Durban port and ships, live
Durban handles cargo: the World Port Index lists container berths, ramps for roll-on, roll-off ships, dry bulk berths, liquid bulk berths and general cargo berths.
Right now · as of
42 ships on the map within 10 km of Durban, 4 under way.
Cargo 26, Tugs / Service 9, Other / Unidentified 3, Tankers 3 and Fishing 1
The harbour
The Index rates Durban a large coastal harbour behind breakwaters. It lists container berths, ramps for roll-on, roll-off ships, dry bulk berths, liquid bulk berths, general cargo berths and a dry dock there. It takes ships up to 350 m long, through a channel at least 11 m deep.
Harbours within 10 km
- Durban4 km from the centreLarge harbour
What the live map can see
In 24 hours of AIS recorded Oct 12 – 19, the map heard 116 different ships within 10 km of Durban, one of the best-covered harbours on the map.
Good to know
- NGA’s World Port Index rates a harbour by its area, facilities and wharf space when it was last surveyed, not by its traffic, so a busy terminal can be rated small. Where it doesn’t know about a facility it says so, and only what it marks as there is listed here.
- AIS is heard by receivers on shore, so coverage follows where they are: ships far out at sea, or off coasts without one, don’t show. Warships and some others switch it off, and a ship’s type and destination are typed in by its crew.
- Harbours from NGA’s World Port Index (Pub. 150), downloaded on Oct 19, 2026. The major ports and chokepoints are the map’s own reference list.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Live ship tracker, Shipping chokepoints