The Port of Kribi continues to make history

The ship Bianca that left Asia in January 2018 finally docked at the Kribi Deep Sea Port on Friday, 2 March 2018. The 335-metre long commercial vessel weighing some 90,000 tonnes with a carrying capacity of 8,500 containers offloaded a little more than 500 containers, containing hardware products and materials for the construction of the African Cup of Nations infrastructure, timber, cars and other cargo. That was the first time a ship of this size had docked in Cameroon and made history with the nautical industry in Africa.

The arrival of that ship marked the official launch of the operational and commercial activities of the Port of Kribi, which was by then fully functional now and operational 24 hours a day. A ship call programme was made public and featured 22 stopovers for the period from March to April 2018.

Given its capacity and high draft, the Kribi Deep Sea Port, which has become a real veritable hub in Africa, accommodates large-capacity vessels. Ship owners will no longer run the risk of offloading part of their cargo elsewhere before docking in Cameroon.

As a prelude to that event, the Port Authority of Kribi (PAK), in collaboration with the General Directorate of Customs (DGD), organised and hosted a seminar in Kribi from 15 to 16 February 2018 to popularise procedures for clearing goods at the port. That seminar was attended by maritime and port sector actors. Its objective was to acquaint participants with the simplification of procedures, formalities for clearing goods in the ports of Cameroon and so on. In essence, it aimed at putting in place simple, harmonised, standardised, predictable and transparent procedures for all involved in the international shipping industry. A range of measures were also put in place to reduce ships' call time and to offer an attractive pricing policy, amongst other things, with the aim of making the facility a high-performance and competitive transhipment port.

Now in 2025, Kribi Port has continued to make headlines as it pushes forward boundaries. The Kribi Investment Summit (KIS 2025) to be held at Kribi Port, Cameroon, between 17–19 June 2025 and will bring together investors from China and Hong Kong who will help to ensure that the surrounding 262km 2 Industrial Zone at Kribi becomes a transformational facility in West Africa.