LaycanDeskAbu Zenima gypsum freight - Gulf of Suez rock to the East Med, Libya, the Red Sea coast and South Asia
Natural gypsum rock for cement plants loaded at the Abu Zenima mining port in Sinai on Handysize and coaster tonnage, northbound through Suez to Mediterranean receivers or south through the Red Sea. Abu Zenima on the east shore of the Gulf of Suez, 65 nautical miles below the canal, to the cement plants of Lebanon, Libya, the Saudi Red Sea coast, Bangladesh and China: natural gypsum rock in 5,000 to 30,000 tonne lots on geared Handysize and coaster tonnage, fixed on a berth whose published limits disagree and are confirmed per fixture, a 4,000 tonne a day loading rate and the southerly-wind season from November to May.
Abu Zenima is a licensed specialised mining port on Egypt's Maritime Transport Sector list, owned and run by the mining company that works the Sinai deposits, with gypsum, manganese, kaolin and glass sand as its listed cargoes and about 250,000 tonnes a year across the quay. The published berth limits do not agree: the local agent gives 7.62 metres maximum draft and 230 metres length, while ShipNext gives 10 metres, 230 metres, a 20.4 metre beam and 40,000 dwt, with two berths and 18.3 metres in the channel and anchorage. Read together they describe coaster and small Handysize tonnage, so a 25,000 to 30,000 tonne parcel sits at the top of what the berth can take and the ship's beam and draft are confirmed with the port before owners are written. The port loads at about 4,000 tonnes a day, so a 30,000 tonne lot takes seven or eight days, and southerly winds from November to May can force a ship to haul off at short notice, which owners price into the laytime. Egypt declared USD 67 million of gypsum exports in 2025 (UN Comtrade), but most of that value is plaster to West Africa; the rock that moves in bulk went to China, about 84,000 tonnes in 2024, and to Ghana at about 22,000 tonnes, and the desk's own voyage arithmetic shows a Gulf of Suez origin cannot land rock in the Gulf of Guinea against Spanish or Moroccan quarries once two canal transits and 1,900 extra miles are paid.
The receivers a Gulf of Suez port reaches on distance are therefore north and east of it. Northbound, one Suez transit puts the rock at Chekka and Sibline in Lebanon, which imported about 82,000 tonnes of gypsum in 2022 from Greek and Cypriot quarries, and at Benghazi and Derna in Libya, which already buy Egyptian gypsum; canal tolls are quoted per transit by the agent and dry-bulk rebates under the canal's 2026 circulars are applied per voyage, so a CFR figure to the Med is built only on an agent's toll quote. Southbound there is no canal: the Saudi Red Sea plants at Yanbu and Jeddah are a short geared-coaster run, and Kenya, Tanzania, Bangladesh and China are open-water passages through Bab el-Mandeb, where war-risk cover is priced per voyage under the standing US MARAD advisory. India and Kenya take their bulk gypsum from Oman at prices a Sinai origin does not meet, so those stems are worked only where the buyer specifies a grade. A gypsum stem goes to owners with the quarry's analysis, the loading arrangement confirmed alongside or by floating crane, quantity and tolerance, the receiver's berth and draft, laycan, commission and the charterer's name; owners with geared Handysize and 5,000 to 15,000 dwt coaster tonnage opening in the East Med, Suez or the Red Sea send positions against it.
Load port
- Abu Zenima, east shore of the Gulf of Suez, 65 nm south of Suez; licensed specialised mining port
- Draft published as 7.62 m (agent) and 10 m (ShipNext); LOA 230 m, beam 20.4 m, 40,000 dwt per ShipNext; confirmed per fixture
- Loading about 4,000 t/day; two berths, floating cranes available
- Southerly winds Nov–May: masters may be told to haul off
Receivers
- Lebanon: Chekka and Sibline cement plants (one northbound Suez transit)
- Libya: Benghazi and Derna cement plants
- Saudi Red Sea coast: Yanbu and Jeddah, no canal
- South Asia and China via Bab el-Mandeb: Chattogram, Mongla, Chinese cement ports; war-risk priced per voyage
Typical parcels
- Coaster lots 5,000–12,000 t for Lebanon, Libya and the Saudi coast
- Handysize 25,000–30,000 t, subject to berth confirmation
- Cement plants use roughly 3–5% gypsum on clinker
- Egypt's bulk rock lanes 2024: China about 84,000 t, Ghana about 22,000 t (importer records)
Ships that carry it
The cargo itself, on Commbril
Questions charterers and owners ask
What size ship can load at Abu Zenima?
The published figures disagree: the local agent lists 7.62 metres maximum draft and 230 metres length, ShipNext lists 10 metres, 230 metres, a 20.4 metre beam and 40,000 dwt, and the anchorage and channel carry 18.3 metres. That range fits coasters and small geared Handysize ships; a 30,000 tonne parcel is at the edge of it. The desk confirms beam, draft and alongside or floating-crane loading with the port for each fixture before a ship is named.
Which receivers does Egyptian gypsum ex Abu Zenima actually reach?
On distance, the East Med and Libya after one northbound Suez transit, the Saudi Red Sea plants with no canal at all, and South Asia and China through Bab el-Mandeb. West Africa is not one of them: the desk's voyage arithmetic puts a Gulf of Suez origin about USD 18 to 20 a tonne over Spanish and Moroccan rock at every Gulf of Guinea port on a Handysize, because of two canal transits and about 1,900 extra miles, and India and Kenya buy their bulk from Oman at levels a Sinai origin does not meet.
How is the Suez toll handled on a northbound gypsum cargo?
As a per-transit cost quoted by the canal agent for the ship's tonnage, with any dry-bulk rebate under the canal's current circulars applied to that voyage. The desk does not carry a standing toll figure; a CFR Lebanon or Libya number is built only once the agent's quote for the nominated ship is in hand.
What must I send to get a named ship?
The quarry's analysis (purity, SO3, moisture, size), the loading arrangement confirmed with the port, quantity and tolerance, the receiving plant's berth and draft, load and discharge rates with laytime terms, laycan, commission and the charterer's name. Loading in the November to May southerly-wind season is stated up front, because owners price the haul-off risk into the laytime.