Banana, Democratic Republic of the Congo

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subdivision_name1 = Bas-Congo
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Banana is a small seaport in the Bas-Congo province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the Atlantic coast. The port is situated in Banana Creek, an inlet about 1 km wide on the north bank of the Congo River's mouth, separated from the ocean by a spit of land 3 km long and 100 to 400 m wide. The port is located on the creek side of the spit, which shelters it from the ocean. It is about 8 km south-east of Muanda and connected by a paved road running along the coast.

Facilities

The port of Banana consists of one wharf of 75 m and depth 5.18 m, with two small cranes for cargo handling, and a few small jetties. The port has an oil terminal 4 km further upriver, to which tankers discharge while at anchor in the creek. The terminal has a quite separate road access east of Muanda. There are no facilities in Banana apart from the port, since these are provided by the much larger town of Muanda, where the nearest airport is located. There is no rail link.

History

The town was developed as a port in the 19th century, largely as part of the Slave trade. Henry Morton Stanley arrived at Banana in 1879 at the start of an exploratory expedition funded by Léopold II of Belgium. Following the Conference of Berlin (1884-85) the European powers recognized Léopold's claim to the Congo basin, and in a ceremony (1885) at Banana, the king announced the establishment of the Congo Free State, headed by himself, beginning the period of European colonization. Banana was the main Belgian naval base of the Congo until independence in 1960.

The bitter civil wars of the 1990s reached Banana, however details are scarce. One CNN report in 1998 records a battle between Kabila loyalists and Rwandan-backed rebels. The town reported fell to the rebels and two foreign employees of the Chevron oil company were captured. [http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/africa/9808/06/congo.01/]

See also

* Transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

General References

* Google Earth — high resolution view of the port, with wharf at coordinates -6.0123 12.4030, oil terminal -5.9813 12.4185. Retrieved 25 May 2007.
* [http://www.marineafric.com/english/gen-info/ports/port_congo_dr.htm#banana Port Information]
* [http://users.pandora.be/urbiehome/Congoship.html History of Shipping on the Congo]