Port Suakin - Clearance
See Sudan Formalities for full details on clearing into and out of the country.
Although Suakin is not an official port of entry, boats arriving here from the south have been allowed to clear into Sudan and formalities are reported to be simpler than at Port Sudan.
On approach, be sure to call Port Control on Channel 14.
Try to contact Mr Mohamed Abubaker, the local agent, by e-mail mohamedabubaker945@gmail.com) a number of days before arriving, giving him as much detail as possible i.e. estimated arrival time, nationality, number of crew etc. Mohammed (phone: +249 912 142 678) will, in any case, know of your arrival, as a result of your call to port control, and will be waiting for you on the south side of the Old Town island inside the harbour. He will attract your attention and you will need to collect him in your dinghy.
He will then accompany you to authorities to help with formalities (he charges about US$250 for two crew for all formalities, shore passes, sailing permit and for his services). Clearance fees are less than at Port Sudan.
You need to provide 5 copies of your crew list, 2 copies of your passport 1 passport size photo for each crew member plus your passports. Mohammed will do all the paperwork, pay the fees and bring back shore passes the same day or next morning, depending on the time you cleared in. Shore passes can be renewed at US$10 a week. Nothing extra for anchoring.
Mohammed can also help obtain fuel and good water (by jerry can), ice, laundry, gas refills, fresh produce, as well as trips to Port Sudan and will exchange USD to the local currency (Sudanese Pound). He can also assist with any repairs needed. Bear in mind however that he charges for these services and it is possible to do it yourself.
Formalities must be gone through again if continuing to Port Sudan. Formalities are simpler if one arrives with a Sudanese visa. Passports are retained until clearing out.
To check out, give Mr Mohamed 24 hours’ notice. He will take your shore passes and return some 2 hours later with your passports and a sailing permit from Suakin to your next destination. He can obtain a sailing permit for cruising up the coast to Port Sudan through the Sudan reefs. This is recommended to avoid any problems.
Last updated: December 2021
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Reported by Kay Finley:
Entry into Suakin was made so easy by working with Mohammed, the local Agent, who we had been in contact with, prior to arrival.
On arrival, we got no response when we called Port Control on VHF channel 14, but we proceded to the anchorage.
Mohammed came to see us on the boat with the health official for our PCR tests, took our passports, crew list and 2 passport photos.
When he came back next day with our Sudan cruising passport, we were free to go ashore.
He also brought a Sim card and some local currency to get us started.
Amazing service and a lovely man who understands cruisers needs.
The total cost for clearance was $250 which includes the Agent fee of $50, port fees, and the shore passes plus a sailing permit that allows you to stop in different anchorages heading north.
After we checked out of Suakin, we had to come back in after a couple of weeks because of engine troubles, and we had to pay the $200 again, because we had already checked out. But we found a good diesel mechanic here, through Mohammed, so it was worth it.
There is no PCR test here. They accept the results of the previous port.
While in Suakin, Mohammed brought Jerry cans of fuel out to the boat plus huge blocks of ice when our fridge broke down, at no extra cost. He also brought out a fridge specialist, who got our fridge working again.
He is the best Agent we have come across by far.
He is honest, a real gentleman and understands cruisers needs.
We are still in Sudan, in Marsa Oseif, waiting for weather to continue heading north, and Mohammed is still helping us with our Sim card top ups.
Sudan is such a bleak barren coastline, but we have found some really nice safe Marsas to anchor, on the way north.
We spent 3 weeks in Suakin. We used Mohammed’s services and paid 130 dollars including the shore pass for a week, check in and check out. We have renewed the shore pass 3 times for $ 10 more per week.
Mohammed does a lot of services but does not forget that he is very expensive. He changes the dollars into a pound ($ 1 = 30 pounds) but his exchange rate is not good. It is better to wait for Port Sudan and at the black market, you change from $ 1 to 38 pounds. On more than 100 dollars the difference is very important.
The bus to Port Sudan costs 15 pounds and lasts 1 hour. Another important thing, Mohammed will sell you diesel but very expensive at $ 0.7 per liter – while at the pump it costs only 4.22 pounds or $ 0.1 per liter. We went directly to the gas pump and took a taxi to get the diesel delivered. For 300 liters the difference is huge.
We only paid the equivalent of $ 30 (1266 pounds), Mohammed asked for $ 210.
Do not believe Mohammed if he tells you that buying gasoline without him is forbidden. This is false. The gas market in Sudan is free and we have asked the police for confirmation.
Mohammed was not happy, but too bad for him if he earns less money. Lying is not good.
I hope that in the future he will lower his tariff. Finally, You can fill your gas bottles in the souk in Port Sudan.
Posted on behalf of SY Tamarisk:
Port Suakin, Sudan – addition of Mohammed’s phone number (+249 912 142 678) and strong suggestion to get a sailing permit there before proceeding up the coast behind the Sudan reefs.
Aggressive militant navy people near the Egypt border can be pacified using the sailing permit and some cigarettes.