Joiners and leavers
Joining and leaving crew at Nouakchott, Mauritania, move through Nouakchott-Oumtounsy International Airport to the gangway or the launch on one instruction to Maingate Shipping, with the file cleared before the flight is bought. Attendance is by our partner agent under Maingate's instruction; the Mombasa desk plans the movement and reports it.
For vessels calling Nouakchott, 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 Nouakchott-Oumtounsy International Airport and taken to the gangway or the launch. Where the vessel will not be entering the port, the desk advises whether the change is better made here or at the next port on the route.
The port's geography matters: the Atlantic coast of Mauritania, a port built on an open coast with a long breakwater. So does the fact that Atlantic swell affects berthing on this open coast, and offshore gas development has added supply vessel traffic.
Every movement is confirmed in writing before the seafarer travels and reported promptly it happens.
Nouakchott-Oumtounsy International Airport is the door for crew at Nouakchott. 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.
Immigration at Nouakchott expects the crew list showing joiners and leavers, passports with adequate validity, seaman's books or seafarer identity documents, and the agent's letter of guarantee. Nationalities that need a visa are pre-notified or obtain it in advance where the rules require; the desk confirms the current position for each crew list rather than relying on a matrix that may be out of date.
Shore passes for crew going ashore during the call and gate passes for the agent's vehicle are issued through the port.
Berth changes at Nouakchott 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. Where the vessel is not entering port, the desk advises whether an off-port-limits change is workable at Nouakchott or better made at the next port on the route.
Medical cases at Nouakchott 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.
Nouakchott sees general cargo ships, bulk carriers, tankers, fishing vessels and offshore vessels. 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 and general cargo quay, the fishing port and the oil jetty, with iron ore shipped from Nouadhibou to the north, and the gate the crew use depends on the berth the vessel is given.
The crew list marked with joiners and leavers, valid passports, seaman's books or seafarer identity documents, the agent's letter of guarantee and, for some nationalities, a visa obtained in advance or pre-notified for arrival.
The desk confirms with the port and the launch operator; where it is not workable the change is planned for the berth or the next port.
Through Nouakchott-Oumtounsy International Airport, with the desk meeting joiners on arrival and seeing leavers through immigration and check-in.
The desk books a hotel near the port, keeps the crew informed, and moves them to the vessel as soon as she is alongside or at anchor.
One instruction, one account, one contact for the master and one for the principal.
Crew work sits with port agency and crew management on the same desk.
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