Port Authority,recreational boats are also allowed toenter.
Because of the natural conformation of the coast, with the two inlets running from the city on opposite sides to Capo Colonna and Cirรฒ Marina, the port of Crotone was founded as early as the 7th century B.C. by the nascent colony of Magna Graecia. Thanks to its strategic location in the center of the Ionian basin, the port developed quickly as a nerve center of trade routes throughout the Mediterranean. After a period of decline in medieval times, the port of Crotone resumed its activity around 1500 under Spanish rule, although the port’s real revival occurred around the 1920s and 1930s in conjunction with the industrial boom in the Calabrian area.
Protected by a long breakwater and a shorter under-billow pier, the New Port of Crotone encloses a basin of 120000 m2, with a seabed of about 8.5m. As reported by local government portals, the area is sometimes subject to very dense fog, such that visibility is reduced to a few hundred meters. It is also reported that there is a submerged wreck located 0.5m from the red pier signal with a water head of about 4m. For more information about the wreck, please consult the nautical charts, on which it is marked (see I.I.M. chart No. 25).
The prevailing winds at the New Port of Crotone are tramontana and winds from quadrants I and II in winter, while winds from quadrant I prevail in spring. The tramontana blows very violently in winter and, together with the sirocco, causes strong currents off the harbor. The safest anchorages in the vicinity of Crotone’s New Port are south of Capo Rizzuto and north of Capo Colonna.
Being a commercial port, the New Port of Crotone, also offers pilotage service, for the entry of bulkier vessels.