East London, South Africa
Port · ZAELS · -33.03°, 27.90° · Mineral Products, Metals, Prepared Foodstuffs & Beverages
- in force · 60 nm
- 0
- issued · 30 d
- 0
- archive messages
- 2
- vessel calls / yr
- 239
About the port
The World Port Index lists East London as a small river natural harbour with excellent shelter.
Listed depths: 11 m in the channel, 23 m at the anchorage, 9 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 other conditions.
Pilotage is compulsory.
Repair facilities are rated major, with a large drydock.
East London is a first port of entry.
PortWatch estimates 267 port calls at East London from Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, about 22 a month, 19% more than in the twelve months before.
By vessel type, tankers 43%, ro-ro vessels 30% and container ships 13% of those calls.
Estimated cargo over the same months: 1.1 million t imported and 526 thousand t exported.
The busiest month was May 2026 (28 calls) and the quietest Dec 2025 (19).
What is reported near this port
2 warnings in this archive have their reported position within 60 nm of East London, the earliest issued in 2008; the most common types are incidents (1) and nav aids (1).
Distance is measured to each warning's reported point or area centre, so a warning near East London 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: 19 calls, 133 thousand t in, 12 thousand 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
- small river natural
- shelter
- excellent
- water body
- Indian Ocean
- NAVAREA
- NAVAREA VII
- depths
- channel 11 m · anchorage 23 m · cargo pier 9 m · oil terminal 9 m
- mean rise of tide
- 2 m
- entrance restricted by
- other; not ice, swell, tide
- overhead limits
- yes
- good holding ground
- yes
- pilotage
- advisable, compulsory
- tugs
- assistance, salvage
- traffic and reporting
- ETA message required
- berthing
- anchorage, wharves
- cranes
- fixed, 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
- major
- 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
- 61060
World Port Index entry East London (No. 46830), 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 2.0%, exports 0.2%.
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.