Mombasa port ranked second most efficient facility in Africa

A section of Mombasa Port. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

Mombasa port beat giant ports in Africa after being voted the second most efficient facility in Africa.

Kenya Ports Authority Managing Director Captain William Ruto said Mombasa port has been ranked the second-best facility in the continent after Tangier port in Morocco.

"According to the latest Africa Ports Productivity 2023, the port of Mombasa is ranked second in Africa pointing to improved efficiency," said Captain Ruto yesterday.

The KPA boss said the development has resulted in new shipping lines making maiden calls to the port to deliver transhipment cargo destined for other regional ports as a show of confidence in the facility.

"This is a good sign in business and I urge you to uphold the momentum by always giving your best," he said.

In his New Year message to KPA workers, Ruto thanked them for their unwavering dedication and hard work that has been the driving force behind the success.

"Having captained this ship for the last ten months, I continue to appreciate your individual and collective efforts, your unwavering dedication and hard work that has been the driving force behind success," he said.

The KPA boss noted that among the achievements was the commencement of night pilotage of oil tankers.

"One of the notable achievements was the successful commencement of night pilotage of oil tankers courtesy of operationalization of the new Kipevu Oil Terminal (KOT)," he said.

Ruto acknowledged that Lamu port was attracting business after being recognized globally owing to aggressive marketing.

The port received its first hinterland-bound cargo from the World Food Programme (WFP) recently followed by cruise ship and naval ship calls.

He said the port had acted as a transhipment facility and expressed optimism that it would continue handling huge trans-shipments in the new year.

Ruto noted that Mombasa port had made strides in capacity expansion including the expansion of container handling berths.

"We have made strides in capacity expansion initiatives that include the expansion of container handling berths, increased automation of services, acquired modern ship and cargo handling equipment and improved partnership with key government agencies and stakeholders," he said.

He said since KPA has acquired new equipment, productivity at the port is expected to double to reduce the ship's working time.

Ruto is confident that the construction of a new berth to serve the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone (SEZ), will spur the economic growth of the country.

"The facility is strategically important in catalyzing the development of Dongo Kundu SEZ which upon completion will boost the economy of the country," he said.

He noted the rehabilitation of Kisumu port has stimulated trade within the region.

Ruto revealed that KPA was carrying out technical studies for the improvement of navigation channels and rehabilitating other piers.

He said in 2023 the total cargo throughput grew by 1.587 million tonnes recording 35 million between January and December.

Ruto pointed out that whereas bunching arrival of vessels is a common phenomenon in the shipping industry, it may lead to congestion within a port where capacity and efficiency are at the lowest and this may attract vessel delay surcharge because of congestion.

"Port congestion charges is a fee applicable when carrier continues to offer services to its clients while waiting to unload its cargo," he said.

He explained that the fee in question covers additional vessel costs associated with delays in a ship waiting to berth.

"We do not want the cargo owners to pay shipping lines costs which carriers incur when the ships are delayed from unloading their cargo because these charges are always passed over to the consumers making the cost of imports expensive in the market," said Ruto.