The idea of creating a ship repair company was born in 1982 and was a perfect response to the government's concern to make the national maritime sector the flagship of Cameroonian industry. The Directorate of Equipment and Workshops (DMA) of the former ONPC, which was in charge of repairing the internal fleet of the Office, was then entrusted with the task of carrying out the necessary reflection for the creation of Chantier Naval et Industriel du Cameroun S.A. (CNIC) as an autonomous company, distinct from the ONPC. This Directorate was equipped with two Floating Docks with a lifting capacity of 500 and 1000 tons, a small mechanical and boiler making workshop. The steps taken since then (feasibility study, search for technical partners, order for a new 10,000-ton Floating Dock from a German manufacturer) led to the creation of the CNIC on February 5, 1988.

Absorption of the Industrial Union for Cameroon (UIC) by CNIC

The Union Industriel pour le Cameroun (UIC) has been 100% owned by CNIC since October 2003. Created in 1964 by the UIE group, UIC was taken over, in turn, in 1984 by the French group Bouygues Offshore, and in 2002 by the Italian group Saipem. Indeed, in its strategy of development of its activities and in view of preparing the ground to make the Yard Pétrolier de Limbé a real industrial pole, the Chantier Naval et Industriel du Cameroun has initiated an operation in the sense of horizontal consultation. To its main activities of ship repairs, mobile oil platforms and industrial works, it has integrated those of UIC which deal with the repair of fixed oil platforms on the high seas and industrial works. With this operation, CNIC covers the whole field of oil platform repair (mobile and fixed), which constitutes a diversification of the activity, and it is also developing the field of industrial works. CNIC is acquiring a base area of 50 000 m² with a quay 200 metres long and 30 metres wide with a minimum draught of 6 metres.

Yard Pétrolier de Limbé, project objective

CNIC's spectacular growth in this sector in recent years has been hampered by the natural constraints of the Douala site, namely: the shallow draft, the long and narrow access channel, turbid waters for underwater inspections of equipment and limited space for expansion. In February 2005, the Limbé Oil Yard project was launched. It will provide the CNIC with a modern and appropriate industrial infrastructure for the rehabilitation and repair of oil platforms. Indeed, the YPL site is located at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, close to the most important offshore oil fields of the Gulf of Guinea offers the following advantages : Deep waters (-12m) close to the coast, Direct access to the sea (accessible 24/24h and huge potential for hosting large oil and marine units), Clear waters facilitating underwater inspections and other various nautical tests, Virgin site, suitable for major ship repair and offshore work, Land available near the industrial site for the development of subcontracting activities.

The Kribi offensive

The Government of Cameroon has initiated a comprehensive medium- and long-term development vision entitled: "Cameroon Vision 2035". It is from this perspective that the Chantier Naval et Industriel du Cameroun S.A (CNIC) and the Port Autonome de Kribi (PAK) have agreed to set up a collaboration framework for the implementation of maintenance, shipbuilding and industrial works at the PAK site in Mboro. This collaboration was sealed on August 9, 2019 in the city of Kribi, by the signing of a partnership agreement between the two companies.