The Douala Maritime Museum is dedicated to Cameroon’s maritime history and several other aspects of the country’s relationship with the sea. The first section of the museum focuses on records of the history of the “Rio dos Camarões” - “Cameroon River”, the name that Portuguese explorers gave to the Wouri river and which would later be adopted as the country’s name. In other sections, visitors can get to know Cameroon’s ports and the country’s sea trade relationships with the rest of the world.
The permanent exhibition also includes an extensive collection of photographs, maps, documents, sculptures, paintings and several other objects, as well as videos and multimedia installations that help visitors to understand the information. There is also a navigation simulator that allows visitors to experience the sensation of sailing a ship in the ocean.