Disasters, Conflicts and Migration 

For a more detailed database on disasters by country, please see the Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters Country Profile. 

Seasonal Effects on Logistics Capacities 

The climate ranges from hyper-arid in the north to tropical wet-and-dry in the far southwest. The most significant climatic variables are rainfall and the length of the dry season. From January to March, there is practically no rainfall countrywide except for a small area in north-western Sudan. By early April up to October the country is affected by heavy rains and thunderstorms.   

El Niño effects often impact the country. It significantly impacted the 2015 rainy season with delayed rains, below-average rainfall and intermittent dry spells. This caused reduced cultivation areas, delayed planting, poor pastures and limited water availability for both people and their livestock. These impacts are threatening essential agricultural and livestock production across Sudan.  

The Airports and Ports (Othma Digna Port) have allocated facilities for the Hadj pilgrims, however short periods of congestion are experienced in the vicinity at the departure and returning points. 

Capacity and Contacts for In-Country Emergency Response 

Government 

All issues concerning any kind of emergency are addressed through the Humanitarian Aid Commissioner, who will activate internal resources within the Government of the Republic of Sudan and the relevant ministries.  

There are four Area Security Teams within in the Republic of Sudan. 

Khartoum reporting through to the Designated Officials.  

El Obeid reporting through to the Designated Officials.      

Darfur reporting through UNAMID  

Abyei reporting through UNISFA 

For more information on government contact details, please see the following link: 4.1 Sudan Government Contact List 

Humanitarian Community

The humanitarian coordination meeting structure in Sudan is composed of several interlinked coordination fora at strategic and operational levels, both in Khartoum and in the field. Information is systemically shared between these meetings in order to ensure inter-connectivity between them. The following are the humanitarian coordination meetings which OCHA (co-)support: 

• Humanitarian Country Team (HCT)  
• Core Group  
• Inter-Sector Coordination Group (ISCG)     
• Area Humanitarian Coordination Team (A/HCT)        
• Area Inter-Sector Coordination Group (A/ISCG)       
• HC - Donor Consultation Group (DCG)  
• Ambassadorial Country Coordination Forum (CCF)  
• GoS - UN and Partners Humanitarian Coordination 
• GoS Security and Safety Committee meeting  
• OCHA HoO - INGO Forum Steering Committee Meeting     
• HCT Access Working Group (AWG) 
• HCT Information and Advocacy Working Group 
• Bi-monthly Humanitarian Briefing  
• Hybrid meetings (combining HCT, ISCG and donors, as well as government as required). 

There are eleven Clusters/Sectors in Sudan, each with a Sector Lead and a co-Lead from Government side. Meetings are scheduled on a regular basis (bi-weekly, monthly or ad hoc). Inter-Sectoral Coordination Group (ISCG) meetings are held bi-weekly and chaired by OCHA, who reports to the Humanitarian Country Team. 

SECTOR LEAD ORGANISATION.  

Co-ordination and Common Services UN OCHA  

Education - UNICEF  

Food Security and Livelihoods FA0 – WFP 

Health - WHO 

Logistics and Emergency Telecommunications (LET) - WFP 

Emergency Shelter& Non-Food Items (ES&NFI) - UNHCR ES/NFI  

Nutrition - UNICEF 

Protection - UNHCR 

Return Recovery and (Re)-Integration - UNDP 

Refugee Multi Sector - UNHCR 

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene - UNICEF  

For additional data visit https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/sudan  

The Sudan INGO steering committee represents INGOs in Sudan. 

The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), under the leadership of the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC), functions as the highest country-level international humanitarian coordination platform. The HCT meets on a monthly basis (or on ad-hoc when needed) and involves the following organizations: 

1. WFP, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, UNHABITAT, UNHCR, IOM, FAO, WHO, OCHA, 2 x INGO Forum SC (designated by INGO community in Sudan), one Islamic organization (IICO) and one national organisation (SCOVA) as members.  
2. ICRC, IFRC, SRCS, MSF and UNAMID as observers.  
3. The Deputy HC will participate through tele-conference or in person when needed. 
4. When appropriate, other institutions and agencies may be invited to participate in HCT meetings, or a joint meeting will be organised as necessary. 

