Expert: Ernest Tufft - 10/30/2007

Question
How do I get to Africa by boat from the U.S.A

Answer
To be honest, I don't really know.  Africa has a very long coastline of international waters and yet only the nations of Egypt and South Africa have naval fleets of any significant size.  When a friend imported a container from Ghana, the route that the freighter took involved stops in Europe before arriving for unloading for customs and rail service at Newark, NJ.  There are, no doubt, a few cruise ship tours departing from Europe or South Africa with stops at major cities, but when I was at Accra, Ghana, I saw no cruise ships at port nor any facilities for them.  There are certainly cruise ships tours between South Africa and Australia, as these two nations are relatively close politically.  I have never heard of any Caribbean cruises that cross over to Africa, and suspect that none exist.  So, the best option to get to Africa by boat today would be to take a cruise ship or freighter from the USA to Spain, and then take another vessel to Morrocco.  I don't know what traffic goes between Brazil and West Africa, but I understand that Nigeria exports oil to Brazilian refineries.  Sorry I can't be of more help.