AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES

AFRICA PORTS, LOGISTICS & SUPPLY CHAIN CONFERENCE IN ACCRA, GHANA

2011-12-07T16:59:00.001+04:00

3RD MARITIME SECURITY CONFERENCE IN ATHENS, GREECE

2011-12-07T16:36:00.002+04:00

TRADE NOTICE: CHINA MOMBASA DAR ES SALAAM SHIPPING

2011-10-10T13:43:00.004+04:00

Please note we Our October FCL rates from China to Mombasa, Kenya have been reduced. If you have your shipment/Negotiations, Please do let us know and we can add it in our contract.

The Rates are as follows:

POL:SHENZHEN / HONGKONG

POD: Mombasa, Kenya

Free time : 14 days .
Valid Upto Oct 31st.
Transit time: 25days.

O/F: 20´GP USD 1350,00 (ALL IN) + locals charges

O/F: 40´GP USD 2300,00 (ALL IN) + locals charges
O/F: 40´HQ USD 2300,00 (ALL IN) + locals charges

Remarks: the weight of 20GP is limited to 18tons. if you have bigger shipments, our rates will be negotiated to suit you.

NOTE:

These rates include:

--THC/BAF/CAF/SUZ/AGS, but subject to DOC/ENS only

--OWS case by case

--Nomination fee: USD50/20' over 21tons for SZX shipment only

--Vaild upto end of Oct 2011

Rates are net/net under FOB terms, freight prepaid

TRADE NOTICE: LIVESTOCK VESSEL FOR SALE

2011-10-05T15:14:00.010+04:00

MARITIME SECURITY BOATS ON SALE

2011-08-31T15:09:00.007+04:00

We wish to advise that we have couple of Maritime security Patrol boats/vessels for sale, which could be used for offshore Maritime Security along the Kenya-Somalia Basin and other areas.

These Vessels are offered, “subject continued availability”, basis: “as is where is”, {Norwegian Sale Form Agreement}. - NSF Terms. Vessels are currently available prompt inspection/delivery – Europe, to named and qualified buyers only.

Please advise if of serious interest by mail to: africanshippingdubai@gmail.com

TRADE NOTICE: AFRICA - ASIA CONTAINER LINE

2011-03-24T17:57:00.012+04:00

We are Looking for International Investors into the AFRICA-ASIA CONTAINER PROJECT set to be launched soon.

If you need some more information, please e-mail the following as urgent: aslkenya@ymail.com or africanshippingdubai@gmail.com

SOMALI PIRATES HIJACK SUPER TANKER IRENE SL

2011-02-10T19:26:00.005+04:00

Somali pirates captured a Greek-flagged supertanker carrying an estimated $150 million worth of oil to the Gulf of Mexico, the second successful attack against an oil tanker by sea bandits in two days, officials said.

Such vessels can command higher ransoms because of the value of the crude on board. Owners of the oil may want to resolve hostage situations quickly, particularly if oil prices are dropping, a situation that can cost owners millions of dollars more than the pirate ransom will. Still, ransom prices are on the rise. One last year reached $9.5 million, and the increasing prizes have provided even more incentive for pirates to launch attacks despite stepped-up patrols by an international flotilla of warships. Pirates hold 29 ships and roughly 660 hostages.

The Irene SL was sailing 200 nautical miles (360 kilometers) east of Oman with a cargo of 266,000 tons of crude oil and a crew of seven Greeks, 17 Filipinos and one Georgian when it was attacked on Wednesday, Greece's Merchant Marine Ministry said. The Associated Press estimated the value of the oil at more than $150 million, based on the amount being carried and a price of $87 a barrel. The tanker was sailing from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Mexico. The ministry said authorities had lost contact with the ship since the attack.

The Piraeus-based shipping company First Navigation Special Maritime Enterprises confirmed its ship had been attacked but had no further comment. The Irene SL was the second oil tanker to be attacked in that region in two days. On Tuesday, Somali pirates firing small arms and rocket-propelled grenades hijacked an Italian-flagged oil tanker in the Indian Ocean that had been heading from Sudan to Malaysia.

ANTI-PIRACY "PRIVATE INITIATIVES" AT MOMBASA, DURBAN, COLOMBO, SALALAH

2011-02-08T13:40:00.007+04:00

Armed Maritime security escorts are available at leading Somali Piracy ports including Mombasa(Kenya), Dar Es Salaam(Tanzania), Nacala/Beira(Mozambique) and Durban(South Africa in addition to Colombo/Galle and Salalah(Oman).

