Port Of Mombasa News

Kenya Port Authority's new tug,  Mwokozi II, was delivered to her home port of Mombasa on January 10, 2022.The Mwokozi II is a custom design 42-meter, 120 tonne bollard pull RAstar 4200 salvage and harbor tug developed by Robert Allan Ltd., with particularly outstanding performance in maneuvering, seakeeping, and stability.The Turkish shipbuilder Med Marine was contracted to build the new tugboat at its group owned Eregli Shipyard. The keel was laid on March 23, 2020, and construction…

The first ships docked at Kenya's deep water Lamu Port on Thursday as the country looks to open a new transport corridor linking its vast northern region and neighboring nations to the sea.Kenyan officials hope that the Indian Ocean port, the country's second deep water facility, will attract cargo destined for neighboring landlocked nations Ethiopia and South Sudan, and offer transhipment services where large vessels bring in cargo for onward distribution by smaller ships.The Lamu Port…

German propulsion systems manufacturer Schottel says it has secured a contract with Turkish shipyard Med Marine to provide azimuth thrusters for a powerful new salvage tug ordered by Kenya Ports Authority (KPA). The vessel will be equipped with main and auxiliary propulsion systems from Schottel, achieving a bollard pull of more than 120 tonnes. The Robert Allan RAstar 4200 (MED-A42120) design vessel is considered the largest tugboat on the East African Coast of the Indian Ocean.Recai Hakan Şen…

Turkish tugboat builder, towage and pilotage operator Med Marine said it has signed a deal with Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to build and deliver a new 42-meter tugboat for the Port of Mombasa.The vessel is scheduled to enter service in East Africa’s largest port in 2021 as part of the KPA’s equipment modernization and maintenance program aiming to enhance efficiency at the port.The vessel design is from the RAstar ASD tug series by Canada’s Robert Allan Ltd. The new RAstar 4200 with a bollard pull of 120 metric tons, ranking it among the most powerful tugs Robert Allan Ltd.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) has been working with southern and eastern African countries to help implement marine environment protection measures contained in one of the organization’s flagship treaties – MARPOL.A workshop held in Mombasa, Kenya (17-19) gathered participants from 12 countries to focus on MARPOL Annexes I to V, and in particular the regulations covering garbage discharge from ships and adequacy of port reception facilities. The participating countries were - Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania (United Republic of).Participants discussed factors affecting full implementation of MARPOL and its annexes…

CMA CGM announced the service improvement connecting Middle East to East Africa, in the effort to maintain a high service reliability and punctuality with our lead product NOURA service.Effective from M/V CMA CGM MANET voyage Jebel Ali  today (January 3), direct product with a comprehensive coverage of East Africa and Indian Ocean markets, Noura service will benefit of a 6th sister ship of 2,200 TEU to address the recurrent port congestion.Mombasa is added in the port coverage to permit significant service improvement for Asia cargo bound to Somalia and transiting via Kenya hub, said a press note from CMA CGM.NOURA new rotation: Jebel Ali - Mombasa - Mogadishu - Longoni - Nacala (fortnightly) - Beira (fortnightly) - Port Victoria - Jebel Ali

Dubai-based global port operator DP World and the Rwandan government have opened East Africa’s first Inland Dry Port, 20 kilometers from the capital city Kigali and close to the international airport.DP World Kigali logistics hub is a secure, bonded facility spread over 13 hectares and features an Inland Container Terminal (ICT) with modern warehousing capacity, a container yard, administrative and services buildings, parking areas and other facilities.According to a release from the world's port terminal operator, DP World Kigali accesses two secure trade gateways for eastern Africa, the port of Mombasa in Kenya and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

Port of Mombasa of Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) pilots has received Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) container vessel MSC Maxine  master one of largest container vessel to dock at the facility.The port has registered a new performance record of 1450 moves within an eight-hour shift in the container operations, said a press release."The record was set by MSC Maxine in her maiden call at the Port of Mombasa on Wednesday beating the previous record of container carrier Livorno of 1265 moves registered late June this year," it said.MSC Maxine, with a container capacity of 9,411 TEUs, the largest container carrier to dock at the Port, also recorded an average of 181 gross moves per hour to break Liberian registered Livorno's record of 140 gross moves per hour.

