Curaçao port options run wider than most operators expect, with five separate commercial harbours spread around the island rather than a single terminal.
Each one serves a different purpose, and knowing which bay fits a given vessel and cargo type saves time before a call is even planned.
Willemstad and the Megapier
Willemstad is the island’s main and largest port, entered through the St. Anna Bay channel, which runs 1,427 metres long with depths between 15.2 and 24 metres.
The Schottegat, the sheltered inner harbour at the end of the channel, houses the container terminal, cargo wharves and the region’s largest oil refinery and dry dock. The Megapier Cruise Terminal sits 200 metres outside the bay entrance with a 15 metre draft, which means cruise and larger vessels calling there avoid the bay’s own restrictions entirely.
Vessels arriving at Willemstad pass under the Queen Emma pontoon bridge, which opens on request for incoming and outgoing traffic day and night.
Bullen Bay oil terminal
Bullen Bay sits on the southwest coast and has no LOA limit, with drafts up to 28.7 metres, making it the deepest terminal on the island. Three VLCC T-shaped jetties handle crude oil, fuel oil and products, with total storage capacity of 17.75 million barrels across the terminal.
The bay’s role has expanded well beyond storage in recent years, and vessels arranging a ship-to-ship transfer at Bullen Bay benefit from the same depth and jetty capacity that made it a crude storage hub in the first place. Curaçao Ports Authority’s own port data confirms the full specifications for all five bays, including jetty dimensions and maximum vessel sizes.
Caracas Bay and Fuik Bay
Caracas Bay, 8 kilometres southeast of Willemstad, was formerly an oil terminal before it was dismantled in 1996, and its crystal-clear water now makes it a preferred spot for underwater inspection and repair work.
The bay offers two berths at 13.7 metre depth and takes vessels up to 320 metres in length overall. Fuik Bay, further east again, is privately owned by the Mining Company of Curaçao and handles phosphate rock shipments through a dedicated wharf, alongside a smaller general cargo berth with 6.7 metre depth alongside.
Choosing the right terminal and what services follow
Matching a vessel to the correct bay depends on draft, cargo type and purpose of call, and getting this wrong before arrival can mean a costly diversion once the vessel is already close to the island.
Mega yacht agency work typically routes through Willemstad or Caracas Bay depending on the vessel’s size and planned activity, while bulk and tanker traffic generally heads for Bullen Bay or the Schottegat.
Whichever terminal a vessel is bound for, the same preparatory steps apply. Pre-arrival notification needs filing ahead of arrival regardless of destination bay, and port health inspections follow the same process across all five ports.
Launch services connect crew, agents and supplies to vessels anchored off any of the bays, and a vessel needing repair or dry dock work can move between Willemstad’s graving dock and Caracas Bay’s inspection-friendly waters as the work requires, a distinction covered in more detail when looking at dry docking in Curaçao.
For operators planning a first call, port and harbour services delivered through our location in Curaçao and coordinated by an experienced port agent in Curaçao take the guesswork out of matching vessel to terminal from the first inquiry.