If you need those services, Please send us an e-mail at : africanshippingdubai@gmail.com
or call Mr. Ibrahim on +254.726.722.226 & +254.726.814.441 (24Hrs)

PIRACY ALERT: MOMBASA, DURBAN, COLOMBO, SALALAH

2011-02-02T15:23:00.009+04:00

We provide Maritime Security to all Ships plying the Somalia Waters in Four Close Ports:

Mombasa- Kenya Durban -South Africa Colombo -Srilanka Salalah(Oman Straits).

The Services Include IIP and OOP. If you need Maritime security to your Vessel, Please do let us know by Calling African Shipping Line, Mr. Ibrahim on +254.726.722.226 & +254.726.814.441(24Hrs)

AFRICA - SOUTH EAST ASIA CONTAINER LINES GROWING STRONGER

2011-01-28T19:25:00.006+04:00

AFRICA-ASIA CONTAINER LINES are reported to be doing brisk business even as Africa is opening up to India, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and China Markets. This has been attributed by the recent boom in developing countries in Africa accelerating business leads. The commerce between Africa and Asia epitomizes the explosion of South-South trade. These trade flows are driven by the burgeoning middle classes in Asia's emerging economic giants—China and India—whose appetite for Africa's commodities is growing, and by rising economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which is increasing the demand for Asian manufactured goods.

For example, The Africa-China trade represents more than 10 percent of the continent's trade. In value terms, it represents $114 billion--$52 billion in exports and $62 billion in imports. Africa has a trade deficit with China of about $10 billion, according to AfDB's report, Chinese Trade and Investment Activities in Africa.

MV BELUGA HIJACK BY SOMALI PIRATES CONFIRMED

2011-01-26T11:35:00.010+04:00

A German shipping company, Beluga Group says one of its vessels had been attacked and seized by pirates in the Indian Ocean. Beluga Group spokeswoman Verena Beckhusen said Tuesday the container ship MV Beluga Nomination was attacked by pirates Monday. She declined to elaborate. The company's website says the MV Beluga Nomination is 433 feet (132 metres) long.

This was confirmed by the European Union Naval Force - Somalia (EUNAVFOR) on tuesday that Somali pirates have seized a German-owned vessel in the Indian Ocean, ending days of confusion over the ship’s status. EU Naval Force spokesman Paddy O’Kennedy said the general cargo vessel MV Beluga Nomination was attacked by a skiff with an unknown number of pirates on Saturday afternoon as it was about 390 nautical miles (722 kilometers) north of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. “There is no information on the condition of the mixed crew of 12,” O’Kennedy said.The confirmation ended four days of uncertainty about the status of the Antigua and Barbuda flagged, German-owned vessel. O’Kennedy said the crew members were all from Poland, the Philippines, Russia, and Ukraine.

The Picture above is for Illustrations only: MV BELUGA NOMINATION

Somali pirates — operating more broadly than ever in the Indian Ocean — currently hold more than 30 vessels and 746 crew members of various nationalities, according to a recent report by the International Maritime Bureau.

This comes as private armed security are already available at Mombasa and Durban catering for dozen of small Ship owners who are greatly at the risk of the Somali pirates who have increased their hijacking during this end of monsoon. If you need Maritime security escort at either Mombasa or Durban, please do not hesitate to write us an email at africanshippingdubai@gmail.com

If you need those services, Please send us an e-mail at : africanshippingdubai@gmail.com
or call Mr. Ibrahim on +254.726.722.226 & +254.726.814.441 (24Hrs)

LIVESTOCK EXPORTS TO MAURITIUS, ARABIAN COUNTRIES FROM KENYA RISES

2011-01-22T14:09:00.019+04:00

Reports that Mauritius blocked imports of cattle from Kenya and Tanzania because of Somalia piracy has met sharp criticism from Livestock Exporters in Kenya. A report emanating from South Africa that Mauritius is looking for other fronts for it's beef imports are baseless as ship/Vessel owners are free to choose for an array of possible ways of escorting their vessels from Mombasa Port to Port Louis in Mauritius.

African Shipping Line can arrange with Vessel Owners to provide the most capable armed maritime security escort from Mombasa, Kenya or at any of the following connecting ports at a short notice by advising us in a short e-mail message to us .

We can arrange armed maritime security from Mombasa (Kenya) to: Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania) , Durban (Republic of South Africa), Nacala/Beira (Mozambique), Aden/Mukalla/Hodeidah (Yemen), Salalah (Oman and other arabian ports), Colombo/ Galle (Srilanka and Sub Continent)

Pirates use long stretches of Somali coastline as a base to prey on busy shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Al-Shabab controls most of south and central Somalia and much of Mogadishu. Western governments fear Somalia could be used as a base for attacks on the West. Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya and the most important port in East Africa, which is also used by neighbouring countries such as Tanzania and Uganda for their import and export trade.

