Port of East London
The only remaining river port in South Africa, the Port of East London, is situated at a Longitude of 27º 55’ east and Latitude 33º 1’ south. It can be found at the mouth of the Buffalo River in the Eastern Cape and is not only a port but also a place of entertainment and historical interest. Originally named Port Rex, the cargo port is connected by rail and road with many of the country’s provinces. Inland, the Free State and Gauteng make use of this excellent port facility while several places in KwaZulu Natal and Port Elizabeth, which are located along the coast to the north and southwest, have been known to move their goods through this harbor port.
One of the most outstanding features at the East London Port in South Africa is that it has the largest grain elevator for grain export in the country. Recent upgrades have also resulted in a new four-story car terminal on the harbor’s West Bank. Though the harbor was designed to handled roughly 50 000 units a year, it recently exceeded this in the 2005/06 financial year. The parkade has the potential to be increased to eight stories to accommodated additional throughput and there is also place to build a third berth. There is also a dry dock which can handle most ships up to 200 meters in size with a maximum beam of 24.8 meters. There are four electric and cranes and one mobile one on the dock to facilitate the loading of ships.
The East London Harbor Port is a common user port and thus it operates on a first-come-first-served basis. It features twelve commercial berths and a repair quay, a pilot jetty and a fishing jetty. The Latimer’s Landing Waterfront complex has hotels and shops to accommodate the public and adds to the harbor's aesthetic appeal. The port is dredged for ships with a draught of 10 meters and can accommodate most ships that reach up to 245 meters in size. It has a service fleet of three tugs and a harbour launch. You can be certain that this fully functional river harbor is not lacking in anything.
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