Port Overview:

The Port of Beirut is Lebanon's main sea port, and it is one of the busiest ports in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The Port of Beirut and the Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport are Lebanon's main points of entry. The Port is a hub for Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and the Persian Gulf States.

In 1960, the Lebanese company CGEPB, "Compagnie de Gestion et d'Exploitation du Port de Beyrouth" (Port Authority of Beirut), was granted a 30 year concession by the Lebanese government to run the Port. The concession ended in 1990. With the end of the Civil War, the government took back the ownership of the port and formed a committee to manage the Port of Beirut. Since then, the Port of Beirut has been updated and expanded. Existing port facilities have been renovated, and new facilities for port administration and handling containerized cargo have been built.

The Port of Beirut consists of a General Cargo Terminal, a Container Terminal, a Passenger Terminal, a Free Zone and a Silo area.

The total area of Beirut Port is of 1,200,000 m², with a water basin total area of 1,202,000 m² (including the Container Terminal), a main breakwater of 3,190 m and a detached breakwater of 550 m.

Key port information can also be found at http://www.portdebeyrouth.com/index.php/en/  

Key Companies

Two of the world's largest container shipping companies (Mediterranean Shipping Company, or MSC, and Compagnie Maritime d'Affretement - Compagnie Generale Maritime or CMA-CGM) have selected the Port of Beirut as their transhipment hub. CMA-CGM has constructed a regional headquarters building near the Port of Beirut.

The following is a list of shipping agents present at Beirut Port Company

• Mediterranean Shipping Company - MSC
• Metz Shipping Agency ltd
• National Shipping Co.
• Sea Line
• Seamen International
• Geazairi Transport
• Company Maritime d'Affretement Agency - CMA
• Merit Shipping
• Maersk Lebanon
• Edouard Cordahi
• Costa Bitar Transport Company
• Akak Marine Cie
• J.B. Shipping Services
• Fast Agency
• Eurabia Intercontinental
• Kawar & Khayat Shipping Agency
• Sea Freight
• Continental Shipping Agency
• Georges Abou Hamad
• H.Heald and Cie
• Gevo Maritime & Transport
• Tourisme & Shipping services
• Carapiperis
• Med Conro Shipping services
• Lebanese Shipping Union
• Hanna Najib Tabet
• Ademar Shipping Lines
• Gulf Agency
• Nicolas Abou Rjeily
• Halim-Roukoz Shipping Agency
• United Navigation Cie
• Abdul Hamid EL Fil & Co.
• Lotus Shipping Agencies SAL
• Pelican International Services
• Barwil Agencies Lebanon SAL
• ETS.PAUL ADEM
• The Levant Shipping Agency
• Gharib Shipping Agency
• Seachart Marine S.A.R.L.
• SALEH SHIPPING
• T. Gargour & Fils SAL
• Ghassan Soubra
• Ultra Maritime Services SARL

For contacts of key companies at the port, please see the following link: 4.4 Lebanon Port and Waterways Company Contact List

Port Performance

Beirut Port received over nearly 3,000 ships in 2015, and handles over 8 million MT/year of general cargo (bulk and break-bulk) (loading and offloading). In addition, via its container terminal, the port handled 1,130,300 TEUs/year. The port has a channel draft of 13 metres, suitable for accommodating a maximum vessel capacity of 60,000 dead weight carrying capacity. New container terminal quay 16 extension east: L = 500 m D = 16.5 m Area: 200,000 sqm Capacity = 700,000 TEU / year the average waiting time for a vessel between arrival and berthing is less than one day.

The second phase is expected to be complete within two to three years (by 2016/2017).

Another minor bottleneck is the uplift capacity at the port, due to an occasional lack of trucks for onward dispatch of cargo, particularly for transit cargo to Syria. A limited number of trucks have the necessary special permissions required.

Discharge Rates and Terminal Handling Charges

For information on port rates and charges, please see: http://www.portdebeyrouth.com/index.php/en/tariffs/port-tariffs

Berthing Specifications

The Port of Beirut covers an area of 120 hectares, and its four water basins cover 100 of water surface. The Port of Beirut contains 5,155 metres length of quays. The basin for quay 16 covers approximately 20 hectares with a 550 metre breakwater. All quays are equipped with water outlets for ship service.

General Cargo Handling Berths

Port Handling Equipment

All port equipment is managed privately by the Beirut Port Company (Compagnie de Gestion et d’Exploitation du Port de Beyrouth). The port has ample equipment to handle large volumes and a wide variety of cargo.

Link to Beirut Port Cargo Handling Equipment Details: http://www.portdebeyrouth.com/index.php/en/about-us

Container Facilities

The Container Terminal operations of the Port of Beirut are subcontracted to the private Beirut Container Terminal Consortium (BCTC) which provides multi-modal container facility serving the Eastern Mediterranean region. BCTC has been operating the Container Terminal since 2005, when the operator was awarded a 10 year contract, renewable for another 5 years.

The Port of Beirut has partnership contracts for the transhipment of containers with both MSC and CMA-CGM. In 2015, the Port of Beirut's container terminal handled 1.130.300 TEUs, and so far in 2014 it has already handled: 1,211,033TEUs

Most of the container traffic is handled at quay 16, the deepest and longest quay in the Port of Beirut. Quay 16 can accommodate the world's biggest container vessels. The container terminal in the Port of Beirut has a 36.5 hectare stacking area with 800 reefer points and total capacity for 745,000 TEUs per year.

