2.1.1 Marshall Islands (RMI) Delap Dock

Port Overview

The main port in RMI is the Delap Dock which serves as the main International Cargo Port. Delap Dock is the primary commercial cargo dock in Majuro Atoll. Local stevedores from Majuro Stevedore & Terminal Company process the loading and unloading of imports and exports to and from Delap. A cargo handling area, equipment repair shop, container freight station and RMIPA administrative offices support the processing and storage of containers and general cargo.

Delap is on the leeward, southern lagoon shore of the large island of Majuro atoll. It is the main port for marine trade in the RMI. Delap has a wharf length of 308 m and an apron width of 30 m. The berth pocket is dredged to 17 m. It includes a cargo handling and container stacking area, workshop, combined office/warehouse, staff facilities and the Ports Authority’s administrative offices. The container yard, which has a base of crushed coral, sits immediately adjacent to the wharf, and includes several power connections for reefers. The yard has an area of 6.398 acres (25 891 m2).

The port area is fenced and there are two security gatehouses: one next to the Majuro Stevedore and Terminal Company (MSTCO) building, and the other to the east of the Marshalls Energy Company (MEC) power station. Security of the Port area is the responsibility of the RMIPA. Surrounding land use is industrial and commercial in nature. The MEC power station and the Tobolar Copra Corporation lie to the east of the yard area, flanked by the wharf apron on two sides. The MEC tank farm is across the road from the port, and neighbouring areas feature privately-owned wharves, and warehousing, commercial premises and residences.

In addition, the MEC maintains a bulk liquid pumping station adjacent to the RMIPA wharf. This is used to receive diesel fuel from tankers berthed at the Delap wharf, and to bunker visiting small ships with diesel fuel. The bulk liquids are conveyed across the RMIPA wharf in flexible hoses, but these operations and associated facilities and equipment are owned by and the responsibility of the MEC.

A machinery workshop is in the Delap yard. MSTCO conducts maintenance and upkeep of its machinery on-site using its own technical staff. MSTCO also maintains a building housing office and a warehouse, while the RMIPA has an administrative building immediately to the south of the container yard. Both RMIPA and MSTCO use shipping containers as storage facilities, housing items such as hardware and dangerous goods.

The main entrance into Majuro Atoll is through Calalin Channel on the atoll’s north side. According to the Pacific Safety of Navigation Project Risk assessment[1] for the Port of Majuro conducted by SPC in November 2019, the channel is approximately 1476 feet (450 meters) in width between buoys no. 3 and 4, the narrowest place in the channel, and approximately 12 nautical miles to the port, with depths ranging from 65 to 200 feet (20 to 60 meters). Currents of 0.5 knots can be expected during incoming and outgoing tides.

In terms of safety, there are several Aids to Navigation (AtoN) marking the channel and the harbour, with most of them in need of urgent maintenance. There is a lighthouse located on Eroj Island at the channel entrance to assist vessels in getting to the vicinity of the Calalin Channel. The channel itself is lined with six different lighted channel markers with day boards that mark the limits of the channel directing vessels safely into Majuro Lagoon. The average predicted visibility in Majuro lagoon is around 13 nautical miles but this can be reduced to 0.02 nautical miles in bad weather, which typically occurs between the months of July and October. A maximum predicted swell of 16 feet (5 meters) is expected during cyclones, and a maximum tidal flow of 0.5 knots can be expected around the channel entrance during a new and full moon. There are a several hazards present along the channel to the harbour such as a lack of sufficient AtoN marking the route from the channel to the port, strong winds, currents, waves, all of which can pose problems for maritime traffic.

Official Facebook Page: Republic of the Marshall Islands Ports Authority - RMIPA | Majuro | Facebook

Key port information may also be found at: 

• Republic of the Marshall Islands Port Authority (pacificports.org)
• Terminal Delap Dock at port of MAJURO (MH MAJ) details - Ships Docking/Undocking at Berths | AIS MarineTraffic (paid service)

 

Port Location and Contact
Country	Republic of Marshall Islands
Province or District	Majuro
Nearest Town or City with Distance from Port	Majuro 1 Km
Port's Complete Name	Port of Majuro
Latitude	7.086433894626073
Longitude	171.3640882
Managing Company or Port Authority	Marshall Islands Port Authority
Management Contact Person	Executive Director — Thomas Maddison Seaport Manager – Capt. Robert Heine
Nearest Airport	Amata Kabua International Airport Majuro
Airlines with Frequent International Arrivals/Departures	United Airlines Nauru Airlines