Kenya has secured other new beef and livestock markets in Libya, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Malaysia, opening a new income stream for pastoralists hard hit by recurrent drought and livestock diseases. The Kenya Livestock Marketing Council (KLMC) said the new markets present a major opportunity for both pastoralists and ranchers. Exporters are buying from pastoralists to meet rising demand which ranchers are unable to meet.

“We have new markets in Libya, DRC and Malaysia and are waiting to confirm orders from those countries,” said KLMC chairman Abass Mohammed.

Kenya is the only country in the region which can supply Mauritius with its requirements, Mursal of Global Livestock Traders, a private company awarded a contract to export 7000 animals worth KSh30 million last year. Between 2004 and 2006, according to Ministry of Livestock figures, Kenyan ranchers earned Sh430 millions from meat product exports.
Mursal said that Egypt has also expressed interest in Kenyan imports.

“We are negotiating with the Egypt for meat export,” Mursal said, adding that Egypt will however not require live animals but beef.

Kenya has a quota of 142,000 metric tonnes of meat which is provided under the African Caribbean Pacific preferential beef export agreement which cannot be accessed due to prevalence of trade sensitive diseases in the country. According to the statistics released by the Livestock Ministry last year, the Middle East alone has a net demand of 122,000 Metric tonnes.
The region was one of the traditional markets in the 1980s when the country could meet international standards. The animals the country is exporting to Mauritius are sourced from ranches and according to authorities, the export permit does not allow the exporter to source animals elsewhere in the country despite the fact that there may be plenty of animals meeting the required fat content. Kenya's Livestock Ministry earlier announced Iran’s intention to venture into local livestock products processing for purpose of serving the export market.
Kenya recently also secured an export deal to Egypt, where 10 tonnes of beef are exported every week. The country is also exporting up to eight tonnes of mutton to Qatar and Dubai weekly. Between March and July, Kenya exported 4,950 cattle to Mauritius, according to statics provided by KLMC. The growing market has already raised the price of livestock for export. Kenya is angling for a slice of the fast growing demand for animal protein in Arab countries as livestock traders seek an alternative market amid drought and squeezed domestic market.

The Livestock ministry said a team of veterinary and other animal specialists from Arabia have been invited into the country to assess livestock quality control system in a move aimed at unlocking the sector’s export potential. That team is poised to endorse Kenya’s production standards and certify that the country’s animal products meet Islamic (halal) conditions. This could raise exports to Mauritius, United Arabs Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia which have traditionally bought meat and live animals from Kenya. World meat prices have maintained upward trend from 2008, hitting 20-year highs by end of 2010 in some Arab countries as global demand continue to outstrip supply, Food and Agricultural Organisation records show.

“We have not been in a position to take full advantage of this rising demand which at the moment is being stretched by cultural and religious practices because of standards limitations,” said Mr Mohamed Abbas, chief executive of the Kenya Livestock Marketing Council.

SRILANKA BUNKER TERMINAL READY

2011-01-08T16:02:00.005+04:00

Sri Lanka plans to open a $ 130 million fuel bunkering terminal with a capacity of 82,000 metric tonnes at its new Hambantota port in May, the island nation’s Ports Authority said on Friday. Hambantota, which opened in November, is set to be Sri Lanka’s biggest port once completed and give the Indian Ocean country access to traffic on one of the world’s biggest East-West shipping lanes, located a few kilometres off its southern coast.

“We will start bunkering in May,” Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Chairman Priyath Wickrama, told Reuters.

“Our target is to reach 4 million tonnes storage, with bulk transhipments.” China Exim Bank has loaned $ 77 million toward the cost of the terminal, which the Ports Authority will operate. China has loaned Sri Lanka the bulk of the money to build the $ 1.5 billion port.

The Ports Authority has said China would have no operational role in the bunker terminal, the only part of the port not open to external investment. Sri Lankan bunker firms want the government to open up to the private sector ship fuel supplies at a new port on the south coast close to the main shipping route, officials said.

The market for ship fuel can be expanded as hundreds of vessels daily sail past the new Hambantota port which was opened last November, they said.

The Hemas group has announced it plans to start bunkering operations at Hambantota in May and is buying four bunker barges. The SLPA has said bunkering will not be opened to private suppliers in Hambantota as it wants to keep the business for itself to earn revenue on ship fuel sales to help repay loans from China taken to build the port. But Sri Lankan bunker firms are lobbying for the bunker business to be opened to the private sector, saying increased competition and efficiency will expand the market.

