Congestion at the port of Mombasa has eased with the container yard now holding a record low of 13,600 twenty foot containers (TEUs), down from 20,700 at the peak of the crisis early this year.
Congestion at the port of Mombasa has eased with the container yard now holding a record low of 13,600 twenty foot containers (TEUs), down from 20,700 at the peak of the crisis early this year.
The number of containers is about a third below the yard’s capacity of 18,500, a move largely attributed to enhanced efficiency in clearance procedures.
“Berth productivity has gone high with ship-to-shore cranes doing an average of 20 moves per crane hour, ” Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) said in a Press statement.
Uncollected containers had jammed the facility in the first months of 2012 due to slow clearance by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and KPA. Kenya Shippers Council Chairman Gilbert Langat confirmed the improvement, saying the rapid response initiatives had increased the number of clearing gates.
“The rate of container evacuation from the port has since improved from 800 to 1400 a day due to the new lanes that had been closed because there were no KRA officials to man them,” Mr Lang’at said, adding that all the 12 gates were now functional.
Previously only four gates were operational.
The congestion had made importers to hold their cargo at the port longer, attracting fees that made goods expensive in the market.
According to the head of container operations, Sudi Mwasinago, dredging at the port has resulted in bigger vessels docking with more volumes, reducing the time taken to offload containers.
Block stacking and yard planning have also greatly improved. [email protected]
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