Port of Richards Bay  The Port of Richards Bay is located in Richards Bay harbour on the Indian Ocean coast of South Africa, and contains the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) which is the largest coal export facility in Africa. Although originally built to handle coal exports, the port has become South Africa's premier bulk port, handling other dry bulk in addition to coal, as well as liquid bulk and breakbulk cargoes. It is also South Africa's most modern port. The idea for a new harbour north of Durban began as far back as 1902 when a Cathcart W. Methen, Harbour Engineer, Durban, conducted a survey and advised the Natal Colony government in 1903, that Richards Bay would be a better choice than St Lucia. The idea was again revised in 1921 when a proposed harbour was investigated by a group of engineers at Kosi or Sodwana Bay's. Sodwana's suitability was again investigated in 1922 by Sir George Buchanan. The two former bays were again investigated in 1923, this time by Jan Smuts. The idea for a northern harbour would again be revisited in the 1950s when Prime Minister D.F. Malan visited by air reconnaissance. By 1965, the then Minister of Transport Ben Schoeman decided after visiting Kosi and Sodwana Bay's, that Richards Bay would be the best choice. Four reasons were given for the choice. It had a protected bay; the hard material was at a depth allowing the creation of a deep bay; the ability to integrate the existing railway infrastructure and a shorter rail distance to the industrialised Transvaal interior. In 1967, surveys began of the 3,050 ha lagoon. Aerial photography took place, off-shore soundings were made by the South African Navy's hydrographical department while the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) studied the coastal morphology, collected data on wave heights, directions, tides, currents, sediment transport and studies on river discharge into the lagoon. Three rivers flowed into the lagoon, the Umhlatuzi, the Nsezi and the Manzamyana with the depth of the water in the lagoon being around a metre. The ground below the lagoon water was very soft making proposed dredging easier with the hard rock at a depth making the proposed port a deep water harbour. The existing sea entrance to the lagoon was found to be a natural underwater gorge that was filled with loose material and so made it ideal as a channel for ships to enter the proposed harbour if two breakwaters where built.