An overview of the determinants of marine transport operations in Port Sudan Port

Abstract

Since Port Sudan Port is one of the important pillars of marine transport (formed from land, port and sea), it plays a vital role in marine transport, for it completes the process of exportation of local commodities to the international markets, and importation of foreign commodities to the local markets, beside of the other services. Although the activities within the port may constitute almost only 10% of the total costs for transporting the commodities, Port Sudan Port is the same importance of the other Marine Transport pillars put together. Because of the ever- increasing in the imports and exports of Sudanese foreign trade, and because of the persistent need for imports and the economists aim being the maximization of exports, the management of Sea Ports Corporation faces considerable tasks and responsibilities relating to the imports and exports and the ships used them, a thing which points to the considerable role of this port in rendering the various services relating to ships such as the provision, fuel, fresh water, diesel oil, gaz oil, storing cargoes and organizing the loading and discharging operations This role of the port has several determinants affecting, positively or negatively, the imports and the exports and the port it self. These determinants including: the Port Sudan movement cycle and it’s complementary items, the laws and regulations accompanying the Sudanese foreign trade, the handling equipments, the Ports Sudan Harbonr Tariff and the resolutions and the publication of Marketing Department / S.P.C. These determinants reflect the role of the port in Sudanese foreign trade and at the same time constitute an obstacle towards the performance of the port so that it does not function as required or hoped for by the economists. The study, accordingly, comes to the conclusion that all of the determinants of the Port Sudan port role are themselves the obstacles against the performance of the port, and the services offered so as for the commodities to reach the consumer both in it’s time and location utilities.