The shipping platform

Location: Douala-Bonaberi is situated 24km from the sea on the banks of the River Wouri. General overview: Douala occupies the SE river bank and Bonaberi the NW bank, a bridge 1,800m in length connects the two towns. The main exports are timber, coffee, aluminium, cocoa, bananas, forest products, fruits, and cotton and receives shipments of fuels like gasoline, LPG, cereals, chemicals, bauxite, construction equipment and machinery. It is also a busy fishing port and serves the seafood industry of the region. There are various operation port facilities: gantry cranes, floating cranes, reachstackers, mobile cranes for empty conrtainers, forklifts and trailers. Six silos facilities of 1,500 ft. are avaliable. Berths: There are 16 berths of 2,600 m. approximately. Nine berths have depth of 9.5 m. (LW) approximately. The tanker berths have depth of 9.5 m. (LW) (tidal range 2.2 m.). Two berths have priority berthing for alumina carriers and occasionally tankers. Four other berths downstream from the port have priority berthing for container carriers. One of these berths has Ro-Ro accommodation with two dolphins 70 m. apart. One banana berth. A fruit terminal, length 200 m., accepts vessels with draft 9.5 m. One berth, length 200 m., handling flour in bulk. At the right bank (Bonaberi), there are two berths with length of 200 m and 150 m. One handles butane tankers with LOA up to 140 m. The other berth is equipped with a Goliath crane used by mineral carriers. These berths have a depth of 13.0 m. (LW). Vessels have to shift along the quay with their ropes if required. Decisions are taken every day after the Port Meeting which takes place at 1000 hrs. and 1600 hrs. in order to use optimal quay length. DRY-BULK FACILITIES: There is a rolling gantry at the right bank to transport cement to the cement site. Max. height of loading/discharging gear above HW is 2.0 m. Max. loading/discharging rates 1,000 tons per day, length 200 m., depth 8.5 m. Berth No. 2 at right bank is equipped with a rolling gantry to transport aluminium. Max. height of discharging gear above HW level is 2.0 m., length 280 m., depth 9.5 m. On the left bank, one berth 150 m. for aluminium. CONTAINER FACILITIES: A modern container and Ro-Ro terminal has been created with a frontage of 600 m., dredged to 11.5 m. Facilities include three berths, the first two of which, with a total length of 400 m., are designed for full container ships and the last for Ro-Ro ships with side ramps. Additional facilities comprise two dolphins and one Ro-Ro ramp. The adjacent yard has a surface area of 23 ha. and a width varying between 400 m. and 500 m. The terminal is computer-operated. At the back of this yard, there exists a stuffing and stripping container warehouse of 7,500 sq.m. OTHER FACILITIES: Timber: The annual capacity of the timber port is 2,000,000 tons. There are two gantry cranes. The equipment includes timber yard of 20 ha. served by road and rail, a water surface of 20 ha. with draft 3.0 m. in the area next to the quay and 9.5 m. in the rest of the dock. This dock is capable of receiving four ships, 150 m. quay frontage designed for the handling of floating timber. TANKER FACILITIES: Berth No. 1: Used to discharge tankers. The Wouri water is of fresh water density. Fresh water arrival /sailing draft may comply with tide Maximum fresh in the channel is: -7.00m –underkell clearance (50 cm) +Tide level Tide variance is between: -From 0.3 m at low water -To 2.90 m at high water Berths are kept enough depth for vessel complying with channel restriction. -Conventional Berth: 9 m +Tide level -Container Berth: 10.50 m +Tide level Draft permitting vessel’s movements are fixed 1 hour before high tide. -Conventional Berth: 9 m +Tide level -Container Berth: 10.50 m +Tide level Max size: LOA 200m, draught 8.0m, 30,000DWT. At HW a vessel of 9.2m draught can be accommodated. Tanks, discharging clean petroleum products on berth #1, LOA =140m Traffic figures: Approx 6,231,500t of cargo, 187,500TEU and 2,800 vessels handled annually. Load line zone: Tropical. Working hours - Official Working hours: 07h30 – 15h30 - Shifts : 07h30-17h00 & 17h30-06h30 - Port overtime: Saturday, Sunday, Holidays and after 18.00 on normal day. Port closed: Port operation stopped at 18h00 the day before or according to the last tide before midnight. Moreover, the operations resumed at 07.00hrs the day after or according to the morning tide. No operation, no sailing and no berthing during closure period. An exception can be made for the supply vessels operating on oil fields.