The Port of Maputo is the reason the city exists. The bay is one of the best natural harbours on the eastern coast of Africa — deep, sheltered and ice-free — and from the 1890s onwards it was the principal export route for the South African gold and coal mines. Even today the port handles around 30 million tonnes of cargo a year, much of it South African chrome, magnetite and citrus heading for Asia.
The port itself is a working industrial space and not normally accessible to visitors, but the views from the Catembe ferry terminal and from the southern end of the bay show the lines of bulk carriers waiting at anchor and the long cranes at work on the quay. The Maritime Museum in the old port authority building (on Rua João das Regras) gives a partial introduction to the port's history.