E-PORTS Port Voyage Column | Douala: the largest port in Cameroon, the Granary of Central Africa

The fleet led by Magellan bypassed the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and continued northward to Cameroon, an agro-pastoral community located in the west central Africa and known as “the Granary of Central Africa”. It is a multi-ethnic country with more than 200 ethnic groups. Home to over 200 nations and different religions, Cameroon is undoubtedly a powerful country in Central Africa with its geographical convenience, long coastline and rich natural resources. Today, E-PORTS will introduce the largest port in Cameroon, Douala.    

A Brief Introduction of Douala

As the largest port and a transport hub in Cameroon, and an important shipping center in West Africa, Douala plays a critical role in logistics in the Gulf of Guinea. It is also the largest city and the economic capital of Cameroon based on its growing economy. And now, Douala is the largest industrial and commercial center in the country.    

Equipped with 11 berths, Industrial Outdoor Storage (IOS) and cold storage warehouses of 380,000 and 8,000 square meters respectively, Douala has 2,300-meter terminals, among which, the container terminals have 3 berths to accommodate 5,000 TEUs. The main imports are minerals, raw materials, intermediate goods, industrial consumables, nutritional products, beverages, tobacco, and transportation equipment. The main exports include crude oil, wood products, cocoa, coffee and home-produced food. Besides, Cameroon is ranked the first in deforestation in Africa.      

Douala is at 13th , higher than Pointe-Noire in Congo (15th) and Owendo in Gabon (19th) in Africa, but it is in the first place in Central Africa, according to the Logistic Performance Index (LPI) 2023.   

The construction of a new terminal at the Port of Douala-Bonabéri, including the upgrade of container terminals, dredging, and improvement of port security, makes Douala be more attractive and competitive, resulting in its rapid development.  

The History of Douala

Portuguese explorers were the first Europeans to arrive in Douala at the end of the 15th century. By the mid-17th century, African immigrants built a town here and named it “Douala” maybe after the Duala, an ethical group that settled in Douala. Later it became a famous place for slave trade in Cameroon in the eighteenth century. In 1884, the Port of Douala was a German protectorate and also the capital of Cameroon.   

Today, Douala is a combination of modern colonial style and traditional architecture and has become the most populous city in the country after World War II, and a home to many unskilled workers from Cameroon and other African countries.     

The Problems in Douala

There are many problems in Douala, especially for the Plimsoll lines in the Port, which has greatly disrupted Cameroon’s economy. Fortunately, the problem was solved by the successful operation of the Kribi Deep Seaport in 2018, which even further improves the container throughput in Cameroon's ports.     

The Kribi Deep Seaport is the largest port in Cameroon, surpassing Douala in the first quarter of 2022. As of March 31 this year, 47% of container cargo were handled by Douala and the rest (53%) by the Kribi Deep Seaport.     

[E-PORTS CAUTIONS] For Cargo Loading and For Ships Sailing In Or Out of Douala

The wires, pulleys, and hooks in the ships shall be frequently checked by boatswains when loading cargo. Logs need to be adjusted from time to time before or after they are loaded in the warehouse to avoid any errors. Also, you can require workers to prepare unwinding wires on the ships in case that the worn wires breaks the hooks, especially for ships with deep draft.    

The berths are in high demand in Douala. And please make sure that cargo are loaded on the right ship for frequent berth shifting to avoid any errors though some pilots are experienced. In addition, please pay attention to double berthing. In Douala, the ships are usually berthed on the starboard side. And it is showed that ships whose draft is over 8.5 meters need to do a U-turn before they sail out of the port. So please take the information above into consideration before berth shifting.   

Recently, CMA CGM has informed its customers that it will impose a Port Congestion Surcharge (PCS) in Douala, Cameroon, to respond to the port congestion. And CMA CGM will apply a surcharge of USD 250, GBP 200 or EUR 230 per TEU for all dry containers shipped to Douala, Cameroon, which will take effect on January 15.      

You can contact E-PORTS anytime to obtain the latest guide in response to the port congestion to reduce extra expenses if your ships will be loaded or discharged in Douala. Please browse the E-PORTS official website for consultation.