For more information on humanitarian agency contact details, please see the following link: 4.2 Sudan Humanitarian Agency Contact List

 

 

Monitoring and inspections of cargo and processes

Sudan has no mandatory pre-shipment inspection. However, all importers need to be registered at the Import/Export Registry at the Ministry of Foreign Trade. Usually importers are advised to have a Pre-shipment Inspection Certificate issued by International cargo Inspectors registered by Sudanese Standards and Metrology Organization (SSMO). Therefore, importers or appointed agents must present SSMO requirements. 

Sudan does not apply any quantitative import registrations; all goods can be imported to Sudan except those goods that are prohibited by social values or security considerations. Sometimes a double check inspection might be conducted by the SSMO. 

For cargo clearance process; the SSMO must take a sample from all cargo, then send the sample of the selected items to the laboratory to be analysed, and finally issue a certificate upon approval.  

Export and Import Procedures - SSMO 

The SSMO prepares, adopts and applies the standard specifications for the local and imported products and services. SSMO objective is the protection of the national economy and the Sudanese population in the fields of health, environment, safety and commercial forgery.   

Concerning Sudanese imports, the role of SSMO is sequenced as follows:  

1. Preparation of standard specifications and their approval.  
2. Coordination with the related bodies (Bank of Sudan, Ministry of the Foreign Trade and the Businessmen Association). These bodies are provided with standard specifications to guarantee the arrival of goods that are in conformity with Sudanese standards.   
3. To implement standard specifications on imports in all country’s entry points to ensure conformity and respect these specifications.   

The procedures undertaken by Port Sudan branch for the Sudanese imports begin with the concept of Conformity assessment as follows:  

1. Procedures starts with checking and inspecting all documents, which are submitted for any operation whether technical or commercial. This process makes sure that requirements of trade and standard specifications are fulfilled, depending on the type of the imports, as follows: 
   1. The imports of regulated products, requires special documents (the certificate of international surveyor) and it is usually subjected to conditional temporary release system.  
   2. Imports that requires cooperation with competent Bodies, such as pesticides, seeds and drugs …etc.  
   3. Imports specific to some Institutes and Ministries (e.g. the Ministry of Energy).   
   4. General diverse imports.  
2. Field and physical inspection to make sure for the general status of the consignment and the conformity of the label card with the submitted documents.    
3. Withdrawal of samples for laboratory analysis procedures to ensure its compliance to standard specifications.  
4.  Issuing of conformity or non-conformity certificate according to the above-mentioned procedures.  

Other Activities: 

1. To present a complete set of services for the above-mentioned stages in the State entry points in Osefe, Sawakin, free zone Area, Southern ports, Northern ports and laboratories at headquarters aiming to facilitate trade and to gain customer satisfaction by implementing the various quality systems.   
2. Starting to link all these areas electronically so as to reduce time of release and to facilitate the flow of trade, besides the complete cooperation with the related bodies at the Seaports.  
3. Effective participation with the Consultative Council which embraces the Ministry of Cabinet, the Seaports Society (Seaport Authority, Customs and all Regulatory bodies, and Ship agents).  
4. To enforce Resolution no. 119 year 2008, which aimed at facilitating the flow of exports and imports through a single window system, and to unify all regulatory bodies under one single umbrella.  

Export procedures - SSMO         

1. Review of commercial documents issued by the related bodies such as the Bank of Sudan, Ministry of foreign trade (export contract).    
2. Review of technical documents issued from multiple bodies according to the type of export:  
   1. Health Certificate for the live animals and sorting leather.  
   2. Certificate issued from Geology Corporation for minerals.  
   3. Animal Resource Certificate for fish.     
   4. Sieving Certificate for exported seeds.  
   5. Steaming Certificates for agricultural crops issued by Plant Quarantine Administration. 
3. Field inspection for exports and ensure their conformity to standard specifications.  
4. Monitoring and follow-up of sieving of exported seeds and ensure conformity label cards to standard specifications. 
5. Subject Sudanese exports to laboratory analysis in addition to the field inspection to ensure compliance to standard specifications and thereby issue the certificate of conformity.  
6. Taking into account the terms of contracts agreed upon between buyer and seller and ensure their implementation. 
7. Follow up the final packaging of exports into containers and ships.  

