The Port Autonome de Dakar is the port authority for the Port of Dakar. The Port Autonome de Dakar was created in 1987 as a national company. In 2005, the Port Autonome de Dakar was reorganized to better integrate its functions and support a more modern and efficient Port of Dakar.

The Port of Dakar was visited by 2406 vessels in 2007, including 786 container ships, 443 cargo vessels, 339 carriers, 290 tankers, 245 fishing vessels, 41 ore tankers, and 22 cruise ships. In 2007, the Port of Dakar handled a total of over 8.1 million tons of cargo, including almost 3 million tons of liquid bulk, almost 3 million tons of containerized cargo, 2.2 million tons of solid bulk, 1.3 million tons of transit cargo, and 779 thousand tons of transshipments.

Liquid bulk cargoes were dominated by 1.4 million tons of refined hydrocarbons, 777.6 thousand tons of crude oil, 391.5 thousand tons of phosphoric acid, 201.3 thousand tons of oil, and 138.6 thousand tons of gas products. Other liquid bulk cargoes included sugar cane, bitumen, caustic soda, chemical products, and wine.

Solid bulk cargoes were dominated by clinker (682.1 thousand tons), BLE (368.4 thousand tons), sulfur (306.1 thousand tons), coal (181.6 thousand tons), attapulgite (175 thousand tons), rice (146.7 thousand tons), and fertilizer (101.7 thousand tons). Other solid bulk cargoes included corn, urea, gypsum, and Jonah crabs.

The almost 3 million tons of containerized cargo in 424.5 TEUs included 252.7 thousand TEUs of imported goods and 171.8 thousand TEUs of exported goods. Transit cargoes included 699.9 thousand tons of foreign cargo and 586.6 thousand tons of domestic cargo. Finally, transshipments included 378.5 thousand tons of inbound and 400.9 thousand tons of outgoing cargo. In 2007, the Port of Dakar handled 40.3 thousand vehicles.

Access to this deep-water port is through a channel dredged to 11 meters with a 250-meter-wide entrance. Protected by the Island of Goree, the channel is open 24 hours a day. Tidal variation at the Port of Dakar is about 1.2 meters.

The Port of Dakar has two separate zones that are divided by the fishing port, marine repair shops, and a military zone. The northern zone contains Piers 4, 5, 8, and 10, the container terminal, and the oil wharf. The southern zone contains Piers 1, 2, and 3.

The piers in the Port of Dakar’s northern zone have depths of from 9 to 10 meters, and they specialize in containers, solid bulk, and liquid bulk cargoes. The zone covers almost 76 hectares of area, including 14 hectares for the container terminal (which is being expanded by 20 hectares).

The Port of Dakar’s southern zone piers have depths from 8.5 to 10 meters. The southern zone handles general cargo, about one-fifth of the container traffic, passengers, and vehicles. The southern zone covers about 22.9 hectares.

The fishing zone in the Port of Dakar covers ten hectares and has nine stations with alongside depths from 9 to 12 meters. The quays are a total of 1854 kilometers long, and the fishing zone has facilities to store, congeal, and freeze fish.

The Port of Dakar contains 112.5 thousand square meters of open surface storage, 48.8 thousand square meters of covered storage space, and 15 thousand square meters of cold stores. In addition, it has 13 hectares of surface for storing containers, and capacity to store 290 thousand cubic meters of hydrocarbons.

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