SOUTH AFRICAN PORTS

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aukepalmhof
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SOUTH AFRICAN PORTS

Post by aukepalmhof » Mon Sep 17, 2018 9:47 pm

35c Walvis Bay Harbour:
This bay is on the west coast of South Africa was marked on Portuguese marine charts as early as 1487. The natural harbour was named Golfo de Santa Maria da Conceicao by Bartolomeu Dias. The Territory of Walvis Bay became a British possession in 1878, and in 1884 it was incorporated into the then Cape Colony.
Walvis Bay was formerly a whaling station. Originally the bay was too shallow for use by Ocean Steamers but it has systemically dredged and the first quay for passengers and cargo vessels was opened in 1927. Walvis Bay is the centre of the important fishing industry on the west coast and also handles the exporting of minerals from Namibia.

55c East London:
East London port is situated in the mouth of the Buffalo River. In 1835 the river was surveyed for a possible harbour for longboats to carry passengers and cargo from the ships on the road to and from the harbour but it came to noting.
1847 A new attempt was made to open a port and this was also not successful.
Only when there where diamonds found in Grqualand there came sufficient money free to start again. In 1872 the first shipments with equipment arrived and after setting up a platform for the cranes the construction was started of the south breakwater.
1875 The first wharf was constructed, 1876 another and in 1877 a third wharf.
1993 The harbour has now 2.6km of quay, and several railway lines connect the port with Transvaal and other regions. The turnover in that year appr. 3 million tons and 26,000 containers a year.
In the foreground is a white hulled cargo vessel visible, most probably a reefer vessel.

70c Port Elizabeth: On 12 March 1488 Bartolomeu Dias became the first recorded Occidental to call at Bahia de Lagos as he named the bay now known as Algoa Bay. As a seaport, however, the town of Port Elizabeth owns it origin to the British settlers of 1820. After their arrival, the need for a customs post arose. In 1825 the bay was given port status with the appointment of a port master, and a year later a collector was appointed. Today, Port Elizabeth is the fifth largest cargo-handling port in South Africa. The port has more as 3,400m of quayage and a container terminal with two berths. Recently a large container-handling terminal for imported motor vehicle components was developed.

90c Cape Town Harbour: Table Bay has been used as a landing place by passing ships ever since Bartolemeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. The port grew from the refreshment station founded by Jan van Riebeeck in April 1652 for ships of the Dutch East India Company. In 1656 work was started on a wooden jetty to facilitate the landing of small boats. During World War II, Cape Town handled more than 400 convoys, saw 13,000 ships repaired, and took in about 6 million soldiers. During the Suez crises in 1973, the port handled an enormous amount of shipping. Today (1993) Cape Town handled some 4.5 million of cargo annually. There are sophisticated container handling facilities as well as two dry-docks and extensive service facilities.

Durban Harbour: In 1823 the brig SALISBURY viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10957&p=11622&hilit ... ury#p11622 sheltered in a bay on the Natal coast during a sudden storm. Impressed by the potential of the bay, Lieutenants King and Farewell obtained a concession for a trading store on the waterfront. Thus began the history of South Africa’s busiest port. Today over 500.000 containers are handled at the container terminal annually, the largest in Africa. A large passenger terminal also provides for the needs of ocean travellers.

Source: South Africa Post and internet.
South Africa 1993 35c/R1.05 sg 772/76, scott 844/48
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