Container Transshipment

Home / Facilities & Services / Container Transshipment

Port Louis Harbour (PLH) is the main port of the Republic of Mauritius.  As the country’s primary maritime gateway, PLH plays a crucial role in the national economy.  The port handles 99% of the country’s total volume of external trade, that is almost 7.5million tonnes of cargo annually.  It is to be noted that there is a second port, Port Mathurin, in Rodrigues, which is an autonomous island forming part of the Republic of Mauritius.  Rodrigues lies some 600 kilometres to the north east of Mauritius.

Owing to its strategic location in the Indian Ocean, PLH, which is located at the crossroads of key maritime routes linking Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe, has positioned itself as a regional shipping centre and transshipment hub for the region.  The world’s leading liner companies operate regular scheduled services to Mauritius through their dedicated African and Indian Ocean services. Moreover, they also provide regular feeder services to the other ports of the region.

In 2017, the quay length at the Mauritius Container Terminal (MCT) was increased to 800 metres and the facility can accommodate 2 large container vessels of about 360 metres each at any one time or a combination of 3 vessels of different sizes.  With the deepening of the navigation channel from 14.5 metres to 16.5 metres, PLH is now one of the deepest ports in the South-West Indian Ocean, capable of handling container vessels with draft of about 15.0 metres and capacity of more than 12,000 TEUs.  With the extension and upgrading of the MCT, the capacity of the terminal has been increased from 550,000 TEUs to around 1 million TEUs.

Main reasons why liners choose Port Louis Harbour (PLH):

  1. Geographical position with deep-water facilities
  2. Reliable and efficient service
  3. Fixed berthing window scheme
  4. ISO 14001 certified and Green Port strategy
  5. Highly developed port infrastructure and container handling equipment 
  6. Attractive Transshipment Service Agreements
  7. Good air connectivity
  8. Proximity to the Freeport Zone
  9. One-stop-shop with a wide portfolio of marine services
  10. Feeder operations capability

Facilities at Mauritius Container Terminal (MCT)

Quay length : 800 m

Reefer points : 576

Turning basin diameter : 450 m

Terminal area : 34.5 Ha

Container yard : 22.5 Ha

Max. depth at Chart Datum (m) : 16.5 m

Quay cranes : 5 Post Panamax cranes and 3 Super Post Panamax cranes

Yard equipment :16 Rubber-Tyred Gantry cranes

Container berths : 3

MCT Container Capacity : Approximately 1 million TEUs