# East London (ZA ELS)

**UN/LOCODE:** ZA ELS  
**Country:** South Africa  
**Water Body:** Indian Ocean  
**Harbor Size:** Small  
**Harbor Type:** River (Natural)  
**GPS:** -33.0333, 27.9167

Two container berths, a four-storey car terminal and a grain elevator give East London a broader cargo mix than its size suggests. It is South Africa's only river port, set on the Buffalo River where it meets the Indian Ocean. Container traffic runs through Transnet Port Terminals' Multi-Purpose Terminal, handling up to about 90,000 TEU a year; with no quay gantry cranes, vessels work with their own gear. The car terminal on the West Bank, opened in 2000, links by dedicated road to the adjacent Mercedes-Benz plant, shipping locally built vehicles to the US and Brazil. Grain, break-bulk and project cargo round out the throughput, with road and rail connections into the Eastern Cape interior. For deep-sea container services and larger volumes, shippers typically use Ngqura/Port Elizabeth or Durban.

## Transit Times & Routes

- [Durban → Shanghai](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/durban-shanghai)
- [Durban → Shenzhen](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/durban-shenzhen)
- [Durban → Guangzhou](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/durban-guangzhou)
- [Durban → Hong Kong](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/durban-hong-kong)
- [Durban → Tokyo](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/durban-tokyo)
- [Durban → Busan](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/durban-busan)

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*Freight Academy — Seaport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/seaports/east-london-port-za-els](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/seaports/east-london-port-za-els)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/seaports/en/east-london-port-za-els](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/seaports/en/east-london-port-za-els)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/seaports/east-london-port-za-els/llm-summary?lang=en*