Durban Harbour
| Port of Durban | |
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| Location | |
| Country |
 South Africa
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| Location | Durban, Kwazulu Natal |
| Details | |
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Website http://transnet.net |
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The Port of Durban, commonly called Durban Harbour, is the largest and busiest shipping terminal in sub-Saharan Africa. It handles up to 31.4 million tons of cargo each year. It is the fourth largest container terminal in the Southern Hemisphere, handling 2,568,124 TEU in 2012.
The entrance channel had a depth of 12.8 metres (42 ft) from Chart Datum, and a width of 122 metres (400 ft) between the caissons. The port has recently been widened. The harbor entrance depth is now 19 metres in the approach channel decreasing to 16 metres within the harbour. The new navigation width is 220 metres.
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.
MSC Cruises bases the MSC Sinfonia in Durban from November to April every year. From the 2018/2019 Southern Africa cruise season MSC Cruises will be basing the much larger and newer MSC Musica in Durban. Many other cruise ships pass through Durban every year, including some of the worlds biggest, such as the RMS Queen Mary 2. The tender to build the R200 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 2 cruise ships at any given time.
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. 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.
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