First ships dock at Kenya’s Lamu deep water port
The first ships docked at Kenya’s deep water Lamu Port on Thursday as the country looks to open a new transport corridor linking its vast northern region and neighboring nations to the sea.
Kenyan officials hope that the Indian Ocean port, the country’s second deep water facility, will attract cargo destined for neighboring landlocked nations Ethiopia and South Sudan, and offer transshipment services where large vessels bring in cargo for onward distribution by smaller ships.
The Lamu Port, which is being built by China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), will cost $3 billion to complete over several years. It will compete with ports in Djibouti and Sudan and Kenya’s main port of Mombasa. Two more berths will be completed by the end of this year, completing the first phase.
Kenya is building several roads from Lamu towards its borders with Ethiopia and South Sudan. It also plans to eventually build a railway network and a crude oil pipeline to Lamu.
Read More at:
- https://www.reuters.com/article/kenya-ports/first-ships-dock-at-kenyas-lamu-deep-water-port-idUSL5N2N74Q0
- https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2021/05/first-ship-docks-at-kenyas-new-lamu-port/
- https://www.fanabc.com/የላሙ-ወደብ-የመጀመሪያ-የመርከብ-ማቆያ-ተ/
DPFZA to host Logistics Conference
Intermodal Africa continues to be the biggest annual Container Ports and Terminal Operations Exhibition shipping and transport logistics conference in Africa.
Djibouti Port and Free Zone Authority will be hosting the event in Djibouti from 15-17th June 2021. A two days Conference Programme will feature world-class conference speakers addressing topical issues and challenges on global transportation and logistics attended by a gathering of 500 senior executive harbour masters, harbour engineers, port engineers, maintenance supervisors and procurement decision makers together with the region’s leading shippers, cargo owners, importers / exporters, shipping lines, freight forwarders, logistics companies, ports, terminal operating companies, railway operators, port equipment and services suppliers from countries throughout the African Union.
There will be the commercial opportunity for 80 exhibitors and sponsors to network directly with the delegates at this major annual international maritime transport Exhibition and Conference trade event for Africa.
Read More at:
- https://twitter.com/dpfza/status/1395658482834153473/photo/1
- https://www.showsbee.com/fairs/Intermodal-Africa.html
New Hapag-Lloyd East Africa Service ships arriving in Kenya and Tanzania
East Africa Service 3 (EAS3) to arrive in Kenya and Tanzania; New service will offer excellent connections to Hapag-Lloyd’s (www.Hapag-Lloyd.com) global network; Seven 2,800 TEU vessels being deployed in the service.
The new East Africa Service 3 (EAS3) will offer direct weekly sailings between China, South-East Asia, Kenya and Tanzania with very competitive transit times. It will arrive for the first time in Kenya and Tanzania next week enabling our customers to enjoy even better connectivity between Asia and East Africa. In addition, the EAS3 will offer excellent connections to Hapag-Lloyd’s global network via the hub ports of Singapore, Port Kelang and Shanghai.
Seven 2,800 TEU vessels will be deployed in the service, including two provided by Hapag-Lloyd.
Hapag-Lloyd entered the Sub-Sahara African market about 13 years ago and has seen steady and significant growth in transported volumes to and from Africa since then. In East Africa, the China Kenya Express Service (CKX) connects Kenya with some of the most important ports in Asia, such as Singapore and Shanghai, while the East Africa Service 2 (EAS2) connects the East African country with the west coast of India and Jebel Ali in Dubai.
Hapag-Lloyd also serves landlocked East African countries – such as Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan – with regular inland connections to and from Mombasa. As part of its growth strategy, the shipping company will also endeavor to develop inland connections to Somalia, Southern Ethiopia and Northern Tanzania.
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How Lamu port is angling for top spot in the region
When the Port of Lamu becomes operational, it will bring major changes on freight business along the Indian Ocean in regard to transshipment activities along the sea. Currently, the Port of Durban remains the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa, as it plays a major role in transshipment activities by feeding other small ports with cargo.
The new facility, which is expected to become the largest port in sub-Saharan Africa, will target countries along the Indian Ocean Islands such as Seychelles and Comoros among others. The depth of the port, which is 17.5 metres makes it ideal for handling large ships that cannot dock at the Port of Mombasa whose depth is 15 metres.
“The port is expected to serve northern Ethiopia, South Sudan, Zanzibar and Mozambique that are currently served by the ports of Djibouti, Durban and Salalah in Yemen,” said Mr Rashid Salim acting managing director at the port.
Kenya is targeting to wrestle out Djibouti as a key entry point for Ethiopian goods at the moment. Most of the sea cargo to landlocked Ethiopia use the Port of Djibouti. To achieve this, Kenya will be sending a delegation to Ethiopia to sell the Port of Lamu to ensure that they are the first clients to call at the facility.
To attract the traffic at the new port, Kenya is targeting to lower the cost of docking by making it slightly lower than what Djibouti is charging.
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Construction of rail line and Northern counties economies crucial for new Lamu port
LAPSSET project was an immediate project for Ethiopia, which has over the years been seeking connections to more sea routes to reduce its over reliance on Djibouti ports.
Construction of the railway line to connect Lamu port with the other parts of the country, as the President Uhuru Kenyatta promised, and the proposed growth areas in the regions that Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) will be the game changer for the corridor.
A study carried out by the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) in 2009 showed that exorbitant charges incurred by Ethiopia at the Port of Djibouti had seen the landlocked East African country’s economy hit the doldrums. An alternative port looked like a great idea for the country.
According to a Lamu concept paper generated in 2008, the long-term solution to the Ethiopia transport problems lay in the construction of the second port in Lamu. Indeed, Ethiopia had completed the building of a good tarmac road from Addis Ababa to Moyale quite a while ago.
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