General observations:  

1. The implementation of guidelines and regulations issued by international organizations such as ISO, Codex, AIDMO, WTO, etc. must be ensured.  
2. Accreditation of laboratories especially for the Sudanese exports is to be considered. 
3. Rehabilitation and training of human resources to cope up with international techniques and implement the electronic system in applications and procedures to reduce the release time for imports and exports is needed.  
4. Implementation of quality systems is needed.  

Guide for Conformity Assessment - Procedure & Standards Purchase 

Primary Conformity Assessment

Primary procedure refers to a process aimed at checking if the documents of a certain product are compliant with Sudanese standards. 

Requested Documents 

Mandatory Documents:  

1. Request for Conformity Assessment 
   1. The request must be in headed paper and stamped 
   2. The request must be addressed to the manager of standards department  
   3. The request must be checked for compliance and purpose to apply C.A.P to the product
2. Certificate of Analysis (or Catalogue of Technical Standards in the case of equipment, and machines). It is given when the conformity assessment has been performed. 
   1. The certificate must be in headed paper and stamped, including the name & address of the lab where the analysis was performed 
   2. Certificate must contain name of product meant for conformity assessment  
   3. Date of issue of the certificate must be clearly defined. 
   4. Country of origin must be clearly stated. 
   5. Catalogue of Technical Standards must contain a full description of the product, indicate the name of the manufacturing company and indicate the country where it was produced. 

Non-Mandatory Documents:

1. A proforma invoice stating the name of product and the compliance with the Certificate of analysis or the Catalogue of Technical standards.  

Additional Documents: 

This kind of documents is specific to certain food commodities in addition to the above-mentioned documents.  

• A permit from ministry of Animal Resources & Fishery
• A health certificate authenticated from a Sudanese Embassy in the exporting country
• A certificate for shelf life (either separate or included in the above documents)
• Certificate of radiation analysis
• Certificate for Halal slaughter from the origin (in case of chicken & red meat) 
• Certificate of freedom from GMO
• Trading invoice 

Steps to be taken for the Conformity Assessment certificate: 

1. Registering the order
2. Pay the required fee
3. If the product is not compliant to the standards, the case will be will be submitted to the Technical Committee for consultation.

If the product is compliant to the standards, procedure takes 24hrs. When the conformity of the product is submitted to a technical committee, the procedure may be longer.  

For more information on regulatory departments and quality control laboratories’ contact details, please see the following links: 

4.1 Sudan Government Contact List

4.3 Sudan Laboratory and Quality Testing Companies Contact List

 

 

Duties and Tax Exemption 

For contact information regarding government custom authorities, please see the following link: 4.1 Sudan Government Contact List

Emergency Response: 

Exemption applications must be requested prior to an importation through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

In an emergency scenario the process can be expedited, however, the process flows must be adhered to. 

On the issuance of a permit, the ‘White Copy ‘is sent to the Importer, the ‘Yellow’ copy by the MOFA to Customs Head Quarters then to the Port of Entry.                                                                                                                                               

Exemption Regular Regime (Non-Emergency Response):   

Exemption Certificate Application Procedure:  

Exemption Certificate Document Requirements 

Customs Clearance 

General Information  

Customs Clearance Document Requirements 

The customs processes and documentation requirements may change from time to time, with minimum pre-advice or amendments being gazetted. Therefore, it is important for clearing agents to regularly check with customs/MoFA if there are any recent changes or amendments. 

For commercial cargos where exemption is not provided, custom payment is made by cash or cheque. There is no delay in the importation of goods through the customs exemption process.   

Weight and Value Band 

The value, cargo description on the commercial invoice and the packing declaration must reconcile to the Air waybill and / or the Bill of Lading. Any discrepancy between the supporting documents may delay the clearance or require a new set of documents.  

Customs in Sudan except the US$ amount shown on documentation. 

 

Transit Regime 

Traffic is consigned to the Port of Entry of the country that will be the gateway to transit to the destination country. 

