Mombasa port cargo volume up as Dar es Salaam, Djibouti hit by congestion

MD Kenya Ports Authority, Capt. William Ruto [left] with PS, State department for Petroleum, Mohamed Liban. [Omondi Onyango,Standard]

The volume of the transit cargo handled through the port of Mombasa has grown significantly on the back of the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) renewed push to improve efficiency.

Although Uganda, the biggest transit market for Mombasa port, recorded the lowest growth at 8.2 per cent in the first half of 2024, KPA relied on the other Northern Corridor countries, ="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/shipping-logistics/article/2001486838/dar-djibouti-choke-with-congestion-as-mombasa-port-comes-to-the-rescue">who are increasingly< finding Kenya’s facility more attractive, to record an unprecedented growth of 18.2 per cent in the last six months compared to the same period, last year, according to the statistics seen by The Standard.

KPA Managing Director Captain William Ruto explained that despite the longer distance for Rwanda and Burundi importers using the Northern Corridor compared to the Central Corridor that serves Dar es Salaam port, the improved performance has seen them prefer using Mombasa port.

Mombasa ship turnaround in May 2024 stood at four days compared to Dar es Salaam, which reached up to 25 days early this year, leading some shipping lines to drop cargo at Mombasa port for transhipment to Tanzania and Indian Ocean islands that rely on Dar Port.

Burundi recorded the highest growth in the period under review. In the first six months in 2024, ="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/sports/business/2001499007/www.digger.co.ke">Mombasa Port< handled 1,502 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) compared to only 357 TEUs in the same period last year for Burundi, an increase of 320 per cent.

Rwanda almost doubled its volume from 7182 to 13059 TEUs, a record growth of 82 per cent while Tanzania's volumes grew from 5131 TEUs to 8325 TEUs, a 62 per cent growth.

KPA is also riding on South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to drive its transit market.

South Sudan volumes in the last six months grew from 12,537 to 15,072 TEUs, a 20 per cent increase, while DRC grew from 8,994 to 10,289 TEUs, a 14 per cent increase.

“South Sudan is a vast country expected to import huge volumes of cargo for its growth. Mombasa port, owing to its location and distance, is the ideal port for them. We have a government-to-government and flexible arrangements on cargo release,” Ruto said.

The KPA boss said acquisition of new equipment last year has been a game changer for Mombasa port.

KPA acquired four new ship-to-shore (STS) gantry cranes, the new generation equipment that replaced the old gantry cranes decommissioned at berth 16.

The modern gantry cranes have significantly improved features and are equipped with double-lift spreaders, capable of lifting and handling two containers simultaneously.

The acquisition of this new equipment has increased productivity by about 40 per cent and reduced the working time on ships. In May, ship waiting time averaged 1.22 days, and cranes moved per hour at 38.

KPA has also acquired new reach stackers, empty container handlers, and terminal tractors, among others, to improve efficiency and cope with increasing cargo volumes.

Kenya has also embarked on a serious marketing campaign to woo new and traditional customers. KPA is eying Ethiopia, which relies on Djibouti port, facing serious congestion.

In the last six months, Mombasa port handled 690 TEUs of Ethiopian cargo compared to only 14 TEUs in the corresponding period last year.

The other new market that KPA is targeting is Zambia, which imported 123 TEUs through Mombasa compared to only 4 in the same period last year.

Elijah Mbaru, who is holding brief as the Kenya Ships Agents Association acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) said that the KPA has adopted a Fixed Berth Window system that has been a major boost in the ship turnaround.

This is a process where a ship is allocated a scheduled time that she should utilise to take a berth and offload the cargo.

The Intergovernmental Steering Committee on Ease of Doing Business through the Port Reforms Working Group High-Level Consultative Forum made a raft of recommendations that have cut down the cost of doing business at the Port of Mombasa and improved efficiency significantly.

Ruto said the reforms are expected to have far-reaching effects once fully implemented.

The reform forum was convened by Kenya’s Head of State and other relevant government ministries and state departments.

In a report released in July 2023, the forum asked both the Government Partner Agencies (PGA) and the private sector to embrace a round-the-clock work culture, including the weekends, to ensure faster clearance of goods and improve cargo dwell time and ship turnaround, which has since been realized.

Shipping lines operating in Mombasa Port were granted a 9-day free period to return empty containers for local imports, 30 days for Uganda, and 15 days for DRC and South Sudan cargo. The ports of Dar es Salaam, Durban, and Egypt granted more days.

Mombasa port can attract up to 30 to 40 per cent of Burundi and Rwanda volumes, according to Justus Nyarandi, the Executive Secretary of the Northern Corridor Transit Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA).

The 15-kilometre stretch of road past the Taveta-Holili One-Stop Border Post that would allow Kenya to use the new Voi-Taveta-Singida-Kobero link road to serve Burundi, Rwanda and some parts of Tanzania needs to be geofenced to ensure monitoring of cargo electronically.