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Mombasa port lifts ban on Dar cargo
2008-03-26 09:16:30
By Correspondent Kasembeli Albert, Nairobi
The Kenya Ports Authority has finally lifted a ban it had imposed on transshipment of cargo to Dar es Salaam. That effectively means that Mombasa port managers have now readmitted transshipment cargo destined for the rival Tanzanian chief port.
While the ban had been imposed several months ago in a bid to ease congestion at the Kenyan port, the new move is expected to boost business after a massive downturn due to congestion triggered by post-election violence.
KPA said in a statement it was resuming services to other adjacent India Ocean island ports, adding: ``Reacceptance of transshipment to Dar es Salaam will now resume together with others to the Indian Ocean islands.``
Mombasa port has since 2006 reeled under a massive pile-up of cargo, a development that saw KPA slap a ban on all transshipment cargo destined for Dar es Salaam.
That was in the wake of protests over protracted delays and huge surcharge fines on overstayed consignments. At its peak, vessels waited for about 14 days to berth, not to mention a vessel delay surcharge at the rate of $300 per container unit.
Besides the freeze on transshipments to Tanzania, KPA had granted special waivers on accumulated storage charges in a bid to encourage traders to collect their cargo and decongest the Kenyan port.
But now KPA says the situation has vastly improved, particularly with the enlisting of services of several container freight stations (CFSs) to take up delayed cargo.
Statistics show that there currently are 10,435 container units at the port against a handling capacity of 14,000.
``The situation has greatly improved and the containers are now within the port`s handling capacity. The congestion is cleared,`` Kenya Shipping Council chief executive officer Gilbert Lang’at said.
He urged the Kenya Revenue Authority to lift the current bond it imposes on such transshipment cargo to spur growth in trade.
Lang’at argued that, alongside reducing the cost of doing business, the lifting of the bonds would help in expediting operations at Mombasa port in that the clearance routine would be shorter and faster.
Pushed to the edge by a sharp rise in container arrivals from November 2006, KPA undertook to contract two CFSs, the Consolbase Limited and Mombasa Container Terminal, to take fresh containers.
The measure has helped create space at the port`s container terminal for handling incoming and outgoing cargo.
Recently, KPA also listed the services of the Kipevu Terminal Base to take overstayed containers following its official recognition by KRA. The port management is seeking further CFSs around the facility to help it further alleviate the problem of storage.
The concept of CFSs is fast catching up at the Mombasa port, where Uganda is also preparing to open its just-completed internal car depot.
The Kenyan shillings 200 million bonded depots can hold about 3,000 cars a day, with industry estimates showing that around 40,000 cars enter the Ugandan market through Mombasa every year.
Rwanda is also planning to have a CFS to handle its cargo in Mombasa, one of the main gateways to landlocked nations in the Grate Lakes region.
Some critics maintain that the CFSs concept might not have a big enough impact in solving congestion problems because they are still bound by transit rules.
But KPA insists that, even with a booming cargo flow, it would continue to prod dealers to ensure that goods do not overstay at the port and trigger new pile-ups.
KPA also says it is keen on having all importers remove their containers from the port with minimum delay.
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