Prior to the arrival of the vessel, permission to transit the Republic of Sudan must be obtained from Humanitarian Aid Commissioner (HAC) and Customs. 

A set of documents must be sent to the Port of Entry prior to the vessels arrival. 

The documents should comprise of the following: 

Sea freight shipments- Original documents 

1. Bill of Lading (showing cargo in transit and destination country) 
2. Supplier Invoice(s) 
3. Packing list 
4. Import Declaration Form (IDF) from the importer 
5. Duties and Taxes Exemption Certificates, if any 
6. Permit for import and transit of food, Agriculture products, drugs and pharmaceutical 

Additional documents required for specific imports 

1. Certificate of Origin 
2. Phytosanitary Certificates for imports of agricultural products 
3. Relevant documents from country of final destinations. 
4. Permission granted through Humanitarian Aid Commissioner (HAC) and Customs. 

In addition to the outlined documents, any specific documentation requirements, import permits from the country of final destination, should also be included to expedite the transit clearance through the port. The vessel enters the harbour and the consignment is cleared for transit to the country of destination, all customary marine and cargo handling dues are paid to the Ports of Sudan Corporation. The Clearing Agent makes certain all cargo is pre-cleared prior to the vessels arrival. 

The Clearing Agent lodges a cheque as security with customs based on the value of the consignment in transit, this cheque will be returned when the consignment has left the country and tonnage reconcile back to the vessels outturn tonnage at the Port Sudan. 

The clearing agent arranges for Insurance to cover any losses in favor of Sudan Customs and Excise, billing to WFP the cost of the insurance cover  

Transport Waybills are compiled by WFP and given to the clearing agent who issues the manifests in consultation with the Road Transporter. 

The manifest and Waybills are submitted to Customs and permission is granted to proceed. 

The traffic moves in convoys accompanied by a Customs officer from the Anti-Smuggling Unit, all costs incurred for the customs officer is paid by the Transporter. 

Transporters from Port Sudan use vehicles with a carrying capacity of 70 metric tons; the Port Sudan road trucks are transhipped on 30 MT road trucks at El Obeid or Nyala according to the final destination. 

On arrival at the exit Sudan board post, transit documentation is presented to Customs, the tonnage verified and vehicle/s permitted to proceed. 

The schedules (Form 6) from the exit point Customs return to Port Sudan to allow Customs and the Clearing agent to reconcile tonnage dispatched to vessel's outturn. 

File closed by Customs and cheque lodged for security returned to Clearing Agent. 

 

Port Overview 

(Source: General Admin for Planning & Research / Statistics and Information centre) 

Port Sudan is the capital of the Red Sea State and the Republic of Sudan’s main sea port. It is situated on latitude (19 ` 39) north and longitude (73 ` 13) east on the middle of the Red Sea coast and was established in 1910. It occupies a strategic location in the centre of the west coast of the Red Sea about 1200 km northeast Khartoum and about 260 km southwest Jeddah (in Saudi Arabia Kingdom). Port Sudan is mainly handling general cargo, livestock, cement, containers, oil products, grains, pesticides and cars. 

The Sea Ports Corporation (SPC) is an independent state corporation of Sudan that governs, constructs, and maintains the ports, harbours and lighthouses of Sudan. The company was founded in 1974 by the government of Sudan to be the national port operator and port authority. The Ports of Sudan fall under the Ministry of Transport, Roads and Bridges.  

Website: www.mot.gov.sd   

Port website: www.sudanports.gov.sd   

Key port information may also be found at http://www.maritime-database.com 

Port Picture

Port Sudan is divided into four components. The North Port B quays include 12 berths of a total 1866 meters long with alongside depths from 8.5 to 10.7 meters, handling primarily general cargo, edible oils, and molasses. The five berths that handle general cargo and molasses are a total of 822 meters long with alongside depths from 8.5 to 10.7 meters. Four berths of 365.7 meters with alongside depth of 10.7 meters handle general cargo and edible oils. 

