Port Overview

The Port of Skhira is a very small port in eastern Tunisia, on the Gulf of Gabes, in Al-Sāḥil region. Skhira, also spelled Al-Ṣukhayrah, Skhira, or Cekhira, has a LOCODE is TNTBX. La Skhira is one of the six major seaports of Tunisia; it is specialized in handling Algerian and Tunisian petroleum exports. The port is also a pipeline terminal for Al-Dūlāb oil field, in western Tunisia.

The Skhira port is located at about 350 km from the capital Tunis. It has an important infrastructure of storage of crude oil and oil refined products, as well as loading and unloading pipelines. Its port infrastructure is made up of 3 posts on Dukes of Alba (In maritime vocabulary, a Duke of Alba or dolphin - consists of piles of wooden poles, steel tubes, cement blocks - anchored in the bottom of basins or channels, on which a ship can moor or lean in reach, near a lock, in the docks of a seaport).

• 1 post for phosphoric acid to 150 ml of length and a depth of 8.7 m.
• 2 oil posts of 300 m of length and a depth of 15 m, they can receive oil ships of 120,000 tons.

The majority of the seven commercial seaports are former ports, surrounded by cities, with no possibility of extension, limited to the level of the draft which does not exceed 9.5m for container ships and RoRo vessels, and 11.5m for bulk carriers (except the port of Skhira).

Port website PORT WEBSITE

Key port information may also be found at: http://www.maritime-database.com

Port Picture

Description and Contacts of Key Companies

Port dues on ships, goods and passengers received by the O.M.M.P, are attuned to the changes and developments experienced by the port operation mode and Transport Technology and adapted to the needs of port operators. As part of the reform of the shipping industry, particularly in the port sector, which started from the ninth development plan, several actions were taken to adapt the sector to the various technological, regulatory and organizational regionally and world. For information on port rates and charges, please see the following link:  PORT COMPANIES CONTACT LIST

Port Performance

In 2019, the global traffic of La Skhira port, in hydrocarbons and chemicals 4.7 million tons, consists mainly hydrocarbons and chemical products registering a fall of 18% as compared to 2018. The refined hydrocarbons, imported through the port of la Skhira, are about 1.7 million tons, decreased by 20% contrariwise, the exported refined hyrdrocarbons reached about 0.9 million tons, a decrease by 30% compared to 2018. Crude oil exports recorded a decline by 9% compared to 2018, with 1.75 million tons in 2019. Phosphoric acid decreased by 15% in 2019 compared to the previous year

Discharge Rates and Terminal Handling Charges

The harbour dues on ships, goods and passengers collected by the OMMP fall in with the changes and developments gone through by the port running system and transport technologies and are adapted to the expectations of the port operators. The most recent of these actions bears on the launching of a study on the restructuring of harbour dues and price scales, taking into account the new attributions of the OMMP as ancient authority and the role it is called upon to play within the framework of the concession agreements on the public port domain, offering to public users and other private operators the possibility to build harbour works or to use private material for providing public services.

Details OMMP – Skhira Port

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Berthing Specifications

• 1 post for phosphoric acid to 150 ml of length and a depth of 8.7 m
• 2 oil posts of 300 ml of length and a depth of 15 m, they can receive oil ships of 120,000 tons.

General Cargo Handling Berths

Port Handling Equipment

Container Facilities

Terminal Information

Multipurpose Terminal

The 24'' pipeline intended for the transport of crude oil under high pressure from INAMINAS (Algeria) and Tunisian deposits by heading approximately north over approximately 775Km including 512 km in Tunisia to end on the Mediterranean coast at SKHIRRA (Tunisia). The maximum transport capacity of this pipeline is 10 million tonnes per year. A crude oil storage depot at Skhira contains 11 tanks with a capacity of 35,000 m3 each, and a pumping station comprising three crude loading pumps with a flow rate of 4,000 m3 / h each, controlled by a remote-control network via a control. A Tunisian governmental multinational company has an oil port that can load vessels with a net capacity of up to 130,000 tonnes with a draft of 15 meters. The port is open to maritime traffic every day, 24 hours a day, and allows the simultaneous docking of 2 oil tankers and a chemical tanker. It has a 2,800-meter pier for people and equipment to access the terminal platform.

Pumping station n ° 4:

Located at EL KHAMOUR at PK (Kilometric Point) 557.3 of the pipeline route. It essentially comprises:

• Four main pumping groups of 2028CV (3 in service and 1 in reserve) and two generators.
• A fixed roof storage tank with a capacity of 5000m³.

Pumping station n ° 3:

Located in TIERT at PK 378.5 of the pipeline route. It essentially comprises four main pumping groups of 2028CV and two generator sets. In terms of future development, Tunisia multinational company has adopted a clear vision for the medium and long term with precise objectives and priorities over time to plan for the future in a proactive way that will keep the chances of controlling its future. Such a mission is likely to allow the company to improve its services and best satisfy its customers and therefore face market conditions and the instability of the sector in which it operates.

Grain and Bulk Handling

• Basins: The harbor water area (80 ha) in 2 basins
• An outdoor pool of 50 ha, at -12.5 m.
• An indoor pool of 30 ha, at -10.5 m.
• The swing circle has a diameter of 600 meters

Main Storage Terminal

• Fitted ground: 25,000 m²
• Bare land: 100,000 m²
• Store and covered shed: 4000 m²

Customs Guidance

Customs clearance consists of presenting the goods at a Customs office and allocating them a Customs system. On reaching Customs, goods are automatically sorted by the SINDA (Automated Customs Information System) according to certain criteria, especially the nature of the product and the importer. The sorting leads to a system of channels: the "green channel" for goods which present no risk (brief inspection of the documents), the "orange channel" for medium level risks (normal inspection), the "red channel" for extreme risks (complete inspection). The inspection may consist of x-raying the whole container, but also x-raying or opening each package. When they have been inspected, the goods receive a temporary collection permit which allows them to be stocked for further inspection or a permit for clearance inward.

Stevedoring

OMMP performs all stevedoring activities which consist of the loading and unloading of ships and the performance of various tasks required when the vessel is in port, including lashing and unlashing of cargo. Maritime ports Code in Tunisia (French version only).

Port Security

The Petroleum Port of Skhira is also equipped with three tugs of 2,700 horsepower each, equipped with anti-pollution and firefighting means.