• KPA Managing Director William Ruto confirmed the reports and attributed the short turn-around time to investment in modern technology.
• Owing to the efficiency at the port, Ruto said only one vessel, MV Cul Manila, was waiting to dock in Mombasa.
Image: FILE
The Port of Mombasa has come to the rescue of regional ports including Dar es Salaam and Djibouti which are facing congestion as tens of ships wait to offload cargo.
Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) said some ships destined for Tanzania have been diverted to the Port of Mombasa including MV Jolly Oro which docked on Wednesday with 510 containers.
Massimiliano Riccardi, the logistics manager for Ignazio Messina, the Italian liner company that owns the vessel said the goods imported by Tanzanian businessmen for Christmas were facing the risk of delayed delivery to their owners in Dar es Salaam.
“Ignazio Messina Shipping Line has decided to be sailing to Mombasa to discharge its cargo because there is no delay at the facility. Mombasa Port is more efficient, turn-around time for ships is only two days,” Riccardi said while speaking at Mombasa Terminal berth 22.
KPA Managing Director William Ruto confirmed the reports and attributed the short turn-around time to investment in modern technology.
“KPA has invested in modern equipment, expanding the berths, training and embracing technology to make doing business at the port easy,” Ruto told local media.
Owing to the efficiency at the port, Ruto said only one vessel, MV Cul Manila, was waiting to dock in Mombasa as opposed to 38 ships that have been waiting for space to offload cargo in Dar es Salaam since last month.
Djibouti was as of Wednesday waiting to clear 18 vessels loaded with tonnes of cargo, data from the Ports of Africa shows.
The decision to divert to the Port of Mombasa is aimed at averting demurrage costs, the cost accrued when a ship takes longer to offload cargo at the port.
Ruto said MV Cul Manila which made its voyage to Mombasa on November 30 is waiting to discharge 600 metric tonnes of cargo.
Meanwhile, in Dar es Salaam, ships that made sail mid-November are yet to berth with the earliest some are expected to offload cargo being December 7.
Ruto said the Port of Mombasa has already surpassed last year’s import and export cargo handled.
He said by November 30, Mombasa Container Terminal had already recorded 76 per cent berth occupancy compared to 75.2 per cent occupancy achieved the whole of 2022.