Sri Lanka Shipping, one of the eight licensed bunker suppliers in Colombo port, has already submitted a proposal to the SLPA to sell ship fuel in Hambantota when it invited investments for industries in the new port.

"We submitted a proposal to supply bunkers under port services," said managing director Mohamed Reza. "We're waiting for a response."

Port operators usually do not get involved in supplying ship fuel which is left to the private sector in other ports, he said.

"People have to go in there and invest and start marketing and offer efficient services at competitive prices to build a market."

Bunker sales at Colombo port increased after a private sector monopoly was broken and more suppliers allowed with prices also falling. Another supplier, Lanka IOC, the local unit of Indian Oil Corp., is also eyeing bunkering at Hambantota.

"We're extremely keen to do bunkering at Hambantota," LIOC managing director K R Suresh Kumar said.

"We see a lot of potential as it is a strategic location which can attract ocean going vessels on the East-West shipping route. We've conveyed our interest to the authorities and hope everyone will get an opportunity along with the SLPA."

Suresh Kumar said the SLPA can earn revenue by hiring bunker fuel storage tanks now under construction to the private sector which can do the marketing and selling.

"It is not necessary for the entire marketing of bunkers to be handled by the SLPA. By allowing more players the business can expand."

Irshad Mushin, director of maritime transportation of Hemas group which is expanding investments in shipping, said private bunker firms could use their global networks to attract ships to take bunkers at Hambantota.

"A proper strategic approach to bunkering needs suppliers who have global networks like bunkering in hubs like Singapore, Fujairah and Rotterdam," he said.

"They have long-term contracts with shipping lines with fleets of big vessels like bulk carriers and oil tankers which take on very large volumes of fuel."

Such an approach would help the port to capture a bigger market for ship fuel than attracting casual callers looking to top up on fuel at the closest port while passing the island.

"While the tank farm is being built the possibility or feasibility of using floating storage should be looked at until the farm is completed," Mushin said.

GERMAN CARGO VESSEL(MARIDA MARGUERITE) HAS BEEN RELEASED AFTER RANSOM TO SOMALI HIJACKERS

2010-12-27T18:06:00.008+04:00

Somali pirates have released a German-operated cargo ship after receiving a 5.5-million-dollar ransom, the leader of the pirate group said Monday.

'We have received our money after a plane dropped it by parachute this morning,' Khalif Dahir, who said he was the leader of the group that seized the ship, told the German Press Agency DPA by telephone. 'Our people are leaving the ship and it will be released this evening.'

Pirates seized control of the Marshall Islands-flagged Marida Marguerite and its crew of 19 Indians, two Bangladeshis and one Ukrainian off Oman's coast on May 8. Piracy is rife off the coast of lawless Somalia, where over 25 ships and 601 hostages are being held, according to the European Union's anti-piracy force.

Analysts said merchant shipping faced mounting costs. Some shipping companies and a growing number of mariners are backing the use of private armed guards on board vessels. Armed Maritime security Transits are available at leading Somali Piracy ports including Mombasa(Kenya), Dar Es Salaam(Tanzania), Nacala/Beira(Mozambique) and Durban(South Africa. If you need those services, Please send us an e-mail at : africanshippingdubai@gmail.com

"The number of hijackings is increasing, and insurers will presumably have to charge more in order to be able to financially absorb the greater cost of claims," said John Drake, senior risk consultant with AKE Ltd.

"We are now not opposed to the use of armed guards on ships," said Andrew Linington, with seafarers' union Nautilus International adding that "With this massive expansion of piracy areas, it becomes more essential that seafarers have some form of protection. There is only so much naval forces are able to do."

Despite successful efforts to quell attacks in the Gulf of Aden, international naval forces have struggled to contain piracy in the Indian Ocean owing to the vast distances involved. This has led to mounting worries among ship owners and seafarers who feel their lives are in the firing line as pirates launch increasingly violent attacks.

"The threat to seafarers who have to run a gauntlet of small arms fire and risk of capture and incarceration is unacceptable," said Peter Hinchliffe, secretary general of the International Chamber of Shipping, which represents about 80 percent of the global industry.

MAERSK LINE, MSC AND CMA-CGM JOIN TO FIGHT SOMALI PIRACY

2010-12-15T17:45:00.008+04:00

Many International shipping Lines are considering the use of armed maritime security while plying the Piracy infested Somali Waters and just recently Maersk Line, CMA CGM and MSC decided to unite to draw attention to the continued threat of piracy. The carriers intend to swap ideas about how best to tackle the problem, which is likely to worsen as the monsoon season comes to an end.