Facing very high traffic at the quay 16 terminal, BCTC arranged with the Port of Beirut to use the older quays 12, 13, and 14 to handle smaller container ships when quay 16 is full. These additional quays allow the BCTC to handle up to 1.2 million TEUs per year, and they reduce waiting times for cargo vessels entering the port. The older quays have two mobile harbour cranes for loading and unloading containers.

The Port of Beirut's container terminal has completed phase I of ongoing expansion efforts. This has extended quay 16 by 500 metres to the mouth of the Beirut River and by reclaiming 14 hectares of land and creating a new 18 hectare stacking area for containers. This has brought quay 16 to a total length of 1100 metres and the depth will also be extended to 17.5 metres. Phase I will add capacity for 450,000 TEUs, bringing the terminal's annual container-handling capacity to 1.5 million TEUs.

The phase II expansion will involve filling in the fourth Port of Beirut basin and bridging quays 12 and 16. This will create a continuous 2,300 metre long quay and further increase container handling capacity by 600,000 TEUs per year. Once phase II is completed, the Port of Beirut's container terminal will have the capacity to handle 2.1 million TEUs per year.

Link to container yard website (Beirut Container Terminal Consortium): http://www.bctc-lb.com

Customs Guidance

Organizations receiving imports or in-transit cargo need to contract private Clearing and Forwarding (C&F Agents) that are authorized to operate in Beirut Port. The C&F Agents will complete all customs clearance formalities for the cargo on organizations’ behalf.

Customs Clearance Steps are as follows:

• The receiving organization sends the Notification of Arrival to the C&F Agent
• The C&F Agent initiates the process by informing customs authorities of the expected date of arrival of the cargo, and all cargo details.
• The receiving organization sends all original documents to the C&F Agent
• The C&F Agent provides original documents to customs authorities.
• Generally, the cargo is cleared within 1-3 days (if all documents are in order).
• Once the cargo is cleared, the customs authorities provide a Release Note to the C&F Agent.
• The transport company can then bring trucks inside the port for onward dispatch of cargo.
• (Clearing & Forwarding Agent Contacts are available in the Port Contact List).

Terminal Information

Multipurpose Terminal

The general cargo area in the Port of Beirut contains 12 warehouses and a grain silo.

RoRo facilities are available mainly at quay 13 of the Port of Beirut; however, RO-RO vessels can berth at the other quays of the Port.

Grain and Bulk Handling

The Silo Terminal was built 32 years ago, and is managed by the Lebanese Ministry of Economy.

About 85% of the cereals arriving in Lebanon pass by Beirut’s Port silo. The other 15% are received directly by private companies. Most of the wheat is imported from Eastern Europe, in particular from Russia.

The grain is received directly from the vessel at quay and vacuumed into the Silo. The silo’s suction speed is of 600 mt per hour. 

Upon arrival, the grain is sampled and tested at the Ministry of Agriculture’s laboratory. Tests show humidity levels and potential infestation by insects.

The grain is then stored in the silo’s cells. The total storage capacity of Beirut Port’s Silo is 120,000 mt of bulk grain. This capacity is split between 48 large cells each of 2,500 mt capacity. Another 50 smaller cells each of 500 mt capacity allow the emptying of the large cells and therefore leave room for full vessel load. Cells are allocated to a vessel only and fumigated between 2 loads.

Grain humidity and temperature are monitored regularly during storage within the cells. If these become too high, grain is transferred from one cell to another in order to be ventilated.

When grain is to be distributed, it is loaded directly from the silo onto open-top trucks. 4 weigh-bridges allow monitoring of the quantities loaded on trucks.

Silos Summary of Capacity:

• Total capacity: 120,000 mt
• 48 big cells: capacity 2,500 mt/cell
• 50 small cells: capacity 500 mt/cell
• Suction speed: 600 mt/hour

Main Storage Terminal

The general cargo area in the Port of Beirut contains 12 warehouses and a grain silo. The Port of Beirut does not have temperature controlled storage facilities but has a total of 800 reefer points for refrigerated containers. Transit storage facilities are also available at the Port Authorities’ warehouses.

Stevedoring

Stevedoring service providers are private companies which have a permit to operate by the Ministry of Transport. They are contracted directly by the customs agents/ transporters.

Hinterland Information

Cargo is commonly moved out of the port by truck (generally 40 mt capacity). Please refer to the List of Transport Companies for contact details of transporters at the Port.

Port Security

Security at the Port of Beirut is provided by the “Surete Generale” together with the Port Police and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).

Lebanon enforces the Arab League Boycott of Israel. As such, all vessels are allowed to berth at Beirut Port apart from Israeli-owned vessels, vessels that have called at Israeli Ports, and/or vessels carrying cargo originating from Israel.

Shipping lines coordinate with Ministry of Transport and Harbour Master to share the list of incoming vessels. Shipping lines confirm arrival of the vessels 24 hours and 12 hours in advance to the Beirut Container Terminal Consortium (BCTC) with cargo manifest.