The port is what gives Beira its character — a working freight harbour at the mouth of the Pungwe River, handling coal, sugar, chrome, and tobacco brought down by rail from the inland countries. The Beira Corridor (road and rail) connects it directly to Mutare in Zimbabwe and on to Harare and the Copperbelt.
You can't enter the port without authorisation, but the view from the bridge or the breakwater at Macuti gives a sense of the scale. The bigger ships need pilots through the channel; the smaller dhows still come in along the south shore with charcoal and dried fish from down the coast.