With no sign that piracy attacks are likely to recede, the three lines are hoping their combined voice will send out a clear message that more needs to be done to safeguard commercial shipping lanes. Maersk Line, MSC and CMA CGM also said that co-operation would include information exchange on safety measures, piracy policies and procedures as well as co-ordination to ensure the issue is addressed with all relevant stakeholders.

“Piracy continues to be a problem for the shipping industry and if we want to address it effectively, we as shipowners must co-operate,” the trio stated. Other lines will be welcome to join the initiative.

Maersk Line, being one of the biggest in the world has repeatedly been opposed to armed personnel on its ships while MSC is reviewing the situation after several piracy incidents.

“We do not have armed guards at the moment but we are considering their use, to protect our crew, the ship and the cargo,” MSC assistant operations manager Pasquale Ferraro said.

The three shipping Lines have also called for other steps to be taken, including creation of an effective regional coast guard and possible transit corridors to East Africa.

Sean Woollerson, a senior partner with Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group JLT, a firm that insures 14 per cent of the world’s commercial shipping fleet, told The Independent newspaper recently, “We are looking at setting up a private navy to escort vessels through the danger zones. We would have armed personnel with fast boats escorting ships and make it very clear to any Somali vessels in the vicinity that they are entering a protected area.

“At the moment there is a disconnect between the private security sector and the international naval force. We think we can help remedy that and place this force under the control of the multi-national force. We look after about 5,000 ships and have had 10 vessels taken in total, including a seizure where one crew member was shot and killed. Piracy is a serious problem, these are criminals basically extorting funds, so why not do something more proactive?” he says

Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) says the unprecedented “private navy” would work under the direct control of the military with clear rules of engagement valid under international law. Early discussions have also been held with the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Transport and the Foreign Office.

US PROVIDES BOATS TO TANZANIA IN AN ANTI-PIRACY DRIVE

2010-12-08T15:14:00.008+04:00

The United States government donated two state-of-the-art, 27-foot patrol boats to the Tanzanian navy, aimed to boost their ability to track and hunt down pirates from Somalia, who increasingly have been operating in Tanzanian waters off the coast in recent months.

Reports that some of the pirates have in fact made camp at remote locations along Tanzania’s Indian Ocean beaches have not been independently confirmed, but there are persistent rumors that at least in one location, near Lindi, a deserted camp was eventually discovered, which would explain how the hot pursuit of pirates in the waters off Lindi yielded nothing in the end.

While the Tanzanian navy had some limited successes in the past to capture pirates, a more robust approach is now needed from all the countries along the Eastern Indian Ocean seaboard, from Mozambique to Tanzania and Kenya, to more decisively engage pirates and more robustly combat them.

Among them are like the new private Maritime security escort Initiatives at the Kenyan Port of Mombasa covering Dar Es salaam, Nacala, Beira and Durban, Colombo and Salalah in the Indian Ocean. Many Shipping Lines are using the services available at the port of Mombasa and Durban. For more information, send a short e-mail message to us

Some shipping lines are said to be considering a withdrawal of their port calls in affected harbors due to the increased risks of traversing these Indian Ocean waters, which if found to be true, could set an alarming trend and make trade to and from Eastern Africa much more difficult and also costly.

The Seychelles, in comparison, has actively engaged the ocean terrorists and recorded several successful rescue missions and brought the Somalis to court in Victoria on piracy, terrorism, and related charges, unlike the UK navy which stood by watching the Chandlers being abducted, or other naval assets deployed by the international naval coalition watching captured vessels escape to pirate havens. Only now, and seemingly reluctantly, are the naval coalition vessels starting to use their superior equipment to retake captured ships while still at sea, as seen a few weeks ago when a ship was stormed and the terrorists arrested.

It was also ascertained that cruise tourism has indeed taken a major hit for this part of the Indian Ocean as more and more cruise lines have relocated their vessels to safer waters elsewhere, standing by, watching, and waiting until the situation has at last been brought under full control. Until then, however, the ports of Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam, Mombasa, Victoria, the Malagasy ports, and even those as far as Reunion and Mauritius will see less cruises arrive on their shores to the detriment of the respective tourism sectors and denying cruise travelers the opportunity to visit Eastern Africa.

MV ALBEDO HIJACKED BY PIRATES OFF THE COAST OF SOMALIA

2010-11-30T18:04:00.007+04:00

In the early hours of 26 November, Somali pirates hijacked a Malaysian-flagged ship with 23 crew members on board in the Indian Ocean the European Union’s anti-piracy task force said. The Kenya-bound MV Albedo, by the time of Hijack by Somali Pirates, was approximately 900 nautical miles East of Mogadishu (Somalia). The ship originated from the United Arab Emirates’ port town of Jebel Ali.

