The Port of Mariupol lies on the shores of the Sea of Azov in southeast Ukraine on the estuary of the Kalchik and Kalmius Rivers about 74 kilometers northeast of the Port of Berdyansk and over 100 kilometers west of the Port of Taganrog in Russia. The Port of Mariupol is the biggest city in the Priazovye region, an important industrial center and seaport, and a popular seaside resort. In 2008, over 494 thousand people lived in the Port of Mariupol.

The Port of Mariupol is home to two of Ukraine's largest steel mills and its biggest machine-building company that produce much of the country's exports. The Port of Mariupol exports machinery, steel, coal, and grain from the city and surrounding region. From 1948 until 1989, the Port of Mariupol was known as Zhdanov.

In the 16th Century, the Port of Mariupol was a Cossack fortress called Kalmius. When Russia took control of the area in 1775, it was renamed Pavlovsk. In 1780, it became known as Mariupol due to the many Greeks from the Crimean Peninsula that were resettled there.

The Port of Mariupol was created when Russia recognized the need for commercial relations with other industrial centers in Russia as well as those outside of Russia in Europe and America. Construction of the deep-water port began in 1886, and it opened for operations three years later in 1889 when 18 cars loaded with coal were shipped to the Port of Mariupol. By 1904, it ranked third in cargo volume for all ports in Russia.

The railroad connected the Port of Mariupol to the Donets Basin and began to grow as a seaport. In 1948 when the Port of Mariupol was part of the Soviet Union, the city was named after a high-ranking member of the Communist Party who was born there, Andrey Aleksandrovich Zhdanov. The name of Mariupol was returned in 1989.

Mariupol Sea Commercial Port (MSCP) is the port authority for the Port of Mariupol. Today, the Port of Mariupol is one of Ukraine's, and one of Europe's, leading ports.

Every year, the Port of Mariupol adds new berths and port facilities and implements new technologies that increase its efficiency, improve customer services, support a highly-trained and happy staff, and protect the local environment. The Port of Mariupol has trade relations with 60 countries and 152 ports around the world.

The Port of Mariupol covers 77.7 hectares and can accommodate vessels to 240 meters in length and draft to 8 meters. Average depth in the port is 12 meters, and assistance is needed for navigation in icy conditions from December to March (86 days).

The Port of Mariupol contains 3.9 kilometers of berths and storage capacity of 252.7 thousand square meters, including 11.8 thousand square meters of covered warehouses and 240.9 thousand square meters of sheds.

There are 21 berths in the Port of Mariupol that operate 24 hours a day. The Port of Mariupol contains five berths totaling 1007 meters long that handle bulk cargoes. They range in length from 156.7 to 262.9 meters in length, and all but one have alongside depth of 9.8 meters. Berth 8, which is 223.5 meters long, has alongside depth of 6.4 meters.

Seven Port of Mariupol berths with a total length of 1360 meters handle rolled ferrous metal products. These berths range in length form 145 to 223.6 meters, and the five longest (from 200 to 223.6 meters) have alongside depth of 9.8 meters. The shortest, at 145 and 152 meters long, have alongside depths of 8.5 and 8 meters, respectively.

Two berths in the Port of Mariupol handle rolled ferrous metal products and containers. Each of these berths is 200 long with alongside depth of 9.8 meters. Two berths handle coal. Berth 12 is 165 meters long with alongside depth of 8.4 meters, and Berth 14 is 263.3 meters long with alongside depth of 8.4 meters. The Port of Mariupol's Berth 13, handling coal and raw iron ingots, is 210 meters long with alongside depth of 8.4 meters. The Port of Mariupol also has four auxiliary berths that total 236.9 meters in length.

The Port of Mariupol has ample equipment to handle the full range of cargoes. It maintains floating cranes of 100-150 tons of capacity for heavy-weight transshipments, gantry cranes with from 5 to 50 tons capacity, the three floating cranes with 16-ton capacity.

The Port of Mariupol handles a wide range of cargoes that include metals of all grades, raw iron ingots, tubes, ores, ferroalloys, coal and coke, aluminum, clays, fertilizers, sulfur, equipment, grain, food and foodstuffs, containers, and packages.

The Port of Mariupol boasts Ukraine's biggest coal-loading complex with capacity to handle five million tons of coal per year from the mines at Donbass, Kuzbas, and other coal fields. The new container terminal is equipped for high-speed handling of containers, and it has capacity for up to 50 thousand 20-foot containers per year.

The City of Mariupol (Russian) has a moderate climate with long dry summers and winter fogs. Temperatures range from an average low of -5.2ºC (22.6 ºF) in January to an average high of 22.7 ºC (72.9 ºF) in the summer.

Tourists who come to the Port of Mariupol come primarily for the beaches and coast of the Sea of Azov. Near the city are many resorts with a variety of accommodations and amenities. The swimming season lasts about 120 days when water temperatures average 23 º C (73 º F).