East African ports hamstrung by congestion
Ships that are diverting to Mombasa and skipping Dar es Salaam because of congestion in the Tanzanian port are simply transferring the problem elsewhere, it has been suggested.
In recent weeks a number of ships have dropped the Dar es Salaam call because of lengthy delays and have gone on to Mombasa where the Dar es Salaam cargo is discharged for a feeder vessel to collect later.
However this has exacerbated an existing congestion problem at the Kenyan port and Mombasa now faces having a vessel delay surcharge (VDS) imposed on it as well. The recently imposed surcharge on Dar es Salaam will cost Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS), the concessionaire operating the terminal, an estimated US $ 15,000 a day once the VDS takes effect and there are now fears that Mombasa is next on the list for shipping lines.
Earlier this week MOL announced that its vessel MOL SILVERFERN would omit both Dar es Salaam and Mombasa due to the ongoing berthing delays in Dar es Salaam because the vessel had to make her berthing window at Nhava Sheva in India. Current bookings on the ship were to be rolled to the KOTA MESRA. Several vessels on this service have skipped Dar es Salaam in recent weeks.
In an earlier News Bulletin Ports & Ships reported that a number of ships were bypassing the Tanzanian port and taking containers on to Mombasa for a feeder vessel to uplift them, and that this was impeding Mombasa’s storage capacity.
According to agents this has had the effect of simply transferring Dar es Salaam’s problems to Mombasa and they feared that the net result would be VDS being introduced there as well.
The problem in clearing the port of containers has been blamed on a number of factors, including a lenient policy on storage within the terminal, the lack of documentation and poor rail and road systems away from the ports.
“The problem is quite simple,” said one Mombasa agent. “There are just too many containers arriving at the port before cargo owners have cleared previous shipments. There are also too many containers arriving without documentation – where else can this be allowed to happen?”
Both ports cater not only for domestic cargo but for neighbouring landlocked countries as well, compounding the problem. Ironically both Mombasa and Dar es Salaam have undergone recent modernisation programmes including new equipment but possibly this is no longer enough. A week ago the Kenya government announced that the Kilindini Container Terminal at Mombasa would not be privatised as had been planned, owing to the fact that it was now generating profits for the Kenya Ports Authority.
In recent weeks a number of ships have dropped the Dar es Salaam call because of lengthy delays and have gone on to Mombasa where the Dar es Salaam cargo is discharged for a feeder vessel to collect later.
However this has exacerbated an existing congestion problem at the Kenyan port and Mombasa now faces having a vessel delay surcharge (VDS) imposed on it as well. The recently imposed surcharge on Dar es Salaam will cost Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS), the concessionaire operating the terminal, an estimated US $ 15,000 a day once the VDS takes effect and there are now fears that Mombasa is next on the list for shipping lines.
Earlier this week MOL announced that its vessel MOL SILVERFERN would omit both Dar es Salaam and Mombasa due to the ongoing berthing delays in Dar es Salaam because the vessel had to make her berthing window at Nhava Sheva in India. Current bookings on the ship were to be rolled to the KOTA MESRA. Several vessels on this service have skipped Dar es Salaam in recent weeks.
In an earlier News Bulletin Ports & Ships reported that a number of ships were bypassing the Tanzanian port and taking containers on to Mombasa for a feeder vessel to uplift them, and that this was impeding Mombasa’s storage capacity.
According to agents this has had the effect of simply transferring Dar es Salaam’s problems to Mombasa and they feared that the net result would be VDS being introduced there as well.
The problem in clearing the port of containers has been blamed on a number of factors, including a lenient policy on storage within the terminal, the lack of documentation and poor rail and road systems away from the ports.
“The problem is quite simple,” said one Mombasa agent. “There are just too many containers arriving at the port before cargo owners have cleared previous shipments. There are also too many containers arriving without documentation – where else can this be allowed to happen?”
Both ports cater not only for domestic cargo but for neighbouring landlocked countries as well, compounding the problem. Ironically both Mombasa and Dar es Salaam have undergone recent modernisation programmes including new equipment but possibly this is no longer enough. A week ago the Kenya government announced that the Kilindini Container Terminal at Mombasa would not be privatised as had been planned, owing to the fact that it was now generating profits for the Kenya Ports Authority.