Port Sudan Harbor consists of: 

1. The North Port, which is the oldest Port, consisting of 12 berths with depths between 8.5 meters and 10.7 meters allocated for general cargo, bulk cement, edible oils, and molasses. 
2. The South Port consists of 6 berths, berth #15 for the handling of grains and general cargo, berths 13 through to 18 for containerised traffic. 
3. The Green Port consists of 4 berths with a total lengths of 1226 meters and a depth of 14.7 meters. It is equipped with services for dry bulk cargo and it is able to accommodate vessels up to 50,000 DWT  
4. The Alkhair (Dama Dama) oil terminal can receive tankers up to 50,000 DWT with a draft of 14.6 meters 

 

Description and Contacts of Key Companies

The main company at the port is the Sea Port Corporation, which is the national port operator and authority.   

Port Performance

The Port is designed and has the capacity to handle Panamax size bulk carriers. 

Vessels calls have decreased by only 15.5% from 755 calls in 2014 to 638 calls in 2017. 

Import traffic has increased by 60% from 6 Million tons in 2014 to 9.6 Million tons in 2017. 

Exports have increased by 532% from 350,409 tons in 2014 to 2,215,005 tons in 2017. 

 

Discharge Rates and Terminal Handling Charges 

Link to relevant tariff/rates webpage: www.sudanports.gov.sd

The cargo handling and discharge rates at the Port of Sudan are: 

The discharge rates are based on the working norms of the Port and are not those negotiated by World Food Programme. 

Shifts per day 7 hours per shift normal working 6 hours  

(1hrs break each shift) Working hours Saturday/Thursday 

 1st shift 0730 – 1430 

 2nd shift 1530 - 2230 

 3rd shift 2330 - 0530 (Overtime) 

Friday and gazette official holiday port operates on an overtime basis 

 1st shift 0730 - 1200 

 2nd shift 1530 - 2230 

 3rd shift 2330 – 0530 

Berthing Specifications

The two Port Sudan berths handling bulk cement in the North quays are 98.3 meters long with alongside depth of 8.7 meters. The North quays have 27 stores covering 57, 000 M2, designed to handle up to five million tons of cargo per year. The North quays also include two berths of 122 meters with alongside depth of 6.1 meters for barges used to export livestock.  

General Cargo Handling Berths

Port Handling Equipment 

A private company, the Sea Ports Corporation (SPC), manages the port equipment. The SPC is an independent state corporation of Sudan that governs & maintains the ports and the harbours. The Port handling equipment is generally in good condition, but the fixed general cargo “Luffing” cranes with a capacity between 5 and 15 metric tons are in poor condition.  

It is a prerequisite by the Port Sudan authorities that Vessels to load and/or discharge bulk – general cargoes over the quay must be ‘geared’. 

Container Facilities 

Reefer slots are available, in the past years the average number of reefer units that have passed through the Port Sudan amounted to an average of 300 TEUs per year. Reefer capability was not surveyed and/or linked to the cold chain. 

Customs Guidance 

To clear import cargo for consumption within Sudan, nominated clearing agents are also tasked to clear cargo in transit consigned to Chad and neighbouring countries (Ethiopia, ROSS) subject to the established customs rules & regulations and border formalities. 

For information on customs, please see the following link: 1.3 Sudan Customs Information

Terminal Information 

Multipurpose Terminal

The Multi-purpose terminal at the North Quay is able to handle all types of cargo subject to the vessels general configuration and draft. The discharge and/or delivery to/from Ship’s side requires pre-planning to avoid delays. 

The shore luffing cranes (capacity 5 to 15 tons) are however in poor mechanical repair hence the Port Authorities require that vessels arriving at Port Sudan be suitably geared with cranes and/or derricks. Shore winch men are available. 

Oil Handling Terminal - the Elkhair (Dama Dama) oil terminal can receive tankers up to 50,000 DWT with a draft of 14.5 metres. In 2017, 77 vessels used the berth, and 2,222,591 metric tons of petroleum products were imported. There were no petroleum products exported in 2017. Last petroleum exports were done in 2014.  

