Libyan Ports: Engines of Economic Development

Libyan Ports: Engines of Economic Development

Libya, with its strategic location on the Mediterranean Sea, is one of the important countries in the maritime transport and shipping sector at the regional and global levels. The Libyan port sector plays a pivotal role in driving the country’s economic growth.

The most prominent Libyan ports and their capacity to receive container ships:

1. Port of Tripoli: The largest and most important port in Libya. Its current annual capacity is 700,000 TEU, with ongoing expansion projects to increase capacity to 1.4 million TEU per year.
2. Port of Benghazi: The second largest port in Libya, with a current annual capacity of 300,000 TEU. Projects are underway to develop the port and increase its capacity to 500,000 TEU per year.
3. Port of Misurata: Its current capacity is 800,000 TEU per year. Expansion works are underway to increase capacity to one million TEU per year.
4. Port of Alkhoms : Its current capacity is 300,000 TEU per year. Projects are being implemented to develop the port and increase its capacity.

The ongoing projects in these ports aim to increase container handling capabilities and strengthen the logistics infrastructure, contributing to the revitalization of maritime trade and increasing exports and imports through the Libyan maritime gates. These ports are relied upon as the main drivers of economic growth in the future.

The Misurata Free Zone announced
on Monday 01/22/2024, the arrival of the largest container ship to the Libyan ports in years, with a load exceeding 5,000 TEU.

The Free Zone explained that the ship “FLORA” which docked at the port of Misurata is the first and largest operator of transit operations (transit trade) in the Libyan ports.

It added that the ship came from the port of Jebel Ali in Dubai, with a length of 300 meters and a width of 40 meters, and contains the largest draft that enters the port of the Misurata Free Zone with a depth of more than 12.5 meters.

The “FLORA” ship carries 5,250 TEU, and it indicated that the ship carries 5,250 TEU , including 4,481 transit containers that will be shipped to the ports of “Hamburg” and “Hankinsbutl” in Germany, “Naples” in Italy, “Santos” in Brazil, and “Damietta” in Egypt.

The Misurata Free Zone reminded that this is the first time in several years that a commercial container ship with a load exceeding 3,000 TEU has entered the Libyan ports, with a draft exceeding 12.5 meters, where the maritime operations were carried out by Libyan crews.