Port Overview 

The Port of Luganville is located on the south-eastern coast of Espiritu Santo Island in Sanma Province. The port is used for transhipment of beef, fish, cacao and copra (dried coconut) and import of general goods and oils. The port is government-owned and can also accommodate cruise ships and tankers. The draft at the Port of Luganville is deeper than at the Port of Port Vila. 

Adjacent to the Port of Luganville is the Samansen Wharf which handles domestic ships and ferries. The Samansen Wharf can handle only one cargo ship at a time. 

There are two other ports in Luganville which are also used for domestic sea travel: 

• Ifira Santo Wharf 

• Melcoffee Wharf 

Port website: N/A 

Key port information may also be found at: https://www.maritime-database.com/port.php?pid=3712  

 

Port Location and Contact
Country	Vanuatu
Province or District	Espiritu Santo, Sanma Province
Nearest Town or City  with Distance from Port	Luganville  1.9 km
Port's Complete Name	International Wharf
Latitude	-15.51494
Longitude	167.188
Managing Company or Port Authority	Port Authority – Department of Ports and Marine  Stevedoring – Northern Islands Stevedoring Company Limited (NISCOL)
Management Contact Person	Department of Ports and Marine  P: +678 36033  Harbour Master – Capt. Terry Ngwele: +678 33790; 7783338; 5728816 (tngwele@vanuatu.gov.vu)   NISCOL  P: +678 36084  E: commercial@niscol.com.vu   CEO – Hollingsworth Ala Ngwele: +678 36084; 7777124
Nearest Airport and Airlines with Frequent International Arrivals/Departures	Santo International Airport, Luganville  Air Vanuatu  Aircalin  Virgin Australia  Solomon Airlines

 

Port Picture 

 

• Luganville International Wharf 

• Customs 

• Container Storage 

• Cruise Ship Terminal 

• Samansen Domestic Wharf 

 

View from the Cruise Ship Terminal 

 

Description and Contacts of Key Companies 

Department of Ports and Marine: The Department of Ports and Marine has jurisdiction over the two commercial harbours in Vanuatu: Port Vila on Efate and Luganville on Espiritu Santo. The Department is responsible for the implementation of the Shipping and Ports Act which regulates Vanuatu’s ports of entry, internal ports, the role of harbourmasters who oversee the ports and additional related aspects of maritime operations. 

 

Northern Islands Stevedoring Company Limited (NISCOL): A stevedoring company which is responsible for all stevedoring services at the Port of Luganville. NISCOL handles loading and offloading of international cargo, storage and movement of cargo (containers) to delivery sites on Espiritu Santo. 

 

Vanuatu Customs & Inland Revenue (Border Control): Execute and enforce relevant laws and regulations to protect the welfare of Vanuatu by boarding international crafts (air and sea) to assess the risk of possible threat through our borders, maintaining the level of compliance to relevant laws and regulations, and providing clearance for entry, coast-wise movement, and departure. 

 

Biosecurity Vanuatu (Border Control):  Mandated to protect Vanuatu from the introduction of harmful exotic and invasive plant and animal pests and diseases. Biosecurity Vanuatu’s sea port operation is to ensure that all sea going crafts, people, and goods do not bring with them organisms that can affect the livelihood and the environment of the people of Vanuatu. Biosecurity Vanuatu has offices in Port Vila (Post Office, Bauerfield International Airport and Main International Wharf) on Efate Island and in Luganville on Espiritu Santo Island. 

 

For more information on port contacts, please see the following link: 4.4 Port and Waterways Companies Contact List. 

 

Port Performance 

Live port performance can be found at the following link: https://www.fleetmon.com/ports/luganville-santo_vusan_9837/?language=en  

 

Designed with a 360m long wharf apron, the Port of Luganville can berth a 30,000-dead-weight tonnage cargo ship or a 100,000 GT cruise ship. 

 

The port is currently not congested but there are times when congestion occurs. During an emergency, there is an established priority for humanitarian cargo. 

Seasonal Constraints
	Occurs	Time Frame
Rainy Season	Yes	November to April
Major Import Campaigns	No	N/A
Other Comments	N/A

 

Handling Figures for 2022
Vessel Calls	31
Container Traffic (TEUs)	5,024

 

Handling Figures Bulk and Break Bulk for 2022
Bulk (MT)	55,109 RT
Break bulk (MT)	9,069 mt

Discharge Rates and Terminal Handling Charges 

Berthing Specifications 

Type of Berth	Quantity	Length  (m)	Maximum  Draft (m)	Comments
Conventional Berth	1	360 m	20 m	30 m wide apron
Container Berth	1	360 m	20 m	30 m wide apron
Silo Berth	N/A	N/A	N/A
Berthing Tugs	1	N/A	N/A
Water Barges	N/A	N/A	N/A

 

The port is the deepest in the Pacific at 20 m with approximately 12 m at the wharf front. 

