Apra Harbor

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Aerial view of Apra

Apra Harbor is a natural deep water harbor on the Mariana Island of Guam . Apra is both a commercial port and a base for the United States Navy .

The port on the west side of the island is delimited to the south by the Orote peninsula and north by a reef system called Cabras Island. Parts of the system are man-made breakwaters called Glass Breakwater . The former naval air base Naval Air Station Orote Point is also located on Orote . The inner harbor in the south is largely used for military purposes, the Guam naval base is located there , and civil operations take place in the north.

During the Second World War , Guam was captured by the United States and the port was then expanded as a base for further action by the Allies. From 1964 Apra then served as the base for UGM-27 Polaris equipped SSBNs of the classes George Washington , Ethan Allen and Lafayette , for which a submarine tender was permanently stationed there. With the departure of the USS Robert E. Lee (SSBN-601) in 1981, the time ended when Apra served as the advanced base for SSBN. Hunting submarines have been stationed on Guam since the beginning of the 21st century, starting with the USS City of Corpus Christi (SSN-705) in 2002. This means that they can reach their areas of operation in the Western Pacific more quickly than from Pearl Harbor, for example .

The civil part of the port is administered by the Port Authority of Guam , established in 1975 . The port currently handles two million tons of cargo a year.

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Coordinates: 13 ° 27 ′ 7 ″  N , 144 ° 39 ′ 4 ″  E