[imagesource:flickr]

There’s more to Cape Town’s port than just the Waterfront.

Cape Town rivals with Alexandria for the title of Africa’s most renowned port, and it is unquestionably one of the most beautiful harbours in the world, with Table Mountain as a breathtaking background, bordered by the hilly Peninsula and Africa’s enormous hinterland beyond the mountain.

The port is located on one of the world’s busiest trade routes and will always be strategically and economically significant for that reason alone. Cape Town is also a busy container port, second in South Africa only to Durban in terms of ship numbers, and handles the largest amount of fresh fruit.

The port was established early on after Jan van Riebeeck arrived and played a crucial role for ships of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) on their long voyages to and from the Dutch East Indies. It progressed steadily over the centuries and consists today of two ‘docks’ – the outer Ben Schoeman Dock in which lies the container terminal, and the older inner Duncan Dock containing the multi-purpose and fruit terminals as well as a dry dock, repair quay and tanker basin. Cape Town also boasts an extensive yachting marina.

The historic Victoria and Alfred Basins, the original Cape Town port was created after a vicious storm in 1858, long after the demise of the VOC, which saw 30 ships blown ashore and wrecked, with huge loss of life. Lloyd’s of London declined all further insurance on ships in Table Bay in winter, resulting in the British Colonial Government starting the construction, in 1860, of the first breakwater.

This eventually developed into the Victoria and Alfred Basin, the first safe harbour, and today hosts the world-famous Cape Town Waterfront which is still in use for commercial reasons, providing a unique attraction for the waterfront development.

Small commercial vessels, like as fishing and pleasure boats, still utilise the V&A, as do a variety of intriguing research and Antarctic supply ships.

Cape Town, as the ‘Tavern of the Seas’ caters for general cargo and handles an increasing number of containers, many of them containing cargo that get shipped the world over by Berry & Donaldson, our shipping partners.

Just like the Cape Town port, Berry & Donaldson has a long history of ensuring that cargo from all over the globe gets delivered safely, no matter the storm.

[source:afriports]