City finder

Port of Cape Town

Cape Town has been a strategically important port since the 17th century when, in 1652, Jan van Riebeeck set up a replenishment station in South Africa for the Dutch East India Company. Times have changed and Cape Town’s port has moved with the times, developing into a state-of-the-art facility for moving significant volumes of cargo and accommodating cruise ships and leisure craft, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

With a well-earned reputation for being the Cape of Storms, business at the port of Cape Town is sometimes disrupted by the weather, but unlike in days gone by, the port is now equipped to deal with all manner of emergencies and ship safety is of paramount importance. The port of Cape Town has a total of 34 berths and dry dock repair facilities to accommodate vessels of 1,806 tonnes and 61 meters in length. The Victoria & Alfred basins of the port accommodate passenger cruise ships, while the container and multipurpose terminals deal with a wide variety of cargo. Also located at the port is a yacht club, marina and the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI). Cape Town port certainly remains of great importance to the economy of South Africa.