Mombasa port handled record 41.1m tonnes of cargo in 2024

Cargo ship waits for offloading at the Port of Mombasa. March 21, 2024. [Omondi Onyango,Standard]

The port of Mombasa processed 41.1 million tonnes of cargo last year compared to 35.98 million tonnes handled in 2023, according to the latest data by the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).

KPA Managing Director William Ruto said yesterday the performance demonstrated the port’s resilience and capacity to handle increasing cargo volumes.

“This growth of 5.1 million tonnes, or 14.1 per cent, demonstrates our resilience and capability to manage increasing trade volumes despite global disruptions,” said Mr Ruto.

Uganda remained in pole position as the top transit destination, accounting for 65.7 per cent of transit cargo, with some 8,811,289 tonnes handled in 2024, up from 7,115,079 tonnes handled in 2023.

This represented a growth of 1,696,210 or 23.8 per cent increase compared to 2023.

Other notable transit destinations include South Sudan, which posted a 12.7 per cent growth, the Democratic Republic of Congo (11.8 per cent), Rwanda (5.1 per cent), and Tanzania (3.4 per cent).

“Additionally, we saw an exceptional growth in transshipment traffic, which recorded 491,666 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in 2024, reflecting an extraordinary increase of 280,593 Teus, translating to 132.9 per cent against 2023,” said the MD.

TEUs represent the standardised measurement of containers, while transshipment involves dropping off the cargo at the port before shipping it to feeder ports in the region.

Mr Ruto attributed the growth to vessel diversions due to attacks on ships by the Yemen-backed Houthis at the Red Sea and Mombasa’s efficient turnaround times. He explained that in terms of container traffic, the port surpassed two million TEUs for the first time in over a decade, with 2,005,076 TEUs handled last year. This represents an increase of 381,996 Teus or a 23.5 per cent rise compared to 1,623,080 Teus recorded in 2023.

Mr Ruto said imported containerised cargo increased by 7.2 per cent to 768,088 TEUs, up from 716,493 TEUs in 2023, while export container traffic rose 6.6 per cent to 731,934 TEUs, up from 686,526 TEUs in 2023.

Transit cargo volumes went up by 17.4 per cent to reach 13.4 million tons in 2024, highlighting the port’s crucial role in trade within the region.

In December 2024, the port handled a total cargo throughput of 3,746,363 tonnes, marking a robust increase from the 3,029,482 tons recorded in December 2023.