Major Ports In Mauritania

Mauritania is a sovereign nation in northwest Africa bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The Western Sahara encloses it from the north and northwest. It is the 11th biggest nation in Africa, and ninety per cent of its territory lies in the Sahara.

Although rich in natural resources, such as petroleum and iron ore, Mauritania is poor since its economy is based on fishing, agriculture and livestock. The country has a low GDP, and many people, such as subsistence farmers, had to come to cities due to droughts in the 1970s and 1980s. Corruption and lack of government assistance have made things worse.

Coming to ports, Mauritania has extensive iron ore deposits; it accounts for 50% of its exports. Gold and copper are also found in some regions, and companies have opened mines in the interior areas, like the Firawa Mine.

Mauritania’s first deepwater facility became operational close to Nouakchott in 1986. Recently, drought and economic mismanagement have led to a piling up of foreign debt.

Mauritania has three significant ports and a few small ports, too. Most of these ports do not have the latest infrastructure and technologies due to a lack of funds. Let’s have a look at the ports in Mauritania.

1. Port of Nouakchott

Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, lies on its central west coast and includes two quays. One is reserved for small vessels having a draft of less than 5 m, and the other is for large vessels with a maximum draft of 10.3 m.

There is also an offshore tanker CBM berth at this facility. Exports handled here include plaster, animal skin, and fish, while imports include clinker, flour, cement, wheat, sugar, milk, semolina, containers and other equipment. Around 300 ships visit the port every year.

2. Friendship Port of Nouakchott/ Port de l’Amité

This is an artificial port in Nouakchott, Mauritania. It was constructed in the 1980s by a Chinese company to cut transportation costs.

After it was built, the city was supplied with cargo cheaply compared to the cost of overland transportation of goods from Dakar in Senegal.

As it was not a naturally deep harbour, concrete block breakwaters were used to make it safe for vessels. Recently, there have been plans to expand the port and increase its capacity.

This port handles 96% of the imports and exports of Mauritania, making it the main port. There are plans to build a container terminal here, and port handling is carried out by private companies.

Port History

There were no natural deepwater ports along Africa’s Atlantic coast between Nouadhibou, Mauritania and Dakar, Senegal, and the tremendous growth of Nouakchott in the 1970s and 1980s was overwhelming the road network linking Nouakchott and Senegal.

Hence, during that time, China offered a loan for five decades. The interest-free loan of 35 million dollars in the 1980s financed the construction of this port by China Road and Bridge Corporation.

Around 400 workers were employed to place more than 100,000 concrete blocks, each weighing more than 12 long tonnes. The working conditions were harsh, and they had to fight strong winds, waves, currents and even frequent sandstorms along the unprotected coastline, 12 km southwest of the city.

Given these difficulties, the port was completed many months ahead of schedule and opened for operations in 1986.

In 2001, Spain expressed its willingness to construct an oil terminal close to the port to handle the increasing cargo and expand the cargo types. In 2004, Mali said it would build warehouse space to handle imports and exports at this port.

The port was designed to accommodate 500,000 tonnes of cargo annually, but in 2009, it was handling 1,500,000 tonnes. The main quay at that time was long enough to accommodate three ships simultaneously, each of 10,000 DWT. China invested 282 million dollars in 2009 to extend the main quay by more than 900 m.

Port Infrastructure

Today, this port welcomes over 600 ships annually on its seven quays, totalling 1485 m. Among these, three quays are 585 m long and have a draft of 9.3 m, and the other 4 quays are 900 m long with a 12 m draft. There is an oil dock as well.

3. Port of Nouadhibou

Located in northern Mauritania, near the Western Sahara border, the Nouadhibou Port has two berths for handling general cargo and an iron ore terminal 15 km south at Point Central. A Tanker Berth is 1.2 km north of Point Central and comprises a T-shaped Jetty. Approximately 11,000,000 tonnes of iron ore is handled at the port annually.

Major exports include copper, non-fillet frozen fish, molluscs and gold. Imports comprise raw sugar, wheat, petroleum, cotton, and woven fabric of synthetic staple fibres.

The major cargo export destinations of this port are China, Switzerland, Spain, Japan and Russia.

The port is said to be the resting place of more than 300 vessels and is called the biggest ship graveyard in the world. Here, the number of craft has gradually increased over time since corrupt officials have accepted bribes from owners of boats and ships, allowing them to dump these vessels into the sea.

Nouadhibou has been a vital transit point for international trade. At the advent of the 20th century, it was a stopover point for passengers heading to western Africa and overseas colonies such as the Martinique. The renowned Antoine de Saint-Exupery spent a lot of time there as a writer and pilot.

The biggest industry in Nouadhibou is processing iron ore, though the major economic activity is fishing.

Plans were made in the 1960s to build a port called Port Wharf in the fishing harbour. It was decided to build industrial and trade buildings, too. The port became operational in 1966 and was designed to accommodate 50,000 tonnes of cargo.

In 1977, the length of the wharf was extended to construct 3 additional berths for vessels, which increased its handling capacity to 320,000 tonnes.

Other Small Ports in Mauritania

Cansado Port is near Nouadhibou and is a landing point for iron ore and other minerals.

The Port of Akjoujt lies near the Akjoujt town and is mainly used to export copper and gold mined in the surrounding regions.

Nouamghar Port, on the Banc d’Arguin coastline, deals with seafood and is a hub for the local fishing industry.

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