Cardiff Berth Information

The port of Cardiff is entered through the Queens Lock which is 259 metres in length and can accept vessels of up to a maximum beam of 27.0 metres. The lock can be devised into a top lock of 130 metres and a short lock of 89 metres.

A guide to the criteria governing ship acceptance is shown in the Ship Acceptance Table for Cardiff (please click on the link).

Queen Alexandra Dock.

At the West End of the dock is a lay-by berth of approximately 170 metres.

The north side is 675 metres long and is operated as a steel-handling terminal. Bells Wharf is mainly used for wood chip and logs and is 220 metres long.

The south side consists of a dedicated oil terminal of about 215 metres, a timber berth of about 220 metres, and a container terminal of 330 metres.

At the eastern end there is the 180 metre Kings Wharf used for layby and repair, and Empire Wharf which is now used for sea dredged sand and aggregates.

A communication passage of 27.1m in width leads into the Roath Dock.

Roath Dock

This dock is 728 metres long by 183 metres wide and on its south side has a general cargo terminal, a quay with a large area of open land, and a dedicated oil terminal of about 250 metres in length. The mole at the east end was formerly associated with a flour mill and silo which have now been removed, and it is not used at this time.

The north side has, at its western end, a dedicated Cruise Ship Terminal, in the centre a sand and aggregate berth, and the eastern end contains a Scrap Metal Terminal.

At the western end of the dock the Junction Lock (The gates are now disused) leads to the Roath Basin. This no longer has any commercial berths but does have, on its north side, “Britannia Quay”, a quay of approximately 190 metres which is now a dedicated hospitality berth for visiting non-commercial vessels.

All docks are well found with bollards that are not more than 25 metres apart