Mombasa clogged for want of rolling stock, quick TEU removal to Uganda

Containers bound for Kenya and Uganda take the longest period at the Mombasa's container terminal, contributing heavily to congestion, a recent study carried out the by the Kenya Ports Authority shows.

Given that 40.5 per cent of the sample used had a dwell time of 11 days to 181 days, the study, reported by the East African of Nairobi, Kenya, said time could be reduced if there are more rolling stock and a more efficient removal to Uganda.

Smooth running of yard operations has been hampered, impacting on turnaround times and crane productivity. Based on the sample of 5,987 containers, the average dwell time was 23 days, a result of having 1,312 containers, or 21.9 per cent of the total sample, overstaying by more than 21 days.

Kenya had 3,620 containers that accounted for 60.5 per cent of the sample, and yielded an average dwell time of 23 days. The largest commodities were milled sugar, rice, polythene, newsprint and motor vehicles.

Uganda had 1,671 containers, accounting for 27.9 per cent of the sample, and an average dwell time of 21.3 days. On the other hand, Tanzania had 254 containers, accounting for 4.2 per cent of the sample, with an average dwell time of 28 days, says the Container Census 2007, led by James Rarieya, the terminal manager.

During the study, the team found a total of 15,641 containers at the port, whose capacity is 12,614, reflecting a negative variance of 3,027 containers."This shows an increase of 1,932 containers in utilization of the yards when compared with the 2006 census, when a negative variance of 1,095 containers was evident," says the study.