Durban, South Africa
Port · ZADUR · -29.88°, 31.02° · Mineral Products, Chemical & Allied Industries, Vegetable Products
- in force · 60 nm
- 0
- issued · 30 d
- 0
- archive messages
- 4
- vessel calls / yr
- 2,506
About the port
The World Port Index lists Durban as a large coastal breakwater harbour with excellent shelter.
Listed depths: 11 m in the channel, 22 m at the anchorage, 12 m at the cargo pier and 9 m at the oil terminal, with a mean rise of tide of 2 m.
Entry can be restricted by tide, swell and other conditions.
Largest vessel listed: length 350 m, beam 51 m and draft 15 m.
Pilotage is compulsory.
Repair facilities are rated moderate, with a large drydock.
Durban is a first port of entry.
PortWatch estimates 2,502 port calls at Durban from Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, about 209 a month, close to the twelve months before.
By vessel type, tankers 28%, container ships 27% and dry bulk carriers 22% of those calls.
Estimated cargo over the same months: 37 million t imported and 26 million t exported.
The busiest month was Mar 2026 (228 calls) and the quietest Feb 2026 (187).
What is reported near this port
4 warnings in this archive have their reported position within 60 nm of Durban, the earliest issued in 2004; the most common types are incidents (2), restricted (1) and surveys (1).
Distance is measured to each warning's reported point or area centre, so a warning near Durban is not necessarily about the port; collection is incomplete between 2024-05 and 2026-08-17.
Port calls per month · IMF PortWatch estimates
Oct 2024 – Sep 2026 (last bar: month in progress) · last complete month Aug 2026: 196 calls, 3.0 million t in, 2.1 million t out
Warnings within 60 nm, by year of issue
In force within 60 nm · 0
Nothing in force within 60 nm right now.
Port characteristics · World Port Index
- harbour
- large coastal breakwater
- shelter
- excellent
- water body
- Indian Ocean
- NAVAREA
- NAVAREA VII
- depths
- channel 11 m · anchorage 22 m · cargo pier 12 m · oil terminal 9 m
- mean rise of tide
- 2 m
- largest vessel
- length 350 m · beam 51 m · draft 15 m
- offshore, largest vessel
- draft 22 m
- entrance restricted by
- other, swell, tide; not ice
- overhead limits
- yes
- turning area
- yes
- good holding ground
- yes
- pilotage
- advisable, compulsory
- tugs
- assistance, salvage
- traffic and reporting
- ETA message required
- berthing
- wharves
- cargo handling
- break bulk, container, liquid bulk, ro-ro, solid bulk
- cranes
- floating, mobile
- services
- electrical repair, garbage disposal, longshore labour, medical, navigation equipment repair; not dirty ballast reception
- supplies
- deck stores, diesel, engine stores, fuel oil, provisions, water
- repairs
- moderate
- drydock
- large
- marine railway
- large
- first port of entry
- yes
- sailing directions
- Sailing Directions Pub. 171 (Enroute) - East Africa and the South Indian Ocean
- chart
- 61092
World Port Index entry Durban (No. 46850), matched by UN/LOCODE. NGA Publication 150 (U.S. government work). The index describes the port as last surveyed for the publication; it is not a substitute for Sailing Directions or port authority information.
Share of South Africa's maritime trade through this port (PortWatch): imports 66%, exports 16%.
Chokepoint and port data: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org) — IMF and the University of Oxford, via the UN Global Platform. Not for navigation — follow official NAVAREA / coastal broadcasts and port authority notices.