Grain and Bulk Handling 

There are five vertical silo and one horizontal silo operators within the port as follows; 

1. 50,000 MT capacity situated at Berth 15 - owned/operated by the Agricultural Bank of Sudan. Facility is mainly used for Sorghum exports. 
2. 60,000 MT silo capacity at Green Port area operated by WITA. WITA also has another 70,000 mt silo capacity 3km outside of port. 
3. 90,000 MT silo capacity at the Green Port area operated by SEEN Flour Mills. 
4. 76,000 MT silo capacity at the Green Port area owned by ALKHALEEJ but operated by SEEN. 
5. 140,000 MT silo capacity at the Green Port area owned/operated by DAL Foods/Sayga Flour Mills. 
6. 50,000 MT horizontal silo capacity at the North Quay operated by SEAGRAINS. 

In total, the silo capacity at PORT SUDAN is 536,000 MT. 

The method of discharge to these silo facilities is from ship’s holds with grabs or Pneumatic Buhler evacuators onto hoppers, into bulk trucks which transport and dump the bulk to the respective facility repeatedly. The daily discharge rate can get to 12,000 metric tons pwwd using Ship’s gear with four gangs. 

Most of the silo operators subsequently deliver the cargo bulk to up country mills except Sayga that has a bagging option. The daily bagging rate basis 16 working hours is around 2000 metric tons.  

The silo facilities have a rail connection and there is ongoing works to extend the rail to the quayside of the Green port berths.  

Bagging – Grain Handling

There are two main international bagging operators operating from Port Sudan (PORTSERVE & IMGS) through local partners. These provide the conventional discharge/bagging services alongside ship using bagging plants each having two bagging lines, with sewing machines, scales and escalators to move the bags to landside stowage and/or transport. The mobile bagging machines are also hired out to the vertical or horizontal silo operators whenever they would require to deliver cargo bagged. 

Discharge is mainly using ship gear, ship/own grabs and port labour. Four gangs are usually allocated to a vessel and the daily discharge is around 2500 to 3000 MT/wwd. Usually crane operators, supervisors, labour on the bagging plant, and a mechanical/electrical engineer are on standby at the vessel.  

Conventional Cargo 

The general cargo terminals are situated at the North Port and Green Port. These facilities are able to handle general cargo, unitised cargo, bagged, bulk, vehicles, project and heavy lift/out of gauge traffic. Cargo is discharged from ship’s holds using slings and nets by ship/shore cranes and onto the quayside from where the port labor loads it to trucks/wagons for delivery. There are also several warehouses alongside the berths that have been leased out. 

Containerised Cargo (THC) 

The South Port consists of six berths. Berths 13 to 18 are used for containerised cargos while berth 15 is a bulk silo loading/discharge facility. 

Containers are unloaded from ships using STS gantry cranes onto terminal tractors which transfer them for stacking within the terminal. Delivery from the terminal is by RTG onto trucks that transfer containers from terminal to the customs inspection area. Lift off/on at the customs inspection area is Reach Stackers. After inspection the containers are either loaded on to trucks full or de-stuffed and shifted to the storage area doe empties.  

Main Storage Terminal 

Stevedoring 

Labour working inside the ship and for stacking cargo on trucks is engaged and paid for by the ship agent, clearing agent or transporter. Port labour however handle cargo at the quayside. The wages paid to shore side labour is negotiated with the Unions and tariffs are calculated based on cargo configuration. 

Hinterland Information

Commodities are moved out of the port by rail or road. Delivery is mostly through primary transporters, local shunting and direct deliveries to the main hubs. Direct deliveries have been performed to Khartoum, El Obeid, Fasher, Nyala and Kosti. Direct deliveries from Port Sudan Warehouse to minor hubs like Damazine, Kasalla etc are also possible.  

Port Security

The Port is ISPS compliant. All entry points are secured, manned by Port Police and Customs Officers and access is subject to permits (usually given within one day by the Port Sudan Authorities after presentation of original identification documents and letter of request). 

The fenced and secured port area is ‘customs bonded’: no cargo may enter or leave the port area without the requisite customs and associated documentation being completed and approved through the Customs Controls.  

The ships in the port have their own security and ‘gangway watch’.  

 

In addition, there are two secondary/tertiary Sudanese Ports on the Red Sea that function as alternative port gateways to the Republic of Sudan, these are Osman Digna port at Sawakin (South of Port Sudan) and Bashair port.

Key airport information may also be found at: http://worldaerodata.com/