It was a strategically important location during the Napoleonic Wars and after 1869 served as a supply point for ships travelling to India through the Suez Canal.

[3] Queen Alexandra arrived in HMY Victoria and Albert in 1906 and the Prince and Princess of Wales the following year to name dock number two and then one after themselves.

[4] On February 7, 1588, in a letter to King Philip II of Spain, Captain Diego de Medrano, Squadron General of the Galleys of Spain and Portugal, reported that he had been sent by Álvaro de Bazán, Marquis of Santa Cruz, to oversee and attend to the construction of the port of Gibraltar, in addition to guarding its strait, in the late 16th century.

[6] The acquisition of Gibraltar was a tremendous victory for the British at the time allowing them to send ships from London to the Mediterranean cities.

It served as an important tactical point, where a whole fleet of Navy vessels and 4,000 soldiers were assigned to the port, awaiting orders from their king (Constantine, S. & Blinkhorn, M 2009).

As a world trade point, the port of Gibraltar was exporting wine to different cities in the Mediterranean, making Britain millions of profit.

As a major supply link the port was required to have large labour force to discharge fresh products such as Beef and Mutton for the Britain troops that were imported from the city Tetuan, in Morocco (Constantine, S. & Blinkhorn, M 2009).

[7] Therefore, any ship from any nation, including, remarkably, those with Britain might even be at war, were totally free to trade with Gibraltar provided that they brought in supplies.

This was the reason that by the 1770s vessels from North America imported tobacco, Sugar, cotton, timber, dried cod, rum; rice and maize through the port of Gibraltar.

Also, many immigrants were hired as servants for wealthy Britain families that were attracted to the new possession of the land and many decided to establish themselves in Gibraltar (Levey, D.2008) pg.39–45.

[10] The main races that were located at the time in Gibraltar were British, Spanish, Genoes, Minorcan, Maltese, Jewish, and Indian.

[11] The Port of Gibraltar in the 19th century was one of the main world trade points that allowed business opportunities for Gibraltarians.

[13] Therefore, the port of Gibraltar made an average merchant into important business man allowing them to build their own wealth by selling and trading products.

Today, the Port of Gibraltar continues to benefit from its strategic location which has made it a "maritime gateway" between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

[14][15] Nearly 240 million gross tons of shipping call at the port every year, with 60,000 vessels transiting the Strait of Gibraltar.

[15] The port also benefits from its close proximity to Gibraltar International Airport which enables crew changes and the supply of provisions and spare parts.

[18][17][19] These boats regularly deploy from the port to address Spanish incursions, which are made against the backdrop of a sovereignty dispute between the UK and Spain on the Status of Gibraltar.

[16] The port features a cruise terminal, complete with a tourist information office, a cafeteria and convenience shops, as well as a 940-metre-long (0.94 km) quay which can accommodate four medium-sized or two large-sized vessels simultaneously.

According to Sanguinetti, Brexit risked undermining the low-cost, VAT-free fuel which the port previously attained by being part of the EU but not within its VAT jurisdiction, as well as adding border restrictions which could impede the movement of parts, provisions and people, including from Algeciras in Spain, which stores 30% of the port's bunker fuel.