Rudolf Diesel's engine, first fitted to the seagoing ship Selandia in 1912, gave vessels efficient long-range propulsion, and the diesel motor ship displaced the steamer over the following decades. Malcom McLean's first container voyage in 1956 then mechanised cargo handling, replacing labour-intensive break-bulk quays with cranes, boxes and lorries. Ports migrated from city-centre wharves to deep-water container terminals on reclaimed land, freeing old docklands for redevelopment. Global shipping concentrated in a few mega-ports.
Diesel power and containerisation rebuilt the port as a vast automated terminal, emptying historic urban docklands and triggering waterfront regeneration.