Port of Durban

The Port of Durban, commonly called Durban Harbour, is the largest and busiest shipping terminal in sub-Saharan Africa.[2] It handles up to 31.4 million tons of cargo each year.[3] It is the fourth largest container terminal in the Southern Hemisphere, handling 2,568,124 TEU in 2012.

Port of Durban
Location
Country South Africa
LocationDurban, KwaZulu-Natal
Coordinates
UN/LOCODEZADUR[1]
Statistics
Website
http://transnet.net

Port statistics
  • Durban is the busiest port in South Africa and generates more than 60% of revenue.
  • It is the second largest container port in Africa (after Port Said in Egypt).
  • It is the fourth largest container port in Southern Hemisphere. (First is Jakarta in Indonesia, second is Surabaya in Indonesia, third is Santos in Brazil).
  • The distance around the port is 21 kilometres (13 miles).
  • Rail tracks total 302 kilometres (188 miles).
  • The port has 58 berths which are operated by more than 20 terminal operators.
  • Over 4,500 commercial vessels call at the port each year.

Harbour entrance depth

The port has recently been widened. The harbor entrance depth is now 19 metres (62 ft) in the approach channel decreasing to 16 metres within the harbour. The navigation width is now 220 metres (720 ft).

Port facilities
Aerial view of the container port

Berths
  • Pier No. 1 Berth
  • Pier No. 2 Berth
  • Point and T-Jetty Berth
  • Cross Berth
  • Island View
  • Bluff Berth
  • Bayhead Berth
  • Maydon Wharf Berth

Car terminal

Durban Car Terminal opened in 1998, with a capacity of 60,000 vehicles a year. In 2004 a 100-million-Rand expansion brought the number of bays to 6,500. This included a 380m bridge linking the terminal to the quayside, improving vessel turnaround time and improving security.

Cruise terminal

MSC Cruises bases the MSC Musica in Durban from November to April every year. From the 2019/2020 Southern Africa cruise season MSC Cruises will be basing the newer MSC Orchestra in Durban.[4] Many other cruise ships pass through Durban every year, including some of the world's biggest, such as the RMS Queen Mary 2.

The tender to build the R215 million Durban Cruise Terminal was awarded to KwaZulu Cruise Terminal (Pty) Ltd which is 70% owned by MSC Cruises SA and 30% by Africa Armada Consortium. The terminal will be able to accommodate two cruise ships at any given time.[5]

Naval Base Durban, situated on Salisbury Island, is part of the Port of Durban. Established during the Second World War, it was downgraded to a naval station in 2002. In 2012 a decision was made to renovate and expand the facilities back up to a full naval base to accommodate the South African Navy's offshore patrol flotilla.[6][7] In December 2015 it was redesignated a naval base. It is the home port of three Warrior-class interim offshore patrol vessels (formerly missile-armed fast attack craft) which will be replaced by a new patrol flotilla within four to five years.[8]

See also

References
  1. "UNLOCODE (ZA) - SOUTH AFRICA". service.unece.org. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  2. "Africa's ports: The bottleneck: New investment alone will not fix Africa's ports. Governments need to deal with pilfering officials, too". The Economist. 19 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  3. http://www.iss-shipping.com/Microsites/Document%20Library/Port%20Of%20Durban.pdf
  4. https://cruisearabiaonline.com/2018/09/24/msc-cruises-to-replace-musica-with-orchestra-for-2019-2020-south-african-cruise-season/
  5. Shirley le Guern (2017-05-30). "Preferred bidder for R215m Durban cruise terminal finally selected". engineeringnews.co.za. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  6. Engelbrecht, Leon (2012-02-27). "Navy may upgrade Naval Station Durban". defenceWeb. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  7. Helfrich, Kim (2013-09-23). "Naval Base Durban still a way off". defenceWeb. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  8. Helfrich, Kim (2015-12-09). "Minister says it's Naval Base Durban, not Station". defenceWeb. Retrieved 2015-12-09.
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