The Malaysian flagged and owned, with a crew of 23 (Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and Iranian) was carrying containers bound for Mombasa from Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). With MV ALBEDO, Somali pirates are currently holding 22 vessels with 521 hostages. It is now reported that, there were no Malaysians on board the ship.

The anti-piracy force (EUNAV) says Somalia has not had an effective government for 19 years, allowing piracy to flourish off its coast turning it into a perfect refuge for criminal gangs. Piracy has long been a problem in the Indian Ocean off Somalia.

On Aug 19, 2008, the Bunga Melati Dua, with 29 Malaysians and 10 Filipinos on board, was hijacked at 10.09pm. Then on Aug 29 that year, Bunga Melati Lima, with 36 Malaysians and five Filipinos on board, was hijacked in Yemeni waters at 9.50pm. The ships were released by Somali pirates after a ransom was paid.

Media reports claimed the MISC had paid US$2mil (RM6.9mil) for the release of each vessel.

Following these incidents, an international conference on piracy was organised by the Malaysian Government asking the United Nations to coordinate maritime force operations to suppress piracy off the coast of Somalia. Government officials and representatives of naval and shipping bodies who gathered for a two-day meeting organised by Wisma Putra, felt that successful mechanisms established by the littoral states of the Straits of Malacca must be adopted.

According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre helpline based in Kuala Lumpur, the ship’s exact location is also still unknown. While IMB confirmed there were no Malaysians on board, it declined to reveal details of the ship’s owner. IMB said that investigations were still ongoing. IMB also advised other ships to be on the alert for prirate attacks.

If you need those services, Please send us an e-mail at : africanshippingdubai@gmail.com
or call Mr. Ibrahim on +254.726.722.226 & +254.726.814.441 (24Hrs)

EU ANTI-PIRACY EFFORTS IN THE INDIAN OCEAN

2010-11-24T19:52:00.003+04:00

The European Union's anti-piracy naval force said Tuesday that they have caught 16 suspected Somali pirates in the past five days with the help of the Seychelles Coast Guard. Also on Tuesday, the Polish captain of an oil tanker said gun-wielding pirates boarded his ship and fired shots in an attempt to hijack the vessel, but failed to capture the ship in the attack off the coast of Oman.

The EU force said in a statement that the 16 suspected pirates were captured in two separate operations in the Indian Ocean on Saturday and Thursday last week. The operation involved the EU providing aerial surveillance and the Seychelles Coast Guard making the actual arrests. The Seychelles government said in a Monday statement that one of the suspected pirates died from wounds sustained during a gun fight. The statement said seven Seychellois fishermen were also rescued in the operation.

The statement also said Seychelles military aircraft were involved in the operation.

"These two operations have sent a clear message ... to the Somali pirates that are attacking our fishermen and our country; that you don't play around with Seychelles," said Seychelles' President James Michel on Monday.

The last time the Seychelles Coast Guard was involved in an anti-piracy operation was in March. The International Maritime Bureau has noted that pirates are shifting their attacks away from the Gulf of Aden, possibly to the vast Indian Ocean where Seychelles is located. The bureau's piracy reporting center has said attacks dropped to 44 between January and September, compared to 100 attacks during the same period last year. Patrols by an international flotilla of warships has helped ease attacks in the Gulf of Aden this year, said the bureau.

Further out to sea, Captain Jan Masny said the hijackers attacked the ship Sunday evening off Oman in the Arabian Sea.

Masny, speaking by phone from his ship, said watchmen spotted a skiff approaching their vessel and that everyone on board rushed into a steel-reinforced safe room. The Front Alfa, laden with crude oil, is continuing its journey to China. It is owned by Frontline, the world's largest oil tanker company.

Dag Christoffersen, managing director of V.Ships Norway, the company that manages the ship, said five pirates spent two hours trying in vain to break down the safe-room door. Eventually a Turkish warship and a French helicopter arrived to help the ship but by then the pirates had escaped, Christoffersen said. During the 12-hour ordeal, no one was in control of the ship. But the failure of the pirates to seize the officers meant they had no way to navigate the ship themselves since it is a massive and complicated vessel.

Somali pirates are holding at least 16 ships and more than 300 crew members captive for ransom. Somalia's lawlessness during the past 19 years has allowed piracy to thrive off its Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden coastlines.

