Crew logistics
For container ships and every other vessel calling Cotonou, the crew change is a movement Maingate Shipping plans end to end: immigration, airport, transfer, launch, hotel and the prompt report. Partner agent on the ground, Mombasa desk in charge.
For vessels calling Cotonou, the crew change is planned before the cargo is: flights are held until the ETA is firm, immigration is pre-notified, and the joining crew are met at Cadjehoun Airport at Cotonou and taken to the gangway or the launch. Off-port-limits changes for vessels in transit are done the same way, without the vessel entering the port.
The port's geography matters: the Atlantic coast of Benin, the country's only commercial port. So does the fact that used vehicle imports and Niger transit cargo give the port a documentation load that a good agent clears before the vessel arrives.
Every movement is confirmed in writing before the seafarer travels and reported promptly it happens.
Cadjehoun Airport at Cotonou is the door for crew at Cotonou. The desk's driver waits at arrivals with the vessel's name, walks the joiners through immigration on the pre-notification already filed, and brings them to the port gate or the launch. For leavers, the same driver collects them at the gangway and sees them through immigration and check-in.
Nobody buys a ticket until the vessel's schedule is firm; the desk holds options and rebooks when the ETA moves, which it usually does.
Every nationality on the crew list is checked against the current rules at Cotonou before a ticket is bought: who gets a visa on arrival, who needs one in advance, who transits on the agent's letter of guarantee alone. The crew list, passports and seaman's books are sent to immigration with the letter of guarantee ahead of the movement.
Shore passes are arranged for crew going ashore, and the boarding officer carries the port passes the movement needs.
Berth changes at Cotonou are simple: the agent's vehicle, the gate pass, the gangway. Anchorage changes need a launch, daylight, a sea state the launch operator accepts and a pilot ladder rigged to the master's satisfaction. The desk books the launch against the tide and the weather and tells the master the time it will be alongside.
When the aircraft and the launch cannot meet, a hotel room near the port bridges the gap and the movement runs at first light. Off-port-limits crew changes for vessels in transit are done outside the port, with the vessel slowing to take the launch alongside and resuming passage within a couple of hours.
Medical cases at Cotonou follow one rule: the seafarer sees a doctor first and the paperwork follows. Hospital, guarantee, daily reports to owner and club, fit-to-fly certificate, escort and flight home are the desk's work; the vessel's schedule is kept by arranging a replacement in parallel.
The owner receives a prompt report of each movement, and the DA carries the receipts.
Cotonou sees container ships, car carriers, bulk carriers, general cargo ships and tankers. The desk plans a two-person officer swap on a bulk carrier and a twenty-person rotation on a purse seiner with the same file discipline, scaled to the numbers: more vehicles, more hotel rooms, a larger launch, and immigration warned of the size of the movement.
The port's working areas are the container terminal, the general cargo and bulk berths, the vehicle terminal and the oil jetty, and the gate the crew use depends on the berth the vessel is given.
A few working days is comfortable for most nationalities once the ETA is firm; longer where a visa must be obtained in advance. The desk confirms the requirement when the crew list is received.
Yes, by licensed launch in daylight and acceptable weather.
Cadjehoun Airport at Cotonou.
Yes. Kenyan officers and ratings are placed through our crewing desk in Mombasa with verified documents, and delivered to the vessel at the port of joining.
Receipts behind every line, a record behind every stoppage, a desk behind every call.
Desks that usually follow a Cotonou crew change.
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Maingate Shipping Limited · Express Building, Moi Avenue, Mombasa, Kenya · ops@maingateshipping.com · +254 784 622 091