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Gambia Ports Authority

Contact Address:

Gambia Ports Authority
34 Liberation Avenue
PMB Box 617, Banjul
West Africa

Tel no:  +220 4228283   /   4227266
Fax no: +220 4227268Banjul Port

Email: info@gamport.gm

Cables: Gamports Banjul
Telex: 2235 GAMPORTS GV

Information:
The (GPA) Gambia Ports Authority is charged with administering the docks situated at Banjul. It was created in 1972 by the Ports Act to operate the ports of the Gambia on a commercial basis.

It was given the mandate to manage and provide all necessary marine and harbour facilities, cargo handling equipment and storage as well as to regulate, enhance and to carry out regular maintenance of the complex.

The facilities were previously under the control of the now defunct Marine Department.  The GPA is owned by the Government which has a share capital of 16.3 million Dalasis.

The seaport stands at the very core of the Trade Gateway Project which it is intended to enable The Gambia to establish itself as a globally competitive export and processing center. It makes up almost 90% of the Gambia's total foreign trade in weight and volume terms.

Main Functions:
The port is mostly used for loading and offloading the cargo for container ships, tankers, role-on / role-off and ocean going cargo vessels. It also provides a maritime base for the Gambian National Navy because of its ideal position at the mouth of the river.

In 2001 the management and operations of the ferry service was taken away from the Public Transport Corp. and given over to the GPA. Included in the transfer were the other eight ferry crossing points in the country.



Historical Developments:
Over the years the development of the port of Banjul has been done in various stages. In 1972 there was a 122 m jetty, a 102m Inside Back with two warehouses and 10 large container cargo.

Towards the end of the decade and into the 1980s the growth in international trade meant the port required more open storage cargos as opposed to closed storage. The construction of an extra jetty was carried out which was 123m in length and 30m wide. In 1995 the expansion of cargo and container  traffic necessitated more expansion. Then there was an urgent need for dedicated roll-on roll-off facilities and further expansion of one of the jetties (123m) by an extra 177 m.

Location:
Latitude 13° degrees 27° North and longitude 16° degrees 34' West. It is located on the mouth of the Gambia River, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

General Information:
The execution of the Port Master Plan created in 1991 involved the expansion and modernisation of the capacity of the port through increased investments.

These investments have enhanced cargo handling to a yearly 1.5 million tons, total pier length to 750 metres, covered storage area is 3,000 sq. metres and uncovered storage capacity is 38,000 sq. metres.



Computerisation:
The Gambia Ports Authority has developed a set of computer applications called POPS for Windows, using in-house developers.

These applications have been created to satisfy the information needs of the port's management and to enhance the operational control requirements of a modern seaport. The system can handle over 1,000 pc users at the same time.

Wharf Mooring Capacity:
There are currently five berths and role-on / role-off ramp in operation for suitable sea vessels.

The New Banjul Jetty's outer dock 3A and 3B can accommodate a maximum of 2 container ships for vessels with draughts of between -12 to -14 metres. The Banjul Wharf inner dock no. 2 (its outer berth has a navigation depth of between -9.5 and -12.0 metres while that of the inner berth is -8.0 metres) and the New Banjul Jetty's inner dock no. 4 are deemed to be appropriate for smaller vessels such as fishing boats and coast-going vessels. Berth no. 1 is considered without restriction since all other non-container vessels could be mooring there. However, it is mainly utilised by oil tankers and general purpose cargo ships. The New Banjul Jetty's inner dock no. 4 and the Banjul Wharf Jetty's inner dock no. 2  are deemed to be appropriate for smaller vessels such as fishing boats and coast-going vessels.



Bulk Handling Facilities:
The port can deal with different kinds of dry or liquid bulk items. These are petroleum products (HFO, aviation fuel, diesel and liquid/solid fats), loose cement, groundnut cake and oil.

Standard Seaborne Cargo:-
Break bulk are goods brought in bags and full vessels or holds commodities such as sugars, flour, rice, and fertiliser. On average such vessels offload between 5-7 thousand tonnes. Gross performance varies between 7 to 13 tonnes per hook and hour gross. Bagged cargo is delivered directly from the vessel to importer's truck.

Petroleum:-
There is an Oil Boom with a length of 187.5m and a Puma generator for its deployment. Pipeline pumping efficiency is 147 tonnes per gross hour. The expected rate of gross unloading from tanker to road vehicle is 31 tonnes per hour.

Cement:-
Bulk cement is accepted in batches of a maximum of 8,000 - 10,000  tonnes per ship. The vessels are unloaded of their commodities by a mobile and electric vertical screw conveyor (Siwertel) at the quayside with a capacity of 85,000 - 100,000 tonnes per hour.

Average Waiting Times:
The average length of time a ship spends anchored up at the terminal   for bringing items on board or off-loading is largely determined by the sort of cargo it is carrying. Container (box) and role-on / role-off ships stay at the terminal for an average time of 24 hours, while ships with a displacement tonnage of 15,000 metric tonnes lie alongside an average of 15 days.

Note: The port has a deep sheltered anchorage with no record of piracy to date.
 
 
 
       
 

 
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