Indian Ocean Port Of Mombasa News

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.

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.

Protesters in Kenya blocked truckers on the only highway from Mombasa port to the capital Nairobi on Friday, threatening to choke the main trade artery with much of east Africa. More than two hundred residents in Voi, a town located 142 km (89 miles) inland from Mombasa, halted traffic with burning tyres to demand jobs from a Chinese company contracted to build a section of a railway in the area. East Africa's largest economy is the world's biggest exporter of black tea and blockage of the road to the port could disrupt shipments. At least 90 percent of all cargo arriving at the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa is ferried to final destinations in Kenya and landlocked neighbours by road, with trucks the main mode of transport.

Nine foreign nationals were charged in a Kenyan court on Thursday with trafficking the biggest ever single seizure of drugs at the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa. There has been a surge in the volume of heroin trafficked through east Africa in recent years, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime says, with east Africa's biggest port of Mombasa cited as a transit point for narcotics and other contraband. The suspects, who included six Pakistanis, two Indians and an Iranian, denied trafficking the heroin and were detained until November when their trial will begin. Prosecutors told the court on Thursday that the 377.2 kg drug haul had a market value of 1.1 billion shillings ($12.54 million). Police also found 33,200 litres of liquid heroin whose value is yet to be established.

Container traffic through Kenya's biggest port grew by 12.8 percent in the first six months of the year after new cargo handling infrastructure was built to shorten the turnaround time for ships. The Indian Ocean port of Mombasa, the biggest in east Africa and the region's trade gateway, handles fuel and consumer goods imports as well as exports of tea and coffee from landlocked neighbours such as Uganda and South Sudan. Gichiri Ndua, the port's managing director, said in a statement…

Kenyan police on Tuesday seized 341.7 kg of heroin hidden in the diesel tank of a ship, the biggest ever single seizure of drugs at the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa. Police said they did not know the departure point of MV Bushehr Amin Darya, a stateless vessel they detained at sea last week after receiving intelligence reports it may have been carrying drugs to Mombasa. Hamisi Masha, anti-narcotics police chief for Kenya's coast region, said nine suspects were arrested, including six Pakistanis, two Indians and an Iranian. One man died on the ship from illness soon after the ship docked in Mombasa, he added. "We recovered some 900 grams of heroin when we searched the ship last week and this gave us the indication there could be more…

Kenya on Friday launched a single electronic system for processing imports and exports, to simplify red tape blamed for holding up trade in the trading hub of the region. Kenya is the main trade gateway to east Africa, through its Indian Ocean port of Mombasa, but traders say it takes too long to get goods cleared and permit-related delays ramp up costs. Previously, entrepreneurs had to fill several forms and visit 24 different government agencies to get the permits and pay the levies, fees, duties and taxes they need to get goods across borders.