Mombasa port ship handling time improves

Mombasa – Container ship average working time at the port of Mombasa improved by half a day to record 1.93 days in the week ended August 16, Kenya Ports Authority said in a statement yesterday. This was an improvement from 2.55 days registered the previous week. KPA also indicates that container dwell time at the port dropped marginally to 4.35 days, down from 4.85 days the previous week. “A total of 10 container ships went alongside both the existing and the new container terminal two to discharge 11,449 Twenty Feet Equivalent Units (TEUs) full and empty and also loaded for export another 9,230 TEUs,” during the week under review, the statement added. A total of 10,438 TEUs were delivered out of the port through road transport marking an increase of 1,567 TEUs or 17.66 per cent compared to the previous week. However, deliveries by rail dropped to 109 TEUs, down 48 per cent. The total container population rose to 17,226 TEUs from 15,244 TEUs the previous week registering an increase of 1,982 TEUs or 13 percent. The yard population comprised 7,325 TEUs awaiting pickup order, 4,647 TEUs ready for collection 771 TEUs full exports (nominated/un-nominated). Others included 441 TEUs for transshipments, 3,261 TEUs empties and 781 TEUs at the customs warehouse. Cargo moved to the Container Freight Stations (CFS) recorded 818,494 TEUs out of which 814,690 TEUs were cleared leaving a balance of 3,804 TEUs. The import breakdown showed that 3,705 TEUs were local bound while 5,205 TEUs were for the transit destinations. Cargo destined for Uganda accounted for a total of 3,969 TEUs or 76.25 per cent of the transit market segment and 44.54 per cent of total imports in the week. The performance by other transit countries indicates that Tanzania bound cargo accounted for 336 TEUs. The upward trend for the Tanzania bound is arguably bound to continue following the completion of the upgrading of the road from Voi to Taveta by the government. It is argued that this development has seen increased number of shippers in northern Tanzania prefer routing their consignments through the northern corridor. Other transit destinations were South Sudan which accounted for 302 TEUs, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with 268 TEUs, Rwanda with 260 TEUs, Somalia with 51 TEUs while Burundi and Ethiopia stagnated at 11 TEUs and 08 TEUs respectively.

News

Mombasa port ship handling time improves