www.lbhsouthafrica.com
Port of Richards Bay, South Africa28°48’S, 32°02’E | Tel: +27 35 788 0953 | [email protected]
SOUTH AFRICA
Port Information: Richards Bay
The Port of Richards Bay handles more cargo by volume than
any other South African port and is the country’s premier
bulk port. Its bulk operations are focused on four major
activities: export coal, dry bulks, break-bulk and liquid bulks.
The Richards Bay Coal Terminal is one of the world’s leading
coal export facilities.
Richards Bay is a relatively young port, having opened on 1
April, 1976. The port is located on the Zululand coast in the
north of KwaZulu-Natal, about 160km north-east of Durban
and 465km south of Maputo. Its main hinterland consists of
northern KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo.
Disclaimer:Although reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the facts stated in this document are accurate and that the opinions expressed are fair and reasonable, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made as to the fairness, accuracy, completeness or correctness of the information and opinions contained in this document, and no reliance should be placed on such information or opinions. None of the Company, any of their respective members, directors, officers or employees, nor any other person accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss, however arising, from any use of such information or opinions. No reliance should be placed on the information and no representation or warranty (express or implied) is made by the Company or any of their respective directors or employees or any other person, no liability whatsoever is accepted by such person in relation thereto.
The Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), which is located in
the Richards Bay harbour on the Indian Ocean coast of South
Africa, is the largest coal export facility in Africa. Positioned
at one of the world’s deep-sea ports, RBCT is able to handle
large ships and, subsequently, large volumes. It has a design
capacity of 91 million tons per annum and a stockyard
capacity of 7.7 million tons.
RBCT shares a strong cooperative relationship with South
Africa’s national utility, Transnet, which provides the railway
services linking the coal mines to the port, and the shipping
coordination of more than 900 ships per annum.
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Port: Richards Bay, South Africa
Location:Latitude: 28.791457° S
Longitude: 32.038768° E
Advising ETA: VHF Channel 16 is the calling
frequency with messages being
passed on VHF Channel 12.
Vessels should radio Port Control
prior to arrival, advising ETA.
When vessels enter the VTS zone
they must advise Port Control of
their draught freeboard and any
other VTS information requested.
Airport: Richards Bay Airport is 8km away
and is not part of the network or
larger airport operated by
parastatal Airports Company
South Africa. Return flights to
Johannesburg’s OR Tambo
International Airport.
Anchorages: Outer anchorage is 3-6 miles
south-east of the south
breakwater. Caution should be
exercised during strong SW and
NE winds. Anchorage immediately
to the north of the port entrance
channel is a prohibited area due
to location of offshore pipelines.
Approaches: Via VTS lanes.
Ballast:Vessels should be sufficiently
ballasted to navigate safely
within the port.
Vessels up to 250m in length
overall: fwd draught 2% in LOA /
aft draught 3% in LOA
Vessels in excess of 250m in
LOA: fwd draught 2.5% in LOA /
aft draught 3.5% in LOA
Banking: All major South African and
international banks represented
in Richards Bay.
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Berths: 23 Berths in total, up to 350m in length.
Bunkers: Bunkers are provided by bunker barge ‘Lapuma’, operated
by Smit Amandla Marine (Pty) Ltd at the port. M.V Amber
II, operated by Amsol, supplies BP stems at this stage.
Cargo Handling: The port hosts six licensed cargo handling terminals equipped
to ensure that clients can compete in the global arena.
Multi-Purpose Terminal
Forest products (paper and pulp)
Metal items (aluminium ingots, Ferro metals, chrome and
pig iron)
Bagged cargo
Granite
A small number of containers
Project cargo (heavy lift, abnormal loads, etc.)
Bulk coal
Dry Bulk Terminal
Export commodities include coal, magnetite, chrome,
fertilizer, rock phosphate, rutile, titanium slag, vanadium
slag, steel pipes, vermiculite, woodchips and zircon.
Imports include alumina, coking coal, pet coke, potash,
rock phosphate, sulphur and urea.
Richards Bay Coal Terminal
Export coal
Cruise: No dedicated area. Liners are berthed at suitable berths
depending on space availability and vessel size, or at Small
Craft Port.
Depth: Port entrance channel is 300m wide, extending seawards
400m beyond breakwater to depth of 22m.
Multi-Purpose Terminal
The terminal uses Berths 606 to 608 and 706 to 708. Draft
restrictions are 13.5m across all these berths. 609 is an
import berth only with an LOA restriction of 300m and a
draft restriction of 13.6m.
Dry Bulk Terminal
The DBT has the use of six berths – No’s 701, 702, 703,
704/705, 801 and 804. 701 has a depth alongside of 14m
whereas all other DBT berths have a draft of 17.5m.
Richards Bay Coal Terminal
The Terminal uses berths 301 – 306, with lengths ranging from
184 - 350 metres. Draft alongside all berths is 17.5 metres.
Berths may require dredging from time to time, and the
Harbour Master may issue revised drafts for an interim period.