The wharf can handle 40 mt per m3 loading. 

Port Handling Equipment 

The management and handling of the port is contracted to NISCOL. There are no cranes or gantries available. Ships arriving at the port must be equipped with own crane at a capacity of minimum 38 mt. No tined machines. There is one crane for hire – 70 mt grove – owned by a Chinese company at Velit Bay. 

 

Equipment	Available	Total Quantity and Capacity Available	Comments on Current Condition and Actual Usage
Dockside Crane	No	N/A
Container Gantries	No	N/A
Mobile Cranes	No	N/A
Reachstackers	No	N/A
RoRo Tugmaster (with Trailer)	No	N/A
Grain Elevator with Bagging Machines	No	N/A
Transtainer	No	N/A
Forklifts	Yes	3 x 35 mt mega forklift  1 x 18 mt forklift  4 x 3.5 mt forklift  2 x sidelifters (20 ft and 40 ft)

Container Facilities 

The Port of Luganville has capacity for about 1,000 TEU’s at the container freight station with 18 reefer connections. 

International Wharf Facilities
Facilities	20 ft	40 ft
Container Facilities Available	Yes	Yes
Container Freight Station (CFS)	Yes	Yes
Refrigerated Container Stations	Yes	Yes
Other Capacity Details	N/A
Daily Take Off Capacity   (Containers per Day)	Information not available
Number of Reefer Stations   (Connection Points)	18	18
Emergency Take-off Capacity	Information not available
Off take Capacity of Gang Shift (Containers per Shift)	Information not available

Customs Guidance 

There is a Customs office at the wharf. It is located within the Cruise Ship Terminal Building. Opening hours: 08:00am to 05:00pm (Monday to Friday). 

 

Sea freight clearance at the Port of Luganville is done electronically through ASYCUDA. 

 

Documents required by Customs for clearance of relief items: 

• Tax exemption letter from the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) 

• Commercial invoices 

• Freight statements 

• Other charges statements 

• Packing lists 

• Bill of Ladings 

• Cargo manifest 

• Sanitary or phytosanitary certificate (where required) 

 

Important to note that when sending relief items, only relief items are to be included in the package, packing list, bill of lading, tax exemption letter from NDMO, etc. No personal items are to be included as personal items are not tax exempt. 

 

During peacetime, goods must be cleared from customs control within two months from the date of arrival of the goods. After two months, the goods may be seized by Customs and forfeited to the Government of Vanuatu. 

 

Contact details: 

Customs Santo International Wharf 

P: +678 33780 

VoIP: 6514 

E: customssanto@vanuatu.gov.vu  

 

Reference: https://customsinlandrevenue.gov.vu/ 

 

For more information on customs in Vanuatu, please see the following link: 1.3 Customs Information.   

Terminal Information 

MULTIPURPOSE TERMINAL 

The International Wharf at Luganville is managed by NISCOL. The port has one berth that is shared by international cargo vessels and cruise ships. 

 

Pacific Petroleum Company has their own port installation for unloading fuel tankers directly into their storage facilities. 

 

Ro-Ro facilities are available, if needed. 

GRAIN AND BULK HANDLING 

The port is not equipped to handle bulk grain. There are no companies available for bagging and no silo storage facilities. 

MAIN STORAGE TERMINAL 

The main storage located on the wharf is about 1,000 m2 in size and is the custom and quarantine warehouse. The storage has capacity for approximately 500 bulker bags at 1.2 m2 (stacked 3 bags high). 

 

There are also two large copra warehouses at the wharf, but these are generally always full. They can hold up to 2,500 tonnes of copra. 

 

The Cruise Ship Terminal may not be appropriate to be used for storage during an emergency as it now houses offices for customs, biosecurity and Department of Ports and Marine. If relief supplies were to be stored at the terminal, it would be difficult for NDMO staff to control access. 

Storage Type	Number of Storage Facilities	Area (m2)
Bagged Cargo	1	1,000 m2
Refrigerated Cargo	18 reefer stations	N/A
General Cargo	1	1,000 m2

Stevedoring 

NISCOL is the only stevedoring company in Espiritu Santo. They handle: 

• Export and import containers; 

• Transit of containers and handling; 

• Transhipment of containers; and 

• Transportation of 20- and 40-foot containers. 

Hinterland Information 

NISCOL has the following equipment: 

• 3 x 35 mt mega forklift 

• 1 x 18 mt forklift 

• 4 x 3.5 mt forklift 

• 2 x sidelifters (20 ft and 40 ft) 

Port Security 

Port security is facilitated by the Department of Ports and Marine. NISCOL also provides their own security for the port. 

 

International Wharf Security
ISPS Compliant	No
Current ISPS Level   (Level 1 = Normal, Level 2 = Heightened, Level 3 = Exceptional)	1
Police Boats	1 available on request
Fire Engines	No, not stationed at the wharf