South Asia container trade with Europe continues to outpace the Middle East, says Drewry in its Container Insight Weekly report.Container shipments in the combined eastbound Europe to the Middle East and South Asia trade performed well in the first quarter, rising by 5.2 percent year-on-year according to Container Trade Statistics. However, that aggregate rate hides two very different performances by the two destinations. CTS reports that inbound traffic to South Asia soared by 18 percent in 1Q18 to reach approximately 410…

Efforts by the government to attract investors to help build 29 berths at the proposed Lamu port has received a boost from African Development Bank, said a report in The Star, Kenya. The port has received a $1.9 million grant to cater for advisory services and technical support in developing a feasible plan for the port. Last week, the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (Lapsset) Corridor has received $1.93 million  from the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad). Kenyan Transport Principal Secretary Irungu Nyakera said 20 per cent of the work has been completed and the government will set aside US$97.1mn to the port project in the coming fiscal year.

NYK has signed a joint-venture agreement with Bolloré Transport & Logistics Kenya Limited (Bolloré) and Toyota Tsusho Corporation to establish Bolloré NYK Auto Logistics Limited, a logistics company for finished cars. In late August, a signing ceremony was held in Kenya, and attended by Eric Melet, Managing Director of Bolloré, Takashi Hattori, Senior Managing Director of Toyota Tsusho Corp., Koichi Chikaraishi, senior managing corporate officer of NYK at which time they attended the ceremony to commemorate memorandums of understanding (MOUs) in Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI). Kenya, a country currently experiencing strong economic growth, is expected to see a rise in finished car imports and become a gate port for countries in East Africa.

The Kipevu Oil Terminal at Mombasa Port will be relocated early next year, to Dongo Kundu area, as a result of the ongoing capacity expansion program, the Kenya Ports Authority announced. The new oil terminal is expected to have a capacity to accommodate four vessels of up to 200,000 DWT. The project also involves building new cargo handling facilities with both subsea and land based pipelines and four berths capable of loading/discharging crude oil, HFO, DPK-aviation, AGO-Diesel and PMS-Petrol. The other element is the topside, whose initial implementation will be for three berths but layout will recognize the need for implementation of the fourth berth at a later date.

Container traffic through Kenya's biggest port grew by 7.5 percent in 2015 after new cargo-handling infrastructure was built, shortening the turnaround time for ships, port management said on Tuesday. The Indian Ocean port of Mombasa, the biggest in east Africa and the region's trade gateway, handles imports of fuel and consumer goods and exports of tea and coffee from landlocked neighbours, such as Uganda and South Sudan. Its traffic considered a measure for economic activity in east Africa. Acting managing director Catherine Muturi told a news conference in Mombasa that the port handled 26.7 million tonnes of cargo between January and December 2015, compared with 24.88 million tonnes handled during a similar period in 2014.

A washed-out road in Kenya has blocked the flow of goods from Kenya's Indian Ocean port of Mombasa for a second straight day, officials said on Wednesday, choking the main trade route into East Africa. Mombasa handles imports such as fuel and other vital goods for Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Queues began forming at about 10 a.m. local time (0700GMT) on Wednesday when heavy rains swept away a temporary road about 50km from Mombasa. The road was being used as a diversion while the main highway leading to the capital, Nairobi, was repaired. Police and truckers stuck on the road say the queues are now almost 50km long, with many trucks, busses and cars stranded far from towns and villages where they can purchase water and food.

Heavy rains near the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa have swept away a road and slowed transport to a trickle on the main trade route into east Africa, officials said on Wednesday. Mombasa port handles imports such as fuel and other vital goods for Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Police officials reported tailbacks of more than 10 kilometres and said delays began at abound 10am local time when a temporary road about 50km from Mombasa was swept away. The road was being used as a diversion while the main highway leading to capital Nairobi was being repaired. "We have been stuck here for over six hours. We are not moving at all.

East Africa's biggest port of Mombasa will spend 100 million shillings ($980,392.16) to build a new cruise ship terminal aimed at boosting tourism, port management said on Wednesday. Piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean struck a major dent into cruise tourism in the region, but the industry has rebounded since 2011, with enhanced naval patrols and deployment of armed guards on vessels. "Before we used to receive 40 cruise vessels per year with 40,000 tourists," ports spokesman Hajj Masemo told Reuters, adding the number had dropped to near zero due to piracy. "But the vessels are now coming back, and we need to encourage this to boost our tourism," he said.