SOMALI PIRACY IN THE INDIAN OCEAN

2010-11-22T20:22:00.011+04:00

The rising acts of piracy on the East African coast has ignited fears of the United Nations declaring the region’s waters a war-risk operation zone or dangerous for vessels to sail on, experts warn. They further warn that it could also lead to a spike in freight costs.
In the past two months, Somali pirates have intensified their activities which were once more prevalent in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, but are now common in the Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique territorial waters.

For your information, You can now request for armed maritime security escort from Mombasa-Kenya or at any of the following connecting ports at a short notice by sending a short e-mail message to us

Mombasa (Kenya)
Durban (Republic of South Africa)
Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)
Nacala/Beira (Mozambique)
Mukalla/Hodeidah (Yemen)
Salalah (Oman)
Colombo (Srilanka and Sub Continent)

According to statistics from East Africa Seafarers Assistance programme (SAP) office, over 40 vessels have been attacked on Kenya’s territorial waters in the past two months. The Kenya Ships Agents Association executive officer Capt. Fredrick Wahutu warned that should the trend persist, the international naval force protecting vessels will be overstretched causing their mission to become untenable. In such a case, he said, the United Nations will be forced to declare the region a war-risk operation zone or Dangerous waters to sail on.

“Should piracy escalate, most shipping lines could pull out and the International Workers Union could push for an inflated pay rise for the crew, who are already in short supply in the region,” said Mr Wahutu.

Experts estimate that the region’s shipping industry is absorbing an extra cost of Ksh16.2 billion ($200 million) due to piracy at the Gulf of Eden, and any additional cost would be unbearable to the region’s seaborne trade. According to SAP, shippers using the port of Mombasa are paying an additional $95 when importing a 20- foot container and an extra $15 for every tonne of oil and bulk grain cargo imported. The Mombasa and Dar es Salaam ports are now among the most expensive harbours in the world due to acts of piracy on the Somali coast. This has eroded the region’s exports’ competitiveness on the international markets.

SAP’s programme coordinator Andrew Mwangura says said most vessels that have been attacked in the past three months were either headed to the port of Mombasa or leaving for either Dar es Salaam or Maputo. “Such continual attacks are sending a wrong signal to ocean carriers that the Port of Mombasa is unsafe,” said Mr Mwangura.

Shippers are now being forced to spend more on fuel as vessels are opting for longer, safer routes. Currently, vessels heading to Mumbai from Mombasa take 18 days up from 12 days, while those sailing from Dubai take 12 days up from seven. The Kenyan economy has continued to bear the brunt of piracy activities along the coast of Somali, which includes cost of detaining and prosecuting pirates captured by the foreign naval ships on international waters.

Piracy has also brought the once flourishing cruise ship tourism in the country to its knees. According to the Kenya Ports Authority, cruise ships arrival at the port of Mombasa has plummeted since November 2005 when the first cruise ship (MV Seaborne Spirit) was attacked by pirates en route from Mombasa .

“The annual figures that were standing at 40,000 cruise tourists then, have come down to just below 10,000. Also, over 110 fishing vessels that used to sail to Mombasa for port services every year have diminished to about 20,” said a ship chandler who did not want to be named.

He added: “Pirates have brought the war onto the door steps of the three nations — Kenya Tanzania and Mozambique. The governments of these countries must be proactive in stopping piracy; they cannot afford to sit and wait for assistance from the EU or US.”

TRADE NOTICE: 24 HOURS PIRACY REPORTING CENTRE

2010-11-10T19:35:00.006+04:00

If you wish to report an piracy incident or armed robbery in the sea please contact the 24-hour Piracy Reporting Centre:

Tel: + 60 3 2078 5763
Fax: + 60 3 2078 5769
Telex: MA34199 IMBPCI
E-mail: imbkl@icc-ccs.org

piracy@icc-ccs.org

24 Hours Anti Piracy HELPLINE Tel: + 60 3 2031 0014

or send us an e-mail to forward to the nearest information centre

africanshippingdubai@gmail.com

TRADE NOTICE: PRIVATE MARITIME SECURITY AGENCY AT MOMBASA PORT - KENYA(KENIA)

2010-11-08T14:22:00.016+04:00

With hundreds of Vessels on the mercy of Somalia Pirates, Ships being hijacked now and then, crews killed and sometime ransoms amounting to Million of US Dollars being paid to release vessels, Ship/Vessel Owners, Ship Charterers are advised that we do arrange for an International private Maritime Security Escorts with UK and US based reputable Maritime Security firms around the Indian Ocean/Somalia Piracy Zones indicated in the picture at a short notice in close agency cordination with AFRICAN SHIPPING LINE based at Mombasa Port - Kenya.

The Ports we had successful transits and which we provide Private Maritime security Escorts are as follows.

