Mare Harbour, known colloquially as East Cove Port, is a small settlement on

East Falkland East Falkland () is the largest island of the Falkland Islands, Falklands in the South Atlantic, having an area of or 54% of the total area of the Falklands. The island consists of two main land masses, of which the more southerly is known as L ...

, on Choiseul Sound. It is mostly used as a port facility and depot for

RAF Mount Pleasant RAF Mount Pleasant (also known as Mount Pleasant Airport, Mount Pleasant Complex or MPA) is a Royal Air Force station in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The airfield goes by the motto of "Defend the right" (while the m ...

, as well as a deepwater port used by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

ships patrolling the

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

and

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

, which means that the main harbour of the islands, Stanley Harbour, tends to deal with commercial transport. During the 1982

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

, Mare Harbour was considered as one of the potential sites for a British amphibious landing but the British landings took place on

San Carlos Water San Carlos Water is a bay/fjord on the west coast of East Falkland, facing onto the Falkland Sound. Name Despite its Spanish language, Spanish-sounding name, there is a wide discrepancy with the Spanish usage, for in Spanish "Estrecho de San C ...

in the west of East Falkland, on

Falkland Sound The Falkland Sound () is a sea strait in the Falkland Islands. Running southwest-northeast, it separates West and East Falkland. Name The sound was named by John Strong in 1690 for Viscount Falkland, the name only later being applied to th ...

. Mare Harbour was considered open to air attack. In the latter 2010s, Mare Harbour berths were improved with a £22 million investment. The improvements enhanced the roll-on/roll-off jetty, used by the Ministry of Defence's

Point-class sealift ship The Point class is a ship class, class of six roll-on/roll-off sealift ships originally procured under a Private Finance Initiative to be available for use as Auxiliary ship, naval auxiliaries to the United Kingdom, British British Armed Forces, ...

s which call about once every six to eight weeks, and upgraded other facilities at Mare Harbour, including fire-fighting services. The facilities now incorporate several berths including: the main jetty,

roro Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or usi ...

jetty, west jetty (principally used to berth the Royal Navy's Falkland Islands patrol vessel ) and the main jetty (inner) (used to berth a multi-purpose barge (''MP2003'') and two harbour tugs (''Giesenstroom'' and ''Dintelstroom''), from the contracted Netherlands Marine Services company ''Van Wijngaarden''). In April 2024, ''Giesenstroom'' was tasked to assist the Panamanian-flagged reefer, MV Frio Chikumo, after the ship ran aground off the Falkland Islands. The

British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of list of global issues, global issues, and to provide an active prese ...

ship, and the Royal Navy's ice patrol ship, , use the port during the regional summer while the Falklands Government Fisheries Patrol Vessel, FPV ''Lilibet'', may also call at the port periodically for fueling. Troops from the

Royal Logistic Corps The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army. History The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) was formed on 5 April 1993, by the union of five British Army corps: * Royal Engine ...

(460 (Port) Troop) provide cargo handling services at the port. A daily bus service runs between Mare Harbour and Mount Pleasant.

References

External links

* James Rogers and Luis Simón.
The Status and Location of the Military Installations of the Member States of the European Union and Their Potential Role for the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP).
Brussels: European Parliament, 2009. 25 pp. Populated places on East Falkland Military of the Falkland Islands Ports and harbours of the Falkland Islands {{Falklands-geo-stub

See also

References

External links