Richards Bay, South Africa
Port · ZARCB · -28.79°, 32.04° · Mineral Products, Metals, Wood & Wood Products
- in force · 60 nm
- 0
- issued · 30 d
- 0
- archive messages
- 8
- vessel calls / yr
- 1,472
About the port
The World Port Index lists Richards Bay as a medium coastal breakwater harbour with fair shelter.
Listed depths: 19 m in the channel, 19 m at the anchorage, 19 m at the cargo pier and 16 m at the oil terminal, with a mean rise of tide of 2 m.
Entry can be restricted by other conditions.
Largest vessel listed: length 300 m, beam 50 m and draft 18 m.
Pilotage is compulsory.
Repair facilities are rated limited.
Richards Bay is a first port of entry.
PortWatch estimates 1,421 port calls at Richards Bay from Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, about 118 a month, close to the twelve months before.
By vessel type, dry bulk carriers 81%, tankers 16% and general cargo ships 3% of those calls.
Estimated cargo over the same months: 2.0 million t imported and 71 million t exported.
The busiest month was Dec 2025 (132 calls) and the quietest Jul 2026 (104).
What is reported near this port
8 warnings in this archive have their reported position within 60 nm of Richards Bay, the earliest issued in 1968; the most common types are incidents (5), cable ops (2) and spills (1).
Distance is measured to each warning's reported point or area centre, so a warning near Richards Bay 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: 114 calls, 126 thousand t in, 5.5 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
- medium coastal breakwater
- shelter
- fair
- water body
- Indian Ocean
- NAVAREA
- NAVAREA VII
- depths
- channel 19 m · anchorage 19 m · cargo pier 19 m · oil terminal 16 m
- mean rise of tide
- 2 m
- largest vessel
- length 300 m · beam 50 m · draft 18 m
- entrance restricted by
- other; not ice, swell, tide
- overhead limits
- yes
- turning area
- yes
- pilotage
- advisable, compulsory
- tugs
- assistance
- traffic and reporting
- ETA message required
- berthing
- wharves
- cargo handling
- break bulk, container, liquid bulk, oil terminal
- cranes
- fixed, mobile
- services
- dirty ballast reception, garbage disposal, longshore labour, medical
- supplies
- diesel, fuel oil, provisions, water
- repairs
- limited
- first port of entry
- yes
- sailing directions
- Sailing Directions Pub. 171 (Enroute) - East Africa and the South Indian Ocean
- chart
- 61100
World Port Index entry Richards Bay (No. 46855), 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 3.1%, exports 41%.
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.