Port Picture

Source: Google Earth, retrieved on 31 March 2023

Delap Dock consists of:

1. The Main Delap Dock is located on the southeast side of Majuro Lagoon, extending east to west about 308m.
2. The Delap East Dock is situated on the east side of Delap Dock and is primarily used by interisland cargo vessels for unloading copra to the Tobolar coconut processing operation. The east dock extends approximately 80m north to south.
3. The Delap West Dock is located on the west side of the main Delap Dock and extends approximately 58m north to south.
4. The Cargo Handling Area is adjacent to the main Delap Dock and is used for the movement and storage of dry and refrigerated containers, general palletized cargo and empty containers.

Description and Contacts of Key Companies

Marshall Islands Port Authority

Established by the RMI Ports Authority Act in 2003, the RMIPA is responsible for the development, maintenance and operations of the two seaports in Majuro, including Uliga and Delap and the sole international airport, the Amata Kabua International Airport (AKIA or MAJ), all located on Majuro Atoll. RMIPA reports to the Ministry of Transportation and Communication and is governed by a seven-member Board of Directors appointed by the Cabinet. The RIMPA office is at the Delap Dock. The day-to-day operations are managed by an Executive Director and staff of 70.

Majuro Stevedore and Terminal Company (MSTCO)

Majuro Stevedore and Terminal Company (MSTCO) is a private company and the terminal operator at Delap Dock. It is a private company operating under a 10-year concession agreement with RMIPA, which will end in 2023.

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

Port Performance

Delap dock current handles around 2500 TEUs per year with approximately 8 scheduled freight vessel services per month. The dock is approximately 300m. This number dropped due to COVID-19 to 1300 TEUs but is now back to pre-pandemic levels. All container unloading is directly done by the vessel and subsequent port handling is by reach loaders. Container delivery off the port site is by way of prime mover with chassis trailer which are left at the consignee’s site for 10 days. Priority is given to container ships and tankers, followed by fishing vessels.

Delap dock serves international cargo vessels that deliver a wide variety of imported food and household items, construction equipment and materials, diesel fuel, jet fuels, refined gasoline products and the offloading of copra and loading of coconut oil, a coconut processing operation located on the northeast side of Delap Dock. International fishing vessels also make occasional use of Delap Dock for purse seine net repairs, fuel resupplies and other maintenance.

Local stevedores from Majuro Stevedore & Terminal Company process the loading and unloading of imports and exports to and from Delap Dock. A cargo handling area, equipment repair shop, container freight station and RMIPA administrative offices support the processing and storage of containers and general cargo. Cargo handled through Delap includes general containers, reefers, copra, fish, vehicles and bulk oil products, as well as general and breakbulk loads. Petrol (ie. Gasoline) and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) are imported in isotainers. Copra is landed at Delap from the outer islands and following processing is exported as ‘cake’ in sacks loaded in containers, and as coconut oil loaded within containers. The transhipment of fish involves landing at Delap, and then loading into reefers for export. Cargo handling equipment used at the port includes container handlers, forklifts and a portable conveyor belt, as well as container-load chassis and associated prime movers / tractor trucks.

MSTCO undertakes all Delap port operations on behalf of the Port Authority. Under the terms of its lease agreement, MTSCO maintains almost exclusive rights to access to the yard and its facilities to conduct all stevedoring operations. The span of MTSCO’s activities include the operation of onboard cranes on geared ships calling at Delap. Nevertheless, fishing companies are permitted to undertake the offloading of fish intended for local processing, and it is understood that the crews of local trading vessels typically load and unload their own cargoes, such as copra. Cargo arriving at Delap from overseas is fumigated as a biosecurity control measure, with this undertaken by staff of the RMI Ministry of Natural Resources & Commerce – Agriculture Division, as the responsible biosecurity agency.

In times of disaster, based on a waiver issued by the Government humanitarian cargo will be given priority over other non-essential supplies.                      

