This will make it take up more responsibility as a transshipment port.
Currently, most of the shipping lines use the Mombasa port for their transshipment cargo.
Kenya Ports Authority managing director Captain William Ruto however said the Mombasa port is doing transshipment because many clients are used to the port because Lamu is relatively new.
“Anything new takes some time before people get used to it,” Captain Ruto said.
He spoke on Wednesday aboard the MV Jolly Giada, operated by the Ignazio Messina Line, which made its maiden call at the Mombasa port on Tuesday evening.
Ruto said in the next three or four months, there will be more activities at the Lamu port, which was built specifically to be a transshipment port because of its strategic location.
Lamu sits on the Eastern Coast of Africa facing the major maritime trade routes from the East. This is advantageous in the development of the industrial city.
MV Jolly Giada is the third full container vessel of the Messina Line with a capacity of 4,395 TEUs.
Captain Ruto said, “They have changed their mode of transportation. They used to operate roro vessels but now they bring fully containerised vessels here because of the confidence they have in this port.”
A roro (roll-on roll-off) vessel is a type of freight or ferry vessel that is specifically designed to transport vehicles such as cars, trucks, trailers and all-wheeled cargo.
Captain Ruto appreciated the Ignazio Messina Line for having converted the Mombasa port into a transshipment hub.
“Of the containers that are being discharged from this ship, more than 35 per cent belong to other ports, and mainly Dar es Salaam,” the KPA MD said.
Ruto said the Mombasa port will keep on improving on its operational efficiency to give value for money for its clients, including the importers and the ship owners, by reducing the ship waiting time.
The less delays for ships, the less cost attributed to the port.
MV Jolly Giada, which came from Europe, called at the Mombasa port on Tuesday evening, after calling on the Port of Djibouti.
It was supposed to leave the Mombasa port on Wednesday evening for the Port of Durban in South Africa.
“You can see the number of ports they are jumping all the way from the North. And why are they choosing Mombasa? Because of efficiency,” Captain Ruto said.
After the Port of Durban, the ship will come back to the Mombasa port to pick export cargo and transshipment cargo from other ports within the region.
MV Jolly Giada captain Tommaso Elmento said they are committed to the cooperation agreement between the Mombasa port and Messina Line.
“We hope that the services here will keep on improving for even better days ahead,” Captain Elmento said.
Captain Giuseppe Fedele said the Mombasa port is very important for Messina Line.
“This is why we are boosting the services. We are using Mombasa as a transshipment port. This is the fifth full container vessel in Messina Line. There are more big vessels ready to come in. This is why we are continuing to come to Mombasa,” Captain Fedele said.
