A multiport cylinder dryer for use with drying a web of pulp, paper, or similar material, and a method for drying a moving web of pulp, paper, or similar material are provided. The multiport cylinder dryer includes an outer cylinder dryer surface for transferring heat to a moving web to be dried. A plurality of multiport flow passages are positioned close to the outer cylinder dryer surface. The multiport flow passages are arranged for channeling steam flow for heating the cylinder dryer surface. The multiport cylinder dryer achieves significantly higher drying rates than conventional dryers by minimizing the condensate layer and maximizing the heat transfer surface area. The dominant heat transfer mode in the multiport cylinder dryer is convection, which is significantly more effective than conduction, the dominant heat transfer mode in conventional dryers.