Magellan's fleet met resistance from the local population in the Philippine Islands, and Magellan himself was killed in the battle. However, the remaining members of Magellan's fleet continued on their way, passing through the Philippine Islands, into the Indian Ocean, and sailing westward along the Indian Ocean, passing through the Strait of Malacca to the east coast of Africa. When it comes to Africa, you may think of deserts, dry areas full of black people and wild animals, but as everyone knows, in the southernmost part of the African continent, there is a mysterious and wild land, a world where modern civilization and primitive culture are intertwined, with its proud sunshine, blue ocean, vast grasslands, colorful mountains and rocks and rich products as symbols, like a brilliant diamond set in the southern tip of the African continent, this is South Africa. In this issue of the e-ports port impression series, we will take you to know about the port of Durban, the largest port in South Africa.
Overview of the Port of Durban
The Port of Durban, formerly known as Port Natal, was founded in 1824 and renamed in 1835. Located on the east coast of South Africa, on the southwest side of the Indian Ocean, it is the largest container port in Africa. At the same time, the Port of Durban is the fourth largest container port in the southern hemisphere (the first is Jakarta in Indonesia, the second is Surabaya in Indonesia, and the third is Santos in Brazil). With more than 20 terminal operators operating 58 berths, the vast majority of which are deep-water berths and 7 container berths, the port is one of the most modern deep-water ports in Africa. There is an open-air yard that can store 200,000 tons of goods, a sugar warehouse capacity of 520,000 tons, and a container yard area of 102 square meters. The water depth of the large anchorage is 18m.
Approximately 60% of the total number of containers handled in South African ports is handled in Durban. The latest data shows that in 2019, the Port of Durban handled a total of 3,253 ocean-going vessels with a gross tonnage of 122.7 million tonnes and a total cargo handled of 8,12110,000 tons.
The Port of Durban's import and export commodities and international status
Industrial facilities at the Port of Durban.
The main industries of the port are chemicals, textiles, oil refining, ship repair, rubber, sugar and food and automobile assembly, and there are large oil refineries, sugar factories and automobile repair plants.
The main export goods are manganese ore, steel, coal, iron ore, sugar, peanuts, corn, wool, skin, citrus and pig iron, etc., and the main import goods are wheat, machinery, fertilizer, transportation equipment, textiles, wood, paper, tea and chemical products.
The strategic role of the Port of Durban is paramount. Due to its geographical location and natural deep-water port, it is the most accessible port with enough capacity to meet the needs of the industrial hub of Gauteng. International** growth will be the cornerstone of South Africa's future economic success, and the Port of Durban will play a key role in contributing to this success. It fulfills this role geographically more cost-effectively than any other southern African port.
The port and maritime sectors are the main economic drivers of Durban's economy. Municipal districts are highly dependent on the sector and its ability to compete internationally for economic growth. Effective capitalization and management of ports and the interconnected shipping and freight sector is essential so that their cost structures are competitive with international standards. The country relies heavily on international** both internally and externally, so it is vital that the Port of Durban is recognised as an international** gateway. In order to gain international recognition, it must always operate in accordance with the good end of international standards.
The situation in the Red Sea has caused widespread delays for vessels, and e-ports reminds you to pay attention to the choice of bunkering ports
The crisis in the Red Sea has caused many ships to circumnavigate the Cape of Good Hope, increasing their range by about 6,000 nautical miles and extending the voyage time by one to two weeks. According to the World Bank's 2022 Port Index released in May, South Africa's major ports, including Durban (one of Africa's largest ports in terms of container throughput), Cape Town and Kuha Port, are among the worst-performing ports in the world. This has led to shipping companies facing difficult choices when it comes to refueling and resupplying.
The infrastructure of other large African deep-water ports along the Cape of Good Hope route, such as Mombasa in Kenya and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, cannot cope with the number of ships arriving in the coming weeks. e-Ports reminds shipowners that vessels travelling on the Cape of Good Hope route should be refuelled at the origin or destination whenever possible. If you need to refuel on the way, decisions can be made on a case-by-case basis, with e-ports recommending the Port of Walvis Bay in Namibia and Port Louis in Mauritius as the preferred ones.