Twenty-one vessels are currently waiting at the outer anchorage as congestion at the Port of Mombasa intensifies, causing financial losses and delays for shipping lines and traders.
The pileup is blamed on the slow clearance of empty containers by the Kenya Revenue Authority and Kenya Ports Authority.
Speaking at the Kenya Ship Agents Association Annual General Meeting in Mombasa, KSAA Chairman Roger Dainty said the situation is worsening productivity at the port.
“We never properly cleared that congestion. As a consequence, it becomes more and more difficult to work on ships. Productivity drops, and it becomes difficult to load empties out of the country, which has led to congestion in the depots,” he said.
KSAA Chief Executive Officer Elijah Mbaru said the congestion is driving up costs for shipping companies and affecting the wider supply chain.
“We also have issues with hinterland connectivity, whereby we don’t receive boxes as we are supposed to. We experience delays, and the final effect is that we are forced to pay substantial damages in terms of ships’ charter fees and other associated costs,” he explained.
The shipping industry is also dealing with disruptions linked to a post-election crisis in a neighbouring country, which has made cargo movement more challenging.
Mbaru emphasised the need for government agencies to expedite cargo clearance to reduce the backlog of both laden and empty containers.
Dainty said the current congestion is partly a spillover from last year’s peak season, when backlogs were never fully cleared.
“As a result, productivity at the port has declined, making it increasingly difficult to evacuate empty containers,” he added.
Despite these challenges, he noted some progress, pointing out that one vessel evacuated 3,000 empty containers last week, with more evacuations planned. However, he questioned whether the current measures by KPA and KRA are enough to ease the situation.
Space
Shipping agents are urging that more containers be nominated to Container Freight Stations to create additional space at terminals and depots, allowing for faster evacuation of empties.
Dainty confirmed that in addition to the 21 vessels at the outer anchorage, several break-bulk ships are also waiting to dock.
Mombasa Deputy Governor Francis Thoya said addressing the bottlenecks is critical for the port’s competitiveness.
“From a business perspective, the evacuation of cargo and removal of empty boxes needs to be addressed because it compounds into a bigger problem that makes the Port of Mombasa less competitive,” he said.
Thoya also urged KPA to revive the Port User Committee to coordinate efforts aimed at decongesting the port and improving turnaround times. He said the county government is ready to collaborate with KPA to identify additional storage spaces, but noted the challenges posed by limited land in the city and the high cost of establishing operational areas outside the port.
With Mombasa acting as the economic lifeline of the region and a key gateway for landlocked countries, stakeholders warn that resolving the congestion is urgent.
“The port is critical to our economy, and delays like these ripple through the entire supply chain,” Mbaru said.
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