The Autonomous Port of Pointe-Noire (Le Port Autonome de Pointe - PAPN)

Outstanding water features Located in the Gulf of Guinea, halfway between Cape Town in South Africa and Dakar in Senegal, the Port of Pointe-Noire is at the crossroads of the major maritime routes of Europe, Asia and America. It is 4 ° 47 south latitude and 11 ° 50 east longitude. It is the only deep-water port in the sub-region with direct access from the sea. It offers particularly attractive navigation and anchoring facilities compared to other ports in the sub-region. Indeed, the Port Autonome of Pointe-Noire is accessible day and night. Its 84 ha basin opens onto the bay through a 180 m wide entrance pass, extended by an access channel of 1200 m and dredged to -16.50 m. Night marking is provided by: -a landing light with a range of 24 nautical miles; - two lights (green and red) of the entrance pass HISTORY   After many controversial studies for the choice of the site between the bays of Pointe-Noire and Loango, the mouth of Kouilou, the harbor of CONKOUATI, etc. the site of the future port of Pointe-Noire to build was chosen July 2, 1921 by the Governor General of French Equatorial Africa (AEF) Mr. Victor Augagneur. On July 11, 1934, the day after the official inauguration of the railway, Governor General ANTONETTI laid the foundation stone for the current Port of Pointe-Noire. The name of Pointe-Noire comes from the Portuguese "Punta Negra", an expression that Portuguese sailors who crisscrossed the Atlantic coast in the fifteenth century used to designate a black rocky spur that predominated off the coast of Loango and whose color is due to the presence of oil sand. The Port was opened to traffic on April 1, 1939, with the commissioning of a section of 200 m deep water quay. The next day, the first ship, "Foucault" docked and it was the official inauguration, in the presence of Governor General Joseph REST. Attached first to the Railway, then to the Transequatorial Communications Agency (ATEC-Inter-State Agency of the AEF), then to the Trans-Congolese Communications Agency (ATC), the port became the Port Authority of Pointe-Noire by order n ° 01/2000 of February 16, 2000, following the split-dissolution of the ATC. -two entrance alignment lights; -a green buoy landing at the end of the channel. Port services Piloting and towing are mandatory and insured 24 hours a day. The first for any vessel having a net tonnage greater than or equal to 100 tons, and the second for any vessel having a gross tonnage of 2,000 tons or more. Two private shipchandler companies installed in the port provide for the refueling of ships. Drinking water and hydrocarbons are provided to ships either alongside (oil pipeline, tanker trucks, etc.) or offshore by tugs. Acconage, handling, consignment and transit activities are granted to private companies. The Port of Pointe-Noire has a slipway for the refit of 700 tons of ships, and private yards for maintenance and small ship repair, as well as a large fleet of naval equipment and port equipment.