The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) targets to accommodate medium-range container ships with a new Sh15.7 billion ($ 122.030 million) upgrade project at the Mombasa port which will also include the construction of a new berth.
Disclosures showed that KPA will this year construct a new berth 19B to serve container ships of 45,000 Deadweight Tonnage (DWT) and to have a design depth of Construction Datum Level (CDL) of 13.5metres-- a level so low that the tide will not frequently fall below it.
“The objective of the proposed project is to construct a new berth and a container yard with additional storage space to increase the container handling capacity at the Port of Mombasa for the current and projected container volumes,” KPA said.
A 45,000 DWT ship is commonly referred to as a "Medium Range 2" (MR2) tanker or container ship and carries around 45,000 tonnes of cargo.
KPA said that the proposed Berth 19B will be an extension of the existing container terminal 1 and will require some dredging work to accommodate bigger capacity vessels.
“Dredging at the berth pockets will be done if required, to secure the required water depth in front of the quay wall and excavation of soil that forms a soft stratum to ensure the stability of the revetment section,” the State agency.
KPA Managing Director William Ruto said that Berth 19B has a design length of 240 metres and a capacity of 300,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEU) capacity annually.
Kenya has stepped up the expansion of ship handling facilities and deepened the navigation channels at the Mombasa port which is a key gateway in the region and competes with other ports for containerised cargo.
When shipping companies decide on a transshipment port to use, one of the crucial factors they examine is the depth and width of the approach channel.
The Port of Mombasa comprises Kilndini Habour, Port Reitz, the old port (Mombasa habour), and Port Tudor. The main port consists of Kilindini habour and Port Reitz commonly referred to as the Mombasa port.
Access to the port of Mombasa can be obtained through an approximately 12-kilometre-long buoyed access channel directly from the open sea. The outer access channel stretches for about 4.4 km up to buoys 8 and 9.
Vessels entering the Mombasa port must however navigate through an S-shaped bend between Ras Serani and Ras Mzimba, which poses a constraint on the maximum ship length that can safely navigate through the channel.
Past dredging works, including those undertaken in 2012, covered the navigation channel at the port entrance, the navigation channel at the inner port, and the turning and anchorage basins at the proposed Kipevu west container terminal.
