East Cove Military Port (East Cove Port)

East Cove Military Port, also known as Mare Harbour, is the British military deepwater port on East Falkland, situated on Choiseul Sound. It is used by Royal Navy vessels patrolling the South Atlantic and Antarctic waters and functions as the port facility and supply depot for RAF Mount Pleasant, with which it is connected by a daily bus service. Its existence leaves Stanley Harbour, the islands' principal harbour, to handle commercial traffic.

The port berths the Royal Navy's Falkland Islands patrol vessel, currently the River-class offshore patrol vessel HMS Medway, at the west jetty. The ice patrol ship HMS Protector uses the port during the southern summer, as does the British Antarctic Survey research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough. The Falkland Islands Government fisheries patrol vessel FPV Lilibet calls periodically for fuelling. The Ministry of Defence's Point-class roll-on/roll-off sealift ships call at intervals of roughly six to eight weeks. Cargo handling at the port is provided by 460 (Port) Troop, Royal Logistic Corps.

Berthing is divided between a main jetty, a roll-on/roll-off jetty for the Point-class sealift ships, the west jetty for the resident patrol vessel, and an inner section of the main jetty occupied by the multi-purpose barge MP2003 and the harbour tugs Giesenstroom and Dintelstroom. The tugs and barge are operated under contract by the Netherlands Marine Services company Van Wijngaarden. Fire-fighting services are maintained on site.

In the latter 2010s the berths at Mare Harbour were rebuilt under a £22 million programme, which improved the roll-on/roll-off jetty used by the sealift ships and upgraded other port facilities, including fire-fighting provision, to the standard described above.