The Mombasa Port in Kenya, reputed to be the largest in the whole of East Africa, is experiencing its highest volume of traffic in substantive transshipment business as more ships evade berthing delays and waiting at the neighboring Port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
Official statistics released on Tuesday by the Kenya Ports Authority indicate that at the beginning of this month, 7, 894 Twenty Feet Equivalent Units (TEUS) transshipment to the Dar es Salaam port landed at the Port of Mombasa to await nomination for second carriers to the ports of Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.
The statistics also revealed that the Mombasa Port has witnessed a noticeable growth in transshipment volumes by an average of 2.5 percent in the last one month, making it one of the busiest in the world.
“Over the last one month, the Port of Mombasa has handled over 10 feeder ships transshipping from the Port of Dar es Salaam with containers advancing her opportunities for a regional transshipment hub.
“MSc Shipping Line, the second top on the world’s liner rankings has confirmed using the port of Mombasa until the situation normalizes in Dar es Salaam. Others include CMA CGM and Maersk Shipping Lines,” the Kenyan Ports Authority said.
The General Manager Operations, Sudi Mwasinago, also confirmed that amongst the shipping lines discharging transshipments at the Port of Mombasa for Dar es Salaam, MSC accounts for 75 percent of the total transshipment volumes while CMA CGM and Maersk accounted for 24 percent and 9 percent respectively.
He said following the significant rise in transshipment business, MSc increased to three feeder services to Mombasa, on a weekly basis service.
Mwasinago noted that the delay of the MSc vessels at the port of Dar es Salaam means that more traffic is diverted to the Port of Mombasa.