The terminal has a combined capacity of 3.6 million TEU per annum, which will increase to 4 million TEU after the berth extension. Work is in progress to deepen terminal draft to 16m. Established in July 1977, the Durban Container Terminal operates as two terminals Pier 1 and Pier 2, handling 65% of South Africa’s (SA) container volumes. It is ideally located to serve as a hub for containerized cargo from the Indian Ocean Islands, Middle East, Far East and Australia.

In 2013, DCT pier 2 was declared the Best performing container terminal in Africa - Durban Container Terminal; Container Management top 120 World Container terminal survey 2013. DCT pier 2 also pioneered a World-class rail dual cycle operation on Navis in March 2013, while it serves as a gateway to neighbouring countries like Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and other landlocked regions like the Kingdoms of Swaziland and Lesotho.

In March 2020 Durban Container Terminal was the first terminal in TPT to pioneer the Truck Appointment System to ease to container and truck traffic on Durban roads.

Currently the only terminal in Africa with tandem lift cranes with a carrying capacity of 80 tons at a time, DCT can handle new generation vessels with 24 containers stowed across the deck. Billions have been set aside for the terminal's re-engineering and boosting of existing equipment fleet.

Operations started in 1996 handling rolling stock which includes all types of trailers, construction and farm vehicles, buses, recreational vehicles, cargo vans, trucks and other vehicles with the registered weight exceeding 3,500 kg. The terminal also handles containers for a niche market, trading with countries like Europe, America, China, Japan, South Korea and Australia. Terminal growth has seen it diversify to handle break bulk consignments as well.

In February 2013, the terminal set a new record in TPT’s automotive history handling 39 749 units in a single month. A total of R438 million was recently used in the Ro-Ro terminals container facility to upgrade the terminal handling capacity to 230 000 TEUs. This includes stack upgrades and equipment acquisition.

This terminal has a total of seven water berths with 12.5 m draft, a centralized management cluster, terminal in and out processing facilities and massive open parking areas. The key element of these terminals is that all cargo remains on wheels throughout the terminal transit cycle. The capable staff complement of 398 ensures that the discharge and back-loading is completed within 18 to 36 hours.