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Emergencies: Contact Port Control on Channel 12 or 16
or call +27 35 905 3444/3401. Contact Port Fire Emergency
on +27 83 708 0830.
Fresh Water: Available at all berths on request. In light of recent drought
situations, a restriction of 100 tons is in place. Only under
special circumstances will the Harbour Master approve
requests that exceed the 100-ton restriction.
Hazardous Cargo: Arrangements must be made through the Harbour Master.
Vessels carrying explosive or dangerous goods are
restricted to arrival and movement within the port during
daylight hours.
Hours: Administration office hours: Mon – Fri: 08:00 – 16:00.
Closed on public holidays.
Marine service hours: 24/7
Terminals: 24/7, but public holiday closures vary per terminal.
Pilotage: Pilotage is compulsory. Marine pilots are transferred to
and from vessels by helicopter. There is a pilot boat on
standby if the helicopter is unavailable. General
communication with the helicopter is on VHF Channel 14.
Port control will advise on which side the ladder should be
rigged. Man ropes must be provided; pilot hoists are
unacceptable. Vessels are served in order of priority in
terms of the Marine Resource Reservation System.
Pilot Boarding Position: Boarding pilots are determined by the Marine Pilot within
an area designated for pilot boarding as per local
navigation charts. All vessels with a freeboard in excess of
9m must have an accommodation ladder rigged in
conjunction with the pilot ladder. The lower edge of the
accommodation ladder must not be more than 9m above
sea level.
Port Limits:Six mile limit south-east of South Breakwater.
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Radio:
Calling frequency is VHF Channel
12. VHF Channel 16 is monitored
for emergency purposes.
Ship Repair: No dedicated ship repair berth
facility. A repair berth is located
at Small Craft Port.
Storage:Both covered and open storage
is available.
Tide: Tidefall is 2.47m.
Transportation:The port’s main hinterland
comprises of the northern
KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and
Mpumalanga regions. The port
also has access to South Africa’s
trunk road network, as well as
excellent rail infrastructure
connecting all major cities and
countries further north.
Water Density:Richards Bay is considered as a
seawater port, and therefore has
a density of 1025g /m3.
However, please note that the
hydrometer used by the draft
surveyor is calibrated differently
that the load line hydrometer
and will read 1023, while the
load line hydrometer used for
checking the load line is
calibrated to 1025. We therefore
request that Masters prepare a
stowplan based on 1023 water
density, and if the density is less
than 1023 a small allowance can
be made up to 1023.
Weather: Subtropical climate with warm,
wet summers and mild, moist to
dry winters. The town’s average
annual rainfall is 1 228 mm (48.3
in) and the average annual
temperature is 21.5°C.
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M U D F L A T S
L A K E
M Z I N G A Z I
S A N C T U A R Y A R E A
P O R T E N T R A N C E
RICHARDS BAY
BREAKBULKMPT
BREAKBULKMPT
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ZONE
LIQ
UID
BU
LK
DR
Y B
ULK
(RB
CT)
DRY BULKMULTIPURPOSE
TERMINAL
SMALL CRAFT
HARBOUR
LIQUID
BULK BERTH
DR
Y B
ULK
BE
RTH
S
(RB
CT)
PORT OF RICHARDS BAY
Terminal Information: Multi-purpose Terminal
With an annual capacity of 8 million tons of break-bulk
cargo, the Richards Bay Multi-purpose Terminal (MPT)
handles a very diverse range of commodities. The terminal
is the result of a merger between two separate facilities: the
Bulk Metals Terminal and the Combi Terminal. This
integration of infrastructure and facilities has allowed the
MPT to provide and manage logistics for a variety of cargo
types, notably break-bulk, neo-bulks and containers. Much
of the break-bulk cargo handled at Richards Bay is
skip-loaded because of the density of the commodities, and
is transported to and from the port by road transport. For
this reason, the TNPA has invested billions of Rands in
purchasing cargo handling equipment and creating
additional capacity. This is an ongoing project.
Dry Bulk Terminal
The Dry Bulk Terminal (DBT) at Richards Bay is one of the most
advanced multi-purpose bulk handling facilities in Africa.
Image sourced by Transnet
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The terminal has an annual
capacity of 20 million tons and is
designed for high productivity and
fast vessel turnarounds. The DBT is
not dedicated to any specific
commodity, but handles multiple
products over its conveyor system.
In order to avoid contamination,
the belts, transfer points, rail trucks
and vessel loaders and unloaders
are washed thoroughly after each
operation before commencing the
next product handling procedure.
Richards Bay Coal Terminal
The Richards Bay Coal Terminal
(RBCT) is a world class coal export
terminal situated in the Port of
Richards Bay. The terminal
provides South Africa’s Coal
Exporting Parties (CEPs) with a
world class logistics service that
facilitates the export of coal.
Export destination per continent:
Asia – 81.6%
Europe – 10.1%
Africa – 7.8%
South America – 0.5%
All RBCT’s operations and
administrative functions are
conducted in Richards Bay.
Sourced Information: www.transnet.net
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