Matadi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Port · CDMAT · -5.83°, 13.44° · Mineral Products, Vegetable Products, Prepared Foodstuffs & Beverages
- in force · 60 nm
- 0
- issued · 30 d
- 0
- archive messages
- 1
- vessel calls / yr
- 424
About the port
The World Port Index lists Matadi as a small river natural harbour with good shelter.
Listed depths: 8 m in the channel, 13 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 tide, swell and other conditions.
Pilotage is compulsory.
Repair facilities are rated none.
Matadi is a first port of entry.
PortWatch estimates 658 port calls at Matadi from Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, about 55 a month, 29% more than in the twelve months before.
By vessel type, container ships 33%, general cargo ships 30% and dry bulk carriers 19% of those calls.
Estimated cargo over the same months: 1.8 million t imported and 1.1 million t exported.
The busiest month was Mar 2026 (66 calls) and the quietest Sep 2025 (41).
What is reported near this port
1 warning in this archive has its reported position within 60 nm of Matadi, the earliest issued in 2017; the most common types are cable ops (1).
Distance is measured to each warning's reported point or area centre, so a warning near Matadi 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: 50 calls, 135 thousand t in, 59 thousand t out
In force within 60 nm · 0
Nothing in force within 60 nm right now.
Port characteristics · World Port Index
- harbour
- small river natural
- shelter
- good
- water body
- South Atlantic Ocean
- NAVAREA
- NAVAREA II
- depths
- channel 8 m · anchorage 13 m · cargo pier 9 m · oil terminal 9 m
- mean rise of tide
- 2 m
- entrance restricted by
- other, swell, tide
- overhead limits
- yes
- good holding ground
- yes
- pilotage
- advisable, compulsory
- tugs
- assistance; not salvage
- traffic and reporting
- ETA message required
- berthing
- anchorage, wharves
- cranes
- fixed, floating, mobile
- services
- electrical repair, garbage disposal, longshore labour, medical; not dirty ballast reception
- supplies
- diesel, fuel oil, provisions, water; not deck stores, engine stores
- repairs
- none
- first port of entry
- yes
- sailing directions
- Sailing Directions Pub. 123 (Enroute) - Southwest Coast of Africa
- chart
- 57246
World Port Index entry Matadi (No. 46530), 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 Democratic Republic of the Congo's maritime trade through this port (PortWatch): imports 98%, exports 3.2%.
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.