Gambia
2.1.1 Gambia Port of Banjul
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Key port information can also be found at: Maritime Database information on Gambia

Port Overview

The Banjul seaport plays an important role in the country’s economy and accounts for almost 90% of the country’s trade in terms of volume and weight. The Port was established in 1972 and plays a vital role in the trade and distribution of cargo to neighboring countries, some of which are landlocked, such as Mali, Guinea Bissau, Senegal and Guinea Conakry.
The Port is equipped with infrastructure such as quays, harbor craft, modern cargo handling equipment, offshore cranes and a mobile scanner for the inspection of containers, which has led to considerable reduction in the time spent to conduct physical inspection of cargo and streamlining of administrative formalities involved in the clearance of goods. The Port is currently implementing an expansion project which is aimed at increasing its capacity in terms of berth space for ships, new container terminal, acquisition of cargo handling equipment and port computerization under the 4th Banjul Port Project.
Demolition work is in progress in a residential area adjacent to the main port administrative office which has been acquired and the residents relocated to allow room for surface expansion. This area measures about 15,000 sq m and is earmarked for the construction of a free zone facility and bonded warehousing. This is a much needed facility as the current warehousing space is very limited.
Few privately owned warehouses are located along the Bund Road area leading to the Port but it is difficult to establish the available capacity as certain owners could not be identified. However, it is noted that there are clusters of warehouses along the road mentioned earlier which in total number more than 12 with capacities ranging from 2,000 to 3,500 sq m. Warehousing space is also available around the Denton Bridge area and these are being operated by Gambia Shipping Agency, one of the leading shipping companies operating in The Gambia.
The technical data seems to be inconsistent, that is, on vessel specification, the length overall is said to be unlimited whereas on the previous LCA it was stated to be 122m.

Port Location and Contacts

Country

The Gambia

Province or District

Banjul

Town or City (Closest location) with Distance (km)

Name :Banjul

km: n/a

Port's Complete Name

 Port of Banjul

Latitude

 13.45

Longitude

 -16.56667

Managing Company or Port Authority (If more than one operator, break down by area of operation)

 Banjul Seaport

Management Contact Person

 n/a

Closest Airport and Frequent Airlines to / from International Destinations

Airport Name: n/a

Airlines: n/a

Port Picture

Description and Contacts of Key Companies

For information on Gambia Port of Banjul contact details, please see the following link:

4.3 Gambia Port and Waterways Company Contact List

Port Performance

The Port is accessible to conventional ships but there is a draft limitation of 8.5m at the channel entrance into Banjul which limits the sizes of vessels that can call at the Port. However, vessels have called at the Port with loads of up to 10,000 metric tons of bulk bagged cargo.

The Port has capacity for open storage of containers, warehouses, car port as well as storage tanks for liquid bulk product such as vegetable oil and Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO). The lack of sufficient space provides limitations for covered storage facilities on site but the Port possesses warehouses located within the vicinity of Banjul and which are usually given to private operators on long term lease.

Handling Figures

Year 2011

Vessel Calls

n/a

Container Traffic (TEUs)

13.440

Handling Figures Bulk and Break Bulk

Year 2011

Bulk (MT)

32.256 (Conventional: 16.800)

Break bulk (MT)

n/a

Discharge Rates and Terminal Handling Charges

Discharges Rates (MT/Day)
Bulk & Bagged
to warehouse Data unknown
to trucks 1000mt a day 101/2 hours
to rail-wagons Not available
Additional info 17 container moves per hour

The moves to the port warehouse are minimal due to very high standard costs

NOTE: The information in the above table has been taken from the old DLCA and adjusted to suit the format of the new LCA

Port Handling Equipment

Is the port equipment managed by the government or privately? n/a

Equipment

Available

(Yes / No)

Total Quantity and Capacity Available

Comments on Current Condition and Actual Usage

Dockside Crane

Yes

1 - 40 Tons

n/a

Container Gantries

n/a

n/a

n/a

Mobile Cranes

Yes

40 tons at 18 meters reach

n/a

Reachstacker

n/a

n/a

n/a

RoRo Tugmaster (w/ Trailer)

Yes

9 tug masters/trailers (haul majors)

n/a

Grain Elevator w/ Bagging Machines

n/a

n/a

n/a

Transtrainer

n/a

n/a

n/a

Forklifts

  Yes

7 forklifts with capacities ranging from 2.5 to 16 tones

n/a

Container Facilities

In general movement of containers is done by tractor trailers. There are 13 tractor trailers. 11 tractor trailers take 2 x 20ft container or 1 x 40 ft container. 2 tractor trailers only take 2 x 20 ft. 13 forklifts only 7 in services.
Mobile Container Scanner.

The storage facilities near the Port can probably be used in emergencies, and they are largely unused as the Port tries to limit storage within its main premises in order to avail itself much needed space for the open storage of an increasing number of containers throughout. But it is not long-term storage facility, so they should only be considered in emergencies. For more information on storage facilities near the port, see the section on storage facilities.

PORT AREA

Several warehouses are located around this area and we attempted to visit them. These are big stores and there are not in custom bonded area. There warehouses are located less a kilometer from the main docking area along the Burn road. We could not establish who the owners are and in most cases, we dealt with the security personnel who could not give us any detailed information on storage capacity and technical data needed. There is an urgent need to make a census of these warehouses, their capacity, ownership and condition.

Our efforts to find the real owners paid dividends almost at the lat hour, three days before the end of this LCA , we managed to locate Mr. Hassan Akar, the Director of Midland Trading Group LTD. The Company owns and rents almost 90% of these warehouses in the zone. They use them for their own operations and sometimes there are forced to rent out some warehouses else. He gave us the estimated capacity, each warehouse can take up to fifteen forty feet containers.

This company is a major food provider and we recommend WFP to include them in their list of suppliers. They own a fleet of several DAF and MAN trucks, which can take up to 30 tons(total number of trucks not given)

Facilities

20 ft

40 ft

Container Facilities Available

Yes

Yes

Container Freight Station (CFS)

Yes

Yes

Refrigerated Container Stations

Yes

Yes

Other Capacity Details

Daily Take Off Capacity (Containers per day)

480

Number of Reefer Stations (connection points)

3

Emergency Take-off Capacity (Give an indication)

n/a

Off take capacity of gang shift (in Containers per shift)

29.700

20.700 

Customs Guidance

For information on Gambia Port of Banjul Customs information, please see the following link: 

1.2 Gambia Customs Information

Port Security

The port is fenced and has 24 hours surveillance by security personnel and no major incidents have been reported.

Security

ISPS Compliant

(Yes / No)

Yes

Current ISPS Level

1

Level 1 = Normal, Level 2 = Heightened, Level 3 = Exceptional

Police Boats

n/a

Fire Engines

n/a

For information on Gambia Port of Banjul additional details, please see the following documents: 

Gambia Port of Banjul Additional Information

Gambia Port of Banjul 2

Gambia Port of Banjul 3

Gambia Port of Banjul 4

Gambia Port of Banjul Warehouses

Gambia Port of Banjul Warhouses 2

Note: The information provided in the attached documents, which has been taken from the old DLCA, does not match the structure of the new LCA and is therefore provided separately.

For information on Gambia Port of Banjul contact details, please see the following link:

4.3 Gambia Port and Waterways Company Contact List

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