What is the maximum draft for the Port of Douala?

Plan on a channel depth of about 7.0 m fresh water plus the tide, less 0.5 m under-keel clearance. Alongside, conventional berths have 9 m and the container berths 10.5 m plus tide. Sailing drafts are set one hour before high water. The pilot station confirms the controlling depth for each transit.

Is there a vessel size restriction at Douala?

There is no general LOA limit. The one standing restriction is on tankers discharging clean petroleum products at berth No. 1, which are limited to 140 m length overall. Beam and draft are governed by the channel and the tide rather than by a fixed rule.

Can hull cleaning and propeller polishing be done at Douala?

Yes. Our divers are based in the city and work alongside during cargo operations, timed for slack water. Visibility in the estuary is low, so every job is documented on CCTV with lights and you receive a report with before-and-after footage. Where a vessel's schedule allows, we recommend Kribi for jobs that need clear-water footage such as class surveys.

Does the port work on public holidays?

Most public holidays are worked at holiday rates. The port closes on New Year's Day, Easter, Labour Day (1 May) and Christmas Day: operations stop at 18:00 the evening before and resume at 07:00 the following day, tide permitting. Offshore supply vessels are exempt from the closure.

How far is Douala airport from the port?

About 4 km, or ten minutes by road. Crew joining or signing off can be at the gangway within an hour of landing. We arrange transport, immigration formalities and hotel accommodation if the vessel is delayed.

Which ship agency services do you provide at Douala?

Port agency and clearance, husbandry, crew change, ship supply and chandling, spares handling, protective agency for charterers, stevedoring, stowaway searches, waste removal, tank cleaning and vessel welding. The same office covers Kribi and Limbe, so one agent can follow a vessel through all three Cameroon ports.

Port guide · Cameroon

Reliable Ship Agency and Crew Handling Solutions at the Port of Douala, Cameroon

The operating facts a master or operator needs before calling at Douala — channel draft, tides, berth depths, working hours and holidays — from the company whose head office is in the city and whose divers and agents work the quays every week.

Request a quote Port facts

Channel draft: 7.0 m + tide
Container berth: 10.5 m + tide
Tidal range: 0.3 – 2.9 m
Airport: 4 km · 10 min

Overview

Cameroon Douala Sea Port

Douala is Cameroon's principal commercial port and the gateway for the landlocked economies behind it — Chad and the Central African Republic route most of their seaborne trade through the Wouri. The port sits on the estuary about 25 nautical miles above the pilot station, reached by a dredged, tidal channel, which is the single fact that shapes every call here: vessels arrive and sail on the tide, and berth time is measured in tidal windows rather than days.

The quays handle containers, general and project cargo, ro-ro, dry bulk and petroleum products. Outbound, the port ships the country's bananas, timber, cocoa, cotton and aluminium. Alongside the commercial berths is a shipyard, and the Port Autonome de Douala (PAD) manages the harbour, pilotage and channel.

Cameroon Diving Services has its head office in Douala. Our diving teams do hull cleaning, propeller polishing, class in-water surveys and repairs alongside during cargo operations, and our agency desk handles port clearance, crew changes, spares, supply and husbandry for vessels calling at Douala, Kribi and Limbe. The figures on this page are the planning values our own teams work from; always confirm the day's tide and channel state with the pilot station or your agent.

Bulk carrier alongside at the conventional berths, seen from the WouriPhoto: Johnkekam, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Douala berth line from the Wouri: conventional quays and the container gantries at the far endPhoto: Stvmvondo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Port facts

Draft, depth and tide

Planning values for Douala. The harbour master, pilot station or terminal operator gives the figures that apply on the day.

Channel depth

7.00 m (fresh water) + tide − UKC

Under-keel clearance required: 0.50 m

Conventional berths

9.00 m + tide

Container berths

10.50 m + tide

Tide

Low water 0.3 m · High water 2.9 m

Movements

Sailing draft fixed 1 hour before high water

LOA limit

140 m for tankers discharging clean products at berth No. 1

No other standing restriction

Good to know

The Wouri is fresh water at the berths, so a ship floats deeper than her summer sea-water draft — apply the fresh-water allowance before you work out the tidal window. Channel depth also varies with dredging and the season; the pilot station gives the day's controlling depth.

Cargo handled

Inbound

Containers
General & project cargo
Ro-ro / vehicles
Dry bulk (clinker, grain, fertiliser)
Petroleum products

Outbound

Bananas
Timber & logs
Cocoa & coffee
Cotton
Aluminium

Working hours

Working hours and access

Operating hours

Day shift: 07:30 – 17:00
Night shift: 17:30 – 06:30

Cameroon Diving Services

24/7 on call

Cargo operations run around the clock in two shifts, seven days a week, tide permitting. Our diving and agency teams are on call 24/7 and plan in-water work inside your berth window so it never delays sailing.

Apron and terminal, Douala International Airport

Photo: Serieminou, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Airport to port

4 km · 10 min

Douala International Airport (DLA)

Douala International Airport (DLA) is about 4 km from the port gates — a ten-minute drive — which makes Douala the easiest port in the Gulf of Guinea for crew changes, superintendent visits and urgent spares. Our agency desk meets crew at the airport, handles immigration and shore passes, and delivers spares and stores to the quay.

Crew Change Handling

Public holidays

Public holidays at the port

On the four days marked “port closed”, operations stop at 18:00 the evening before (or on the last tide before midnight) and resume at 07:00 the day after (or on the first morning tide). No berthing, unberthing or cargo work takes place during the closure; supply vessels serving the offshore fields are the only exception. Other public holidays are worked at holiday rates.

1 JanuaryNew Year's DayPort closed
11 FebruaryYouth DayWorked
March / AprilGood Friday & EasterPort closed
1 MayLabour DayPort closed
20 MayNational DayWorked
May / JuneAscension DayWorked
15 AugustAssumptionWorked
25 DecemberChristmas DayPort closed
VariableEid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha (lunar calendar)Worked

Our services

What we do for vessels at Douala

Diving and ship agency from one Cameroon company — one contact for the whole call, and the same team at Douala, Kribi and Limbe.

FAQ

Port of Douala: questions from masters and operators

Calling at Douala? Tell us the ETA.

Send the vessel name, ETA and what you need — hull cleaning, a class survey, an agent or a crew change — and you will have a quote and a plan for the berth window within hours.

Cameroon Diving Services · Douala

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