Dar es Salaam Port Enhances Capacity

Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) has informed that the adequate improvements have enabled to dock such large vessels at the country's major port.

The Mediterranean Shipping Company's container vessel with an overall length of 244 meters and width of 32.2 meters and carrying capacity of 2,411 containers docked without any problem, said Madeni Kipande, Acting Director General, TPA.

Kipande explained that the MSC Martina is one of the largest container ships owned by the Geneva-based Italian Company to dock and offload consignment at the port. The arrival of such large vessels is a major achievement to be recorded by the Tanzania Ports Authority, he noted.

The largest ship to be accommodated by the Port was Maersk Cubango with an overall length of 250 meters and width of 38 meters with capacity to carry 4,500 containers owned by the Maersk Line.

MSC Country Representative, Ahmed Kamal, said since MSC owns large ships, the company plans to bring more huge ships to dock at the port. "This is our largest ever ship to dock at the Dar es Salaam Port. We plan to bring more large ships to the country," he said

TPA recently announced decline of theft following stern measures taken by TPA, saying only three cases were reported in 2014 while four cases were reported in 2013