Transshipment traffic through the Mombasa Port jumped by 132.9 percent, an increase of of 280,593 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEUs), to 491,666 TEUs in 2024 as the critical gateway benefitted from the Red Sea crisis.

MOMBASA

“The performance was enhanced by significant growth in containerized and bulk cargo volumes, with transshipment traffic receiving a boost from some major shipping lines choosing Mombasa port as their transshipment hub thus enabling smaller feeder vessels to serve eastern, southern Africa ports as well as the Indian Ocean Islands from the port of Mombasa,” Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Managing Director William Ruto said.

Uganda is the top destination for cargo traffic through the port, accounting for 65.7 percent of transit cargo in 2024. The KPA statistics indicates 8,811,289 tons for Uganda were handled in 2024 up from 7,115,079 tons, representing a 23.8 percent increase from 2023. Other notable transit destinations include South Sudan (12.7 percent), the Democratic Republic of Congo (11.8 percent), Rwanda (5.1 percent), and Tanzania (3.4 percent)

In December alone, the port handled a total cargo throughput of 3,746,363 tons, an increase from the 3,029,482 tons recorded in December 2023. 

Container traffic experienced a significant upward trend in December 2024, with 188,495 TEUs processed compared to 152,326 TEUs handled in December 2023. In the same month, transshipment traffic grew by 25.8 percent while transit traffic grew by 22.2 percent.

The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) is set to upgrade its Terminal Operating System (TOS) at the Port of Mombasa as part of strategic changes to improve the quality and speed of cargo handling and shipping clearance.

Ahead of the December holidays, KPA reported higher vessel calls at the Mombasa port prompting additional deployments of feeder vessels and transhipment lines. Apart from fully optimising port workers during the busy season, the authority also sought support from other freight stakeholders like Kenya Railways to evacuate rising volumes of cargo to their intended destinations.

The upgrade of the port follows developments made over the last three years intended to strengthen Kenya’s competitiveness in the region. These include the KSh32 billion Phase Two of the second container terminal, the KSh40 billion Kipevu Oil Terminal (KOT) and the KSh1 billion Cruise Ship Terminal.

The Port of Mombasa recorded a 14 percent increase in cargo handled from January-October period with Uganda contributing to bulk of the improvement. Kampala’s throughput grew by 1.526 million tons, accounting for 26.5 percent of the port’s overall growth.

The authority hopes that the infrastructural uplift will cement Mombasa’s position as a regional hub for sea transit. However, concerns by traders over high taxes and increased costs at the port have resulted in Dar es Salaam garnering interest as viable option.

The Port of Mombasa recorded a 14 percent increase in cargo handled from January-October period with Uganda contributing to bulk of the performance.

“Uganda was mainly responsible for the increase in performance, growing by 1,526,169 tons or 26.5 percent. With just two months remaining, the Port which last year cumulatively witnessed container traffic 1,623,080 TEUs, is on track to exceed its revised target of 1.8 million TEUs and is likely to achieve a remarkable 1.972 million TEUs in container traffic,” Jones Buchere, acting Communications Manager at Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) said.

The performance surpassed the set target of 32,151,000 by 5.1 percent. The Port handled 1,643,240 TEUs of container traffic against 1,322,999 TEUs handled in the same period in 2023 registering a growth of 320,241 TEUs or 24.2 percent. 

KPA estimates that the port will handle approximately 40.535 million tons in cargo throughput, 480,241 TEUs in transshipment traffic and 13.416 million tons in transit traffic.

Both imports and exports also recorded moderate growth of 31,915 TEUs or 5.4 percent and 30,923 TEUs or 5.4 percent, respectively. During the period under review, total transit cargo registered 11,180,185 tons against 9,303,171 tons handled in the same period in 2023, posting a strong positive variance of 20.2 percent.

“The increased throughput is attributed to expanding sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, and construction, which rely on Mombasa for efficient import and export processes,” KPA Managing Director Cpt. William Ruto said.

KPA is planning for Berth 23 and a specialized berth at the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone are in place to ensure continued competitiveness. Currently, KPA is also accelerating the construction of Berth 19B that will add further 300,000 TEUs.