Tanzania started construction work on a $10 billion port and special economic zone on Friday, a project backed by China and Oman that aims to transform the East African country into a regional trade and transport hub. The port, which will be Tanzania's biggest, is being built at Bagamoyo, 75 km (47 miles) north of Dar es Salaam - the commercial capital that is currently the site of the country's main port, which is operating beyond its capacity with limited space for expansion. President Jakaya Kikwete attended a groundbreaking ceremony and said construction of phase I of the project would take three years. "The construction of the Bagamoyo port and a special economic zone is aimed at realising the government's goal of bringing about an industrial revolution in Tanzania," he said.

A Norwegian-flagged ship that was held in Kenya for more than a week over undeclared weapons belonging to the United Nations has been released, the owners of the vessel said. Kenyan authorities boarded the ship at the port of Mombasa on Sept. 17 and uncovered undeclared weapons in a U.N. shipment destined for peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The U.N. defended the shipment. "Höegh Transporter has finally been released from detention in Mombasa, Kenya, and has continued her ocean voyage," Hoegh Autoliners, the Norwegian owner of the ship, said in a statement issued on Saturday. The U.N. said the arms were inside armoured personnel carriers destined for its Indian peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Weapons discovered by Kenyan authorities aboard a Norwegian ship were part of a legitimate cargo for United Nations peacekeepers and the vessel should not have been inspected without a U.N. presence, a U.N. spokesman said on Thursday. Kenyan authorities said they uncovered weapons and a drug-like substance stashed inside a shipment of U.N. vehicles when they boarded the Norwegian-flagged Hoegh Transporter at the port of Mombasa last week. "It is unfortunate that the Kenyan authorities inspected the cargo without a U.N. presence, which runs contrary to established protocol and provisions surrounding privileges and immunities," the U.N. said in a statement signed by its spokesman in Nairobi, Nasser Ega-Musa.

Kenyan police raided a ship docked in the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa on Friday, on suspicion that it carried drugs and firearms, officials said. East Africa has become a key export route for Afghan heroin destined for Europe. Regional maritime forces, short of funds and anti-trafficking expertise, have struggled to stem the flow of drugs through their territorial waters. Kenyan soldiers and security personnel cordoned off the entire port for hours before seizing the ship, paralysing East Africa's biggest port, which serves as the main gateway for imports and exports in the region. "Based on intelligence gathered, the ship is suspected to be carrying fire arms and drugs…

The tracks for a new, faster railway linking the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa to Kenya's capital will be laid by the end of 2016 and will open for commercial traffic on target in June 2017, the chairman of Kenya Railways said on Friday. The Chinese-financed project is the first stage in a scheme that aims to extend to Uganda and other land-locked states. The goal is to cut the cost of transport and boost trade, by replacing a narrow-gauge line that has slower top speeds. "We're ahead of schedule," Kenya Railways managing director Atanas Maina said in Nairobi. Kenya had aimed to complete 40 percent of civil works, ranging from laying track to fixing bridges, by the end of 2015. It is now on track to complete half the by year end.

Shipping activity at Kenya's port of Mombasa, East Africa's biggest, rose by 11 percent in the first half of 2015 as vessel wait times fell, the national port authority said on Wednesday. Gichiri Ndua, Kenya Ports Authority managing director, said the performance reflected progress in the integration of east African countries to ease the flow of trade. The port, a major trade gateway to east Africa, handles imports such as fuel for Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kenya, which faces increasing competition from other countries like Tanzania and Djibouti in the bid to serve land-locked and rapidly-growing neighbours, said increasing port efficiency is central to its infrastructure plan.

Kenya aims to build a cargo logistics hub near the border with Uganda to receive and clear goods through customs that arrive by air, rail or road, easing pressure on the port of Mombasa and Nairobi airport, a senior regional official said. The so-called "dry port" would be built near Malaba, along the route of a new rail line being built to provide a faster link for freight coming from the coast. Kenya has been working with neighbours such as Uganda and Rwanda to speed up transport links from Mombasa, which is the region's main trade gateway and its busiest port. The project, which could cost an estimated 100 billion shillings ($1 billion), was presented to some international investors last month, said Greg Odeke, infrastructure minister for Busia County, where Malaba is located.