THE Port of Tanga is gaining global prominence in international shipping because as evidenced in the increase of big vessels docking there recently.

Between July 2023 and February this year, it served 217 ships out of which 94 were mammoth marine vessels and 123 were medium-sized vessels.

During the same period, the port handled 160 ships, meaning it registered a 35.6 percent performance rise. However, the port is still performing poorly in the export container cargo aspect.

“We have come a long way. Our port modernisation project is bearing fruit. Now that in such a short period we have handled 94 deep sea ships, it means we have gained global shipping reputation,” said Tanga Port Manager Masoud Mrisha in a briefing to reporters on the port’s performance recently.

He thanked port users, calling them “our valued stakeholders.”

The two-phase project which started in October 2019 has cost the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) a total of 429.1bn/- and was implemented by China Harbour Engineering Company.

Tanga port was established by the German colonial government in the 1880s as a ‘marine jetty’. Despite its strategic position on the Indian Ocean coast, for decades the port has been skipped by foreign ships for lack of requisite marine infrastructure.

“We know we are in a strategic coastal area to handle cargo to and from any point on this globe,” he told a reporter who wanted to know why the port has lagged behind in the global shipping business despite its strategic location.

“But the investment made by TPA in modernising the port is paying off and there is no going back.”

As a result of the modernisation project, the entrance channel is now 73 metres wide and draft has increased from three to 13 metres. The ships’ turning basin has also been increased and its entry is now 800 metres.

Mrisha said between 2018/19 and 2022/23 financial years, the port handled cargo at an annual average rate of 12.2 percent. The port handled 667,976 metric tonnes in 2018/19 rising to 987,828 in 2022/23.

There has also been a rise in handling containers. In 2018/19 some 6,259 containers were handled, rising to 7,244 containers in 2022/23.

“You will appreciate that there has been an annual average rise of 4.3 percent,” he said.

However, he noted that the current headache has been to secure container cargo for export; something he said is a significant aspect in the shipping business and international trade.