Rades Port: A Key Maritime Hub for Container Traffic in the Maghreb

The port of Rades plays a significant role in the national transport chain due to its specialization in container and rolling unit traffic (primarily trailer traffic). The port of Rades handles 21% of the overall traffic, 79% of the tonnage of containerized goods, 76% of the tonnage of goods loaded in rolling units, 76% of container traffic in TEUs, 80% of rolling unit traffic, and 18% of the ship traffic recorded across all commercial ports in Tunisia. An overview of the port’s traffic: As a roll-on/roll-off port, Rades handles the majority of container and rolling unit traffic in the country as well as a portion of bulk traffic (hydrocarbons, cereals). Geographic location: The port of Rades is located at 36° 40′ N latitude and 10° 10′ E longitude, extending geographically from the port of La Goulette. Nautical data: Approach: The nautical access to the port of La Goulette is ensured by an outer channel dredged to -12 m, 6.4 km long and 100 m wide; marked by 10 buoys. Swell: From the Northwest (the strongest and most frequent is 22%). Tides: Irregular, between 20 and 40 cm, 60 cm in case of a storm. Currents: Southward on the rising tide (flood current) and northward on the falling tide (ebb current), with speeds between 0.1 and 0.3 m/s, generally oriented from North to South. Dominant winds: From the Northeast sector in summer and from the Northwest sector in winter. Infrastructure: Basins: The terminal basin: the water area of the terminal basin has an area of 80 ha dredged to -10.50 meters and a turning circle of 430 meters in diameter. A turning circle of 370 meters in diameter (Goulette basin) is located at the level of the specialized quays on the southern bank. Berthing facilities: Main basin (container and roll-on/roll-off terminal): Container ships 2 berths (1 and 6) – length: 350 m – and a draft of -8.8 m. Ro-Ro / 4 berths (2, 3, 4, 5) – length: 600 m / (4 x 150) and a draft of -8.80 m, and -8.00 m for berth number 5. Container / Ro-Ro 1 mixed berth (7) – length: 180 m and a draft of -9 m. The main basin offers a total length of 1130 m. South basin (oil zone): Grain quay (behind this berth, a grain silo of 30,000 T) length: 109 m and a draft of -9.75 m. Oil/Gas quay (common berth) – length: 130 m and a draft of -9.45 m. Multi-bulk quay (ex KD) – length: 200 m – and a draft of -10.5 m for liquid and solid bulk goods. Industrial products quay (ex hazardous) – length: 58 m – and a draft of -7.2 m – for various goods. Liquid bulk quay – total length between the Albes ducts: 53 m and a draft of -8.00 m at the magistral line. Protective works: The water area of the port of Rades is sheltered by the protective works of the port of La Goulette. Warehouses and yards: The customs area of the container and roll-on/roll-off terminal allocated for the storage of transit goods covers an area of 50 ha: 2 ha covered by 4 warehouses and 48 ha of open yard. Road access: The port is connected to the hinterland and industrial areas of Tunis (Mégrine and Ben Arous, etc.) via the MC33 road, which is linked to the highway and express road network. Rail access: The port of Rades is connected to the network by mixed tracks (metric and standard). Request for port access card: Download the application form here. REGULAR LINES CONNECTING THE PORT OF RADES FOR CONTAINER TRAFFIC: Shipping Company | Maritime Agent | Route | Frequency 1 SEAGO LINE | MAERSK TUNISIA | MALTA – RADES | Once a week 2 MSC | MSC TUNISIA | GIOA TAURO-RADES | Once a week 3 CMA CGM | CMA TUNISIA | MALTA-RADES | Once a week 4 WHITE LINE | MCTC | VALENCIA-RADES-ANNABA-SKIKDA-ALGER | Every 15 days 5 X-PRESS FEEDERS | ALL SEAS SHIPPING AGENCY | VALENCIA-ALGECIRAS-TANGER-RADES | Once a week 6 UFS | GENMAR | CAGLIARI-TRAPANI-RADES | Every 10 days 7 COTUNAV | COTUNAV | MARSEILLE-RADES | Twice a week | LIVORNO-RADES | Twice a week | GENOVA-RADES | Twice a week | BARCELONA-RADES | Once a week 8 CMA CGM | CMA TUNISIA | MARSEILLE-RADES | Twice a week 9 DSDF SEAWAYS | SOCOTUMAR | MARSEILLE-RADES | Twice a week 10 MESSINA LINE | Messina Tunisia | GENOVA-SALERNO-RADES | Once a week 11 EVERGREEN | Green Tunisia | PIRAEUS-BIZERTA-RADES | Every 15 days.