Port Said East Port Code EGPSE — SCCT, MENA's Largest Terminal
Port Said East / SCCT (EGPSE) — UN/LOCODE and port profile. Deepest Egyptian berth (16.5 m), 7M TEU, container + breakbulk. North Sinai sea salt direct from Bardawil. Transit Far East 12-15 days.
Port Said East / East Port Said — 22 m draft mega-hub and large-vessel loading point for Bardawil sea salt
Port Said East / East Port Said (port code / UN/LOCODE EGPSE) is Egypt's deepest container and bulk port at 22 m draft, located at the northern entrance of the Suez Canal. As of late 2024 / 2025 the Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) — an APM Terminals + Maersk consortium — completed a USD 500 million expansion, adding 955 m of quay and 510,000 m² of yard space and bringing annual TEU capacity to 7 million (up from 5.4 million). In 2024 East Port Said was ranked 3rd worldwide and #1 in MENA in the Container Port Performance Index (World Bank + S&P Global Market Intelligence). For Egypt Globe Group it is the only Egyptian port with adequate draft for Bardawil-origin sea salt on Panamax / Capesize / ULCV tonnage, and the default container transshipment point for cargo connecting to the major Mediterranean ↔ Asia rotations.
Pre-upgrade, such cargo was routed through Mediterranean transshipment ports; it is now loaded directly at East Port Said, under the same port QA gate applied at every EGG loading port — per-lot Certificate of Analysis before the Bill of Lading, laycan discipline with documented NOR / SOF.
Port profile
| Parameter | Detail |
|---|---|
| UN/LOCODE (port code) | EGPSE |
| Location | East Port Said area, northern Suez Canal entrance, Mediterranean |
| Type | Deep-water container + multi-purpose bulk + transshipment hub |
| Operator | Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) — APM Terminals + Maersk consortium |
| Status | Modern infrastructure, fast turnaround, the most heavily trafficked container port in MENA |
| Max draft | 22 m (deepest in Egypt; heaviest commercial vessel class) |
| Typical vessel range | Handysize → Capesize → ULCV 20,000+ TEU |
| Bulk loading rate | 10,000–15,000 MT/day on dedicated bulk berths |
| Container terminal | SCCT — region's largest; 12 quay cranes + 30 RTGs + 90+ trucks; 7M TEU/year capacity |
| Specialty | Regional transshipment hub for Mediterranean ↔ Far East rotations (MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, ZIM all call) |
| Milestones 2025–2026 | USD 500M SCCT Phase 3 expansion completed (+2.2M TEU/year); total capacity 7M TEU (was 5.4M); 22 m berths; MV PAROSHIP received in 2026 — largest dry-bulk carrier ever to berth at any Egyptian port; EGP 11.98 bn (≈ USD 250M) facility arranged through QNB Egypt in May 2026 to fund a further 6 km of marine berths; 2030 target 5M+ TEU additional |
| Group register note | Container capability; sea-salt loading point for North Sinai / eastern Mediterranean origin |
Commodities loaded
| Commodity | Suitability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Egyptian sea salt (Bardawil) — large vessel | Excellent | Only Egyptian port with 22 m draft and close to source; raw 94–97 %, washed 97.5–98 %, double-washed ≥ 99 % NaCl |
| Container general cargo | Excellent | Premier MENA transshipment hub, 7M TEU capacity |
| Cement + clinker | High | Container and bulk possible |
| Bulk fertilizer | High | Deep draft suits large lots |
| Bulk minerals (iron ore, phosphate, bauxite) | Excellent | Capesize-capable bulk berths |
| Rock salt | Medium | El Dekheila / Alexandria still closer to Siwa + Qattara |
Loading & QA protocol
| Gate | Control | Evidence | Who · frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extraction / source | North Sinai saltworks laboratory samples each harvest and washed lot before release; mills and mines issue source certificates | Source lab report | EGG saltworks laboratory · every lot |
| Stockpile | Segregated stockpile or container-stuffing yard by lot; covered storage for washed grades | Stockpile map, lot register | Port operations · continuous |
| Port laboratory | Composite sample per ISO / ASTM sampling plan; CoA / MTC issued before NOR acceptance and B/L; out-of-spec lot rejected, never re-graded or renegotiated | Per-lot CoA / MTC | Port Said East QC team · every vessel |
| Independent inspection | Hold inspection, sampling during loading, draft survey or VGM reconciliation, witness test | Certificate of Inspection | TÜV Austria / SGS / Intertek / Bureau Veritas · per shipment when contracted |
| Laycan & loading | NOR on arrival; SOF signed by Master, agent and EGG; 10,000–15,000 MT/day on bulk berths; ULCV vessel-specific port arrival and departure clearances; Time Sheet basis for laytime | NOR, SOF, Time Sheet, Mate's Receipt | Port operations + agency · every vessel |
| Documents | Mate's Receipt + B/L; Certificate of Origin; CoA / MTC; PSI certificate; Suez Canal transit documentation (if the vessel transits the canal during the voyage); GOEIC clearance | Full document set | Documentation desk · every shipment |
Applications & markets
Port Said East serves European and Nordic de-icing sea salt contracts under EN 16811-1 and SS-EN 16811-1, Far East industrial-chemistry and water-treatment buyers of washed sea salt via the Asia rotations, and containerised food-grade and retail salt — see the Germany, Netherlands, China and Vietnam import guides and the HS 2501 salt market page.
Standards & documentation
- Cargo conformity is certified against the contract standard — EN 16811-1, BS 3247, ASTM D632, AASHTO M-143, GOST 13830, SS-EN 16811-1 for salt; EN 197-1 and ASTM C150 for cement.
- Document set: trade documentation. Inspection protocol: inspection & quality control. Port operations: port services. Group systems: quality & compliance. Vessel classes: vessel sizes.
Request a quote
State the tonnage and vessel class; the chartering desk confirms whether Port Said East (large vessel / container) or Al-Arish (Handymax / Supramax at source) is the freight-optimal loading point.
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