Port of Dili

The port is located in the neighbourhood of Farol, which is within the suco of Motael. It is on the north side of central Dili, and at the southern extremity of the Bay of Dili, facing Ombai Strait. The site is suitable for a port because a natural reef along its perimeter provides protection from severe weather. Protection of this kind is crucial for seaports in Southeast Asia, where there is an annual monsoon season.[4]

The approach to the port is a narrow passage through two reefs marked by beacons.[5] Night entry is not recommended, as there are reefs and unmarked wrecks inside the bay. During monsoon season, between November and the end of March, ships in port are slightly exposed to north-westerly winds.[6]

Dili has had a port since at least as far back as 1769. That year, the governor of Portuguese Timor sought to break the influence of powerful local families in Lifau, Oecusse, his then residence, by moving the colonial administration and 1,200 people to the site of what would become Dili.[7]

During the East Timorese Civil War in 1975, the two protagonists, the Timorese Democratic Union (Portuguese: União Democrática Timorense (UDT)) and Fretilin, took turns in occupying the port. On the evening of 26/27 August 1975, the Portuguese colonial administration was evacuated from Dili via the port to the offshore island of Atauro.[8]

On 7 December 1975, Indonesian troops landed in Dili. After capturing the city, the Indonesians led Chinese residents, members of Fretilin and other prisoners to the port area, shot them, and threw their bodies into the sea. Eyewitnesses later reported that there were dozens of bodies. The victims included suffragette Rosa Bonaparte, her brother Bernardino Bonaparte Soares, Isabel Barreto Lobato (wife of Fretilin-appointed Prime Minister Nicolau dos Reis Lobato) and Roger East, the last remaining foreign reporter in Dili.[9][10][11][12][13] The total number of people executed on the Dili waterfront is estimated at 150.[14]

As of 2011, a total of 200,000 t (200,000 long tons; 220,000 short tons) of goods was being processed annually at the port, a throughput that had increased by 20% each year for the previous six years. Of the goods processed, 80% were imports.[15]^: 95

By the mid 2010s, the port, although improved by Japanese grant aid, had a nearly saturated capacity, and its safety measures were not satisfactory.[16]^: 1 It was struggling to cope with its volume of cargo and could not be expanded due to the physical constraints of its location. The depth alongside the wharf was such that only small container ships could berth alongside, and the berths and approach channel required frequent dredging. Larger ships were forced to unload onto lighters, causing delays and added costs. Further, the apron and container stacking areas were in poor condition due to lack of maintenance.[3]^: 1

The port is relatively small. The main wharf is 280 m (920 ft) long and has a maximum capacity of three commercial vessels, as it is nominally divided into three berths. There are two roll-on/roll-off ramps – one at the east end of the wharf and the other at the west end – and a yacht anchorage on the port side of the wharf.[4][6]

Shipments to and from the port are restricted to containerised and conventional cargos. The port has no facilities to handle bulk cargos, and any fuel or liquids coming into it must be shipped in ISO containers. Two privately owned fuel jetties close to Dili are used for bulk fuel shipments.[4]

Only one container gantry is available, with a capacity of 18 t (18 long tons; 20 short tons); there is no dockside crane. The main onshore method for loading and unloading cargo is mobile cranes operated by private companies.[4]

Storage facilities within the port are very limited. However, the port warehouses, located within a secure area, are permanent structures with good drainage and corrugated iron roofing. On the port's hard standing, a maximum of only 1,000 containers can be stored.[4]

Some of the stevedoring companies operating in the port have storage compounds outside the port. As of January 2014, land was being levelled in Tasitolu, 9 km (5.6 mi) to the west of the port, to create additional storage.[16]

Entrance to the port for vessels is restricted to 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The wharves, port gates, and empty containers are operational 24 hours a day.[16]

Theoretically, the port has the capacity to import and export 120,000 TEU/Year, but the container yard is not able to function as efficiently as average container ports.[16]^: VI The records taken in 2014 have 51,822 TEU passing in or out.[3]^: 1

The Dili port experiences delays of up to 10 days for commercial container ships.[17]

Concerns have been raised by the government about the port's capacity and maintenance. Maintenance, management manuals, and routine port checks are nonexistent. Staff size, experience and budget are not sufficient. Accident records are not available. The government pushed the port to establish a record of incidents.[16]

Government officials, especially former prime minister Dr. Mari Alkatiri, are concerned with how sea level rise (SLR) will affect the port. Another concern is that SLR causes flooding to a great portion of the island. Studies are attempting to establish effects on the port, but information and data are lacking.[18]

To solve the problems of congestion, the government planned, as of 2014, to:

• Improve the management of cargo ships by utilizing the quayside, as loading and unloading cargo ships takes more time than passenger vessels.
• Increase the space of the shipping-container yard to allow for an increase of storage space for containers.[16]
• Implement night-time operation for both the general cargo and container areas.
• Coordinate general cargo and passenger loading and unloading.
• Establish the west end as the ferry and passenger area, and the east side to general cargo and container operations.
• Improve security by constructing fencing, CCTV camera systems, security lighting, clocking systems and passenger scanners.[16]

In June 2016, the government signed an agreement with the Bolloré Group to build a new container port at Tibar Bay, around 12 km (7.5 mi) from Dili. The 30-year concession contract was the first public-private partnership ever undertaken in East Timor. At a value of US$490 million, it was also the country's largest ever private investment.[19]

The greenfield Tibar Bay Port project was intended to replace the existing port of Dili with a modern container port that would be able to handle up to 350,000 TEU annually. The new port was planned to consist of a 630 m (2,070 ft) wharf with a 15 m (49 ft) draft, and a 29 ha (72 acres) container yard.[19]

Subsequently, Bolloré Group contracted with China Harbour Engineering Company to construct the new port.[20]

Construction was declared to be underway in June 2017 and August 2018,[21] and was originally scheduled to be completed by the end of 2020.[22] However, issues with funding and subcontracting delayed progress, and the official ceremony launching the project was not held until 15 July 2019.[21] As of mid 2021, the port was expected to open in May 2022.[23]

• Transport in East Timor
• Tibar Bay Port

Media related to Port of Dili (Motael) at Wikimedia Commons