The Port of Mogadishu, also known as the Mogadishu International Port, is the official

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...

, the capital of

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

. Classified as a major class port, it is the largest harbour in the country.

Historical overview

Since the

Roman empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

, a commercial port called Sarapion existed in what is now modern Mogadishu. However, during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

the port of Mogasdishu was very small and only with the arrival of the

Italians , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...

in 1890 were the first improvements made in order to create a modern port. The port has since increased in capacity to become most important port of

and one of the biggest in eastern Africa.

Porto di Mogadiscio

The Port of Mogadishu was created as a modern port (called in Italian ''Porto di Mogadiscio'') with magazines and docks in the late 1920s by the Italian government of Italian Somalia. In 1930 a protective dike with breakwaters was made in front of the enlarged port, which was connected to the Somalia interior by a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

and even by a new "imperial road" (from Mogasdishu to

Addis Abeba Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

). In 1934, the port of Italian Mogadiscio had exports of 43.467 tons of agricultural products (mainly bananas) to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and Europe. For this commercial transport were used the service of special container-ships called "''RAMB''" (that were built with the possibility to be converted to be an auxiliary cruiser). The ''

Ramb II The Italian auxiliary cruiser ''Ramb II'' was a pre-war banana boat built at Monfalcone by the CRDA in 1937. She briefly served as an auxiliary cruiser with ''Regia Marina'' early in World War II before becoming an auxiliary transport with the I ...

'' was a banana boat based in Mogadishu. This was the second of four sister ships all built to the same design: the other ships were the ''

Ramb I The Italian ship ''Ramb I'' was a pre-war "banana boat" converted to an auxiliary cruiser in World War II. ''Ramb I'' operated as an armed merchant in the Red Sea and was ordered to sail to Japan after the fall of Massawa to the Allies. She was ...

'', the ''

Ramb III The Italian auxiliary cruiser ''Ramb III'' was built at Genoa by Ansaldo in 1938. ''Ramb III'' was the third of four sister reefer ships all built to the same design. The other ships were the , the , and the . The four ships were built for the ...

'', and the ''

Ramb IV Ramb IV was an Italian hospital ship, built at Monfalcone by the United Yards of the Adriatic (''Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico'', CRDA) in 1938. ''Ramb IV'' was the last of four sister ships all built to the same design. The other ships wer ...

''. The four ships were built for the

Royal Banana Monopoly The Royal Banana Monopoly ( it, Regia Azienda Monopolio Banane, RAMB) was a state-owned enterprise founded in Mogadishu in 1935, to transport and market bananas harvested in Italian Somalia throughout the rest of the Italian Empire, directly under ...

("Regia Azienda Monopolio Banane") to transport refrigerated bananas from Italian Somalia to Italy. In 1936 the port started to have a weekly international ship line for passengers, connecting Mogadishu with

Massaua Massawa ( ; ti, ምጽዋዕ, məṣṣəwaʿ; gez, ምጽዋ; ar, مصوع; it, Massaua; pt, Maçuá) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak ...

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

and Genova in

with the Italian

Lloyd Triestino Lloyd Triestino was a major shipping company, created in 1919 when the city of Trieste became part of Italy in the settlement after the First World War. It ran passenger services on ocean liners around the world. Seriously harmed by Second World W ...

and Italian Line. The MS ''Vulcania'' was a transatlantic ship that served the port of Mogadiscio. Later, in 1941 the port was damaged by British bombings during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. During the 1960s the port was improved, thanks to studies done by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Mogadishu Port Rehabilitation Project

After it incurred some damage during the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, the

Federal Government of Somalia The Government of Somalia (GS) ( so, Dowladda Soomaaliya, ar, حكومة الصومال الاتحادية) is the internationally recognised government of Somalia, and the first attempt to create a central government in Somalia since the Somal ...

launched the Mogadishu Port Rehabilitation Project, an initiative to rebuild, develop and modernize the port. The renovations include the installation of Alpha Logistics technology. A joint international delegation consisting of the Director of the

Port of Djibouti The Port of Djibouti is a port in Djibouti, the capital of Djibouti. It is strategically located at the crossroads of one of the busiest shipping routes in the world, linking Europe, the Far East, the Horn of Africa and the Persian Gulf. The por ...

and

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

officials specializing in infrastructure reconstruction concurrently visited the facility in June 2013. According to Mogadishu Port manager Abdullahi Ali Nur, the delegates along with local Somali officials received reports on the port's functions as part of the rebuilding project's planning stages. In November 2014, Minister of Transportation

Said Jama Mohamed Said Jama korshel ( so, Saciid Jaamac Qoorshel, ar, وقال جامع محمد), also known as Said Qorshel, is a Somali politician. He served as the Minister of Air and Land Transport of Somalia from January 2014 to January 2015. Personal life ...

launched a new transportation reform initiative at the Port of Mogadishu. The minister met with local transportation union officials to discuss how to optimize the new system's implementation, ensure its transparency and accountability, and gauge their requirements and those of the owners of transported goods that they represent. According to Mohamed, the project's ultimate goal is to establish a fair transportation system. He also stressed that transport owners should make sure that their vehicles are in good condition and attain the standards of goods owners.

Simatech Shipping

In 2013, the Port of Mogadishu's management reportedly reached an agreement with representatives of the

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

-based company Simatech Shipping LLC to handle vital operations at the seaport. Under the name Mogadishu Port Container Terminal, the firm is slated to handle all of the port's technical and operational functions.

Al-Bayrak

In October 2013, the federal

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

endorsed an agreement with the Turkish firm Al-Bayrak to manage the Port of Mogadishu for a 5-year period. According to the Prime Minister's Office, the deal was secured by the Ministry of Ports and Public Works, and also assigns Al-Bayrak responsibility for rebuilding and modernizing the port. Al-Bayrak had previously overseen construction of the Istanbul Metro in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. In April 2014, the Federal Parliament postponed finalization of the Seaport Management Deal pending the approval of a new foreign investment bill. The MPs also requested that the agreement be submitted to the legislature for deliberation and to ensure that the interests of the port's manual labourers are taken into account. In September 2014, the federal government officially delegated management of the Mogadishu Port to Al-Bayrak. The Turkish company's head Ahmed Salim indicated that under the terms of the agreement, 55% of revenue generated at the seaport will go to the government and the remaining 45% is earmarked for the firm. According to Minister for Transports and Seaport Yussuf Maolim Amin, the management transfer is expected to double the federal authorities' income from the Port. Al-Bayrak's modernization project will cost $80 million. According to Al-Bayrak, the majority of its revenue share will be re-invested in the seaport through additional port-based trade and new docks, construction materials and machinery. The company also plans to install an environment wall and a closed circuit camera system in accordance with international security protocols, erect a modern port administration building, and clean the ship entrance channels via underwater surveillance. As of September 2014, the first phase of the renovations were reportedly complete, with the second phase underway. During its first month of operation under Al-Bayrak, the port generated $2.7 million in service revenue.

African Shipping Line–Mogadishu

Towards 2014, a Dubai-registered shipping line company advanced its expansion to Mogadishu Port. In 2015, African Shipping Line-Kenya made registration and presence as a ship agency, and container agent in the Port of Mogadishu. African Shipping Line- ASLINE Somalia, a representative of

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

-based company African Shipping Line - ASLINE Kenya, is set to provide services related to Container Feeder Shipping, ship liner agency and logistic services at Mogadishu as well as other

Ports like Kismayo, Bosasso and Berbera port in Somaliland.

References

External links

Mogadishu Port - official website
{{Ports in Somalia

Buildings and structures in Mogadishu Economy of Mogadishu