Seasonal Constraints
	Occurs
Rainy Season	Yes Stevedoring services stop when it’s raining.
Major Import Campaigns	No

             

Handling Figures
	2019 (pre-pandemic)	2020
Vessel Calls	78	62
Container Traffic (TEUs)	1129	459

            

Handling Figures Bulk and Break Bulk
	2019 (pre-pandemic)	2020
Bulk (MT)	none	none
Break bulk (MT)	500 MT	170 MT

 

Berthing Specifications

Type of Berth	Quantity	Length (m)	Maximum  Draft (m)	Comments
Conventional Berth	1	308	13
Container Berth	As above
Silo Berth	none
Berthing Tugs	3	33-39	3.6-4.9	Operated by Pacific International Inc. MT Ralik II, MT Ratak, LT-804 (former US Army)
Water Barges	various			Not part of port operations

 General Cargo Handling Berths

Cargo Type	Berth Identification
Imports – Bagged Cargo	No
Exports – Bagged Cargo	No
Imports and Exports – RoRo	No

 Port Handling Equipment

The port handling equipping is operated by the state-owned company MSTCO. Delap is a general dock does not have any fixed container unloading equipment. All ships therefore unload themselves onto the dock. Port handling equipment is provided by the stevedore MSTCO. Equipment is limited to one Reach stacker with a capacity pf 40MT onsite.

Equipment	Available	Total Quantity and Capacity Available	Comments on Current Condition and Actual Usage
Dockside Crane	No
Container Gantries	No
Mobile Cranes	No
Reach stacker	Yes	1 x 40 MT	Maintenance is needed; a second reach stacker broke down in 2021 and is scheduled to be replaced in 2023
RoRo Tugmaster (with Trailer)	No
Grain Elevator with Bagging Machines	No
Transtainer	No
Forklifts	Yes	2-7 MT capacity	Fair condition, used daily

 Container Facilities

Outside Container Storage	Outside Refrigerated Container Station
Forklift	Reach Stacker
Offloading of copra, which arrived on local trading vessels from outer islands	Coconut processing operation
MEC bulk liquid pumping station

 

Facilities	20 ft/40 ft
Container Facilities Available	Reach stacker and forklifts handling only
Container Freight Station (CFS)	Yes
Refrigerated Container Stations	Yes; adjacent to the Majuro power generation plant
Other Capacity Details	Terminal can store approx. 1000 TEUs
Daily Take Off Capacity (Containers per Day)	30/day - Take off rates are low due to limited handling equipment
Number of Reefer Stations (Connection Points)	34 connection points with additional generators available. Additional points being installed at time of writing
Emergency Take-off Capacity	Unknown
Off take Capacity of Gang Shift (Containers per Shift)	Unknown

 

Customs Guidance

The customs officer is present at the port when vessel arrives. Customs and goods clearance normally take up to few hours. There are eight schedules vessel arrivals per month from Japan, Korea and Fiji.

For more information on customs in Marshall Islands please see the following link: 1.3 Customs Information here. 

Terminal Information

Main Storage Terminal

Storage Type	Number of Storage Facilities	Area (m2)
Bagged Cargo	1 warehouse MSTCO	400 m2
Refrigerated Cargo	Outside refer storage	5,000 m2
Multi-purpose	Outside	12,000 m2

 Stevedoring

Marshall Islands Stevedoring Company (MSTCO) is a state-owned Enterprise and the only Stevedoring company available and handle all port activities in Majuro. Coordinating loading and unloading of containers and bulk break goods on small vessels. MSTCO also handles container storage as well as delivery to customers.

MSTCO operates a 400m2 warehouse for all destuffed LCL goods.

Description of Handling Services	Handling charges (USD)*
	20ft	40ft
Container lifting	65	80
Lift	60	75
Deliver	85	110
Offload	60	75
Return	60	75
Deliveries (Container remains on Trailer chassis)	85	110
Container relocation	85/move	110/move

*Handling is calculated based on provided weight or measurement on the B/L; whichever is higher. Rate is USD 6.00 times the revenue ton.

Hinterland Information

MSTCO provides a delivery service for all containers to consignees on Majuro Atoll. Containers remain with consignees for 10 days and are in most cases not unloaded of the trailer. The container with chassis is left onsite. MSTCO has 60 operational chassis for delivery operation and two side loader container trailers.

Port Security

Security
ISPS Compliant	Yes
Current ISPS Level (Level 1 = Normal, Level 2 = Heightened, Level 3 = Exceptional)	1 class NK
Police Boats	Yes (Navy Patrol)
Fire Engines	Yes