| Kaloi Limenes | |
| Name Local: | Καλοί Λιμένες |
| Community: | Pigaidakia |
| Population: | 17 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Coordinates: | 34.9297°N 24.8003°W |
| Postal Code: | 700 09 |
| Area Code: | 28920 |
| Caption Skyline: | Panorama of Kaloi Limenes, painted by Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt, from Travels and researches in Crete (1865) |
Kaloi Limenes or Kali Limenes (in Greek, Modern (1453-); pronounced as /kaliˈ liménes/) is a village and port in the Heraklion regional unit, southern Crete, in Greece, located 70km (43.5 miles) south-west of the city of Heraklion. It has 17 inhabitants (2021). It is known as a major bunkering spot for ships in the southern Mediterranean.[1]
Kaloi Limenes (meaning 'good harbors' or 'fair havens') is a natural port near the southernmost point of Crete. It is close to the village of Lentas (ancient Levin), and the unexcavated remains of Lassea, a port for the ancient settlement of Gortys.[2]
According to the Acts of the Apostles, Apostle Paul, landed at Kaloi Limenes on his way from Caesarea to Rome as a prisoner of the Romans,[3] [4] then attempted to proceed further west along the coast to Phoinikas ("Phoenix"), identified to the homonym small village in the bay west of Loutro or Loutro itself.[5] [6] [7] [8] A small church was built there (first in Byzantine times, then restored in the 1960s).[5]
The port is the home of a major oil storage and terminal facility, located on the small island of Aghios Pavlos ("Saint Paul") at the port's entrance. The facility has four shore-based storage tanks containing fuel oil and gasoil, pumps of 1,000 cubic metres per hour capacity and three loading docks. The terminal's maximum draft of 40 feet (13.45 metres)[9] enables the facility to handle oil tankers of up to approximately two hundred thousand metric tons of deadweight.