From Mombasa (KENYA) to:

Dar Es Salaam (TANZANIA)
Nacala (MOZAMBIQUE)
Beira (MOZAMBIQUE)
Durban (SOUTH AFRICA)
Port Elizabeth (SOUTH AFRICA)
HODEIDAH (YEMEN)
MUKALLA (YEMEN)
COLOMBO/GALLE

Incase you are planning to have Maritime armed security (on-board or in Flotillas), Please e-mail us on : africanshippingdubai@gmail.com

For more info: Please visit AFRICAN SHIPPING LINE or send us an e-mail : africanshippingdubai@gmail.com or call Mr. Ibrahim on +254.726.722226/+738.135883

SOMALIA PIRACY DEEPENS

2010-11-07T22:59:00.010+04:00

Somali pirates claim they have received $9.5 million in ransom from the owners of a South Korean supertanker they hijacked in April. The tanker was hijacked in the Indian Ocean in April. It was carrying crude oil worth £105million from Iraq to the US. The pirates have freed the ship together with its 24 crew members. South Korea’s foreign ministry confirmed Sunday the release from Hobyo, Somalia, of the 300,000-ton Samho Dream the previous day but did not say how much ransom was paid. A South Korean naval ship is escorting the Samho Dream, which is returning home.

In April, the supertanker was sailing from Iraq to the U.S. with 2 million barrels of oil valued at $170 million when it was seized by pirates in the Indian Ocean. The pirates demanded $20 million in exchange for releasing the ship and its five South Korean and 19 Filipino crew members. Somali pirates have released two vessels they've held for several months, apparently after ransoms were paid, officials and news agencies reported Saturday.

Meanwhile, Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, said the Singapore-registered petroleum and chemical tanker Golden Blessing was also released by Somali pirates. The ship with 19 Chinese sailors on board was hijacked in June in the Gulf of Aden while sailing from India to Saudi Arabia. On June 28, pirates hijacked the Golden Blessing, with 19 Chinese sailors onboard. They took control of the vessel, which flew under the Singapore flag, about 60 nautical miles off the northern coast of Somalia. The 14,445-ton tanker, carrying a load of glycol ethylene, was released Saturday, according to the European Union Naval Force Somalia (EUNAVFOR). EUNAVFOR provided no other details.

There were conflicting numbers on the paid ransom, but Andrew Mwangura, programs co-ordinator of the Kenya-based Seafarers Assistance Programme, said it was less than $7 million. China's transport agency, however, said on its website that the MV Golden Blessing had been "rescued."

Somali pirates have received £7.6million to release two ships. They are believed to have been paid a record £5.8million for a South Korean tanker and £1.7million for a vessel from Singapore. "We are now counting our cash," a pirate who gave his name as Hussein told reporters. "Soon we shall get down from the ship."

Somali pirates captured the Samho Dream about 600 nautical miles (690 miles, 1,111 km) north of the Somali coast -- 300 nautical miles (345 miles, 556 km) outside the area in which EUNAVFOR operates. The Combined Maritime Forces -- a cooperative effort by several countries to patrol international waters has warned that pirates in the Somali Basin and Gulf of Aden are venturing further from their home waters, "revealing their desperation to find easier commercial targets."

The 300,000-ton Samho Dream was seized in the Indian Ocean while en route to the United States from Iraq. The ship was carrying five South Korean and 19 Philippine crew members along with about $170 million worth of oil. The freed vessel is now en route to Louisiana, Mwangura said.

A private navy escorts vessels are available at Mombasa and Durban through the services of a private Maritime Security Company in conjunction with AFRICAN SHIPPING LINE based in Mombasa, Kenya and which has capabilities in Somalia Piracy zones.

As at the moment, Somali pirates currently hold at least 25 ships with hundred of crews.

IMB: SHIPS AT THE MERCY OF PIRATES OFF SOMALIA BASIN

2010-10-20T14:30:00.012+04:00

Somali pirates have intensified attacks away from their coast, a report published on Tuesday by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) says. The report says Somali pirates were responsible for 44 per cent of the 289 piracy incidents on the world’s seas in the first nine months of 2010.

This comes in the wake of two vessels being hijacked off Kenyan coast in the past 10 days. A Japanese vessel was hijacked at 80 neutical miles last week while a South Korean ship was hijacked just 10 miles off Kenyan coast on October 9.

The Japanese Mv Izumi, with 20 crew members all Philippine nationals, was headed to Mombasa at the time of hijack. The South Korean vessel mv Golden Wave, whose crew included 39 Kenyans, was hijacked while fishing in shallow waters. The two vessels are reportedly being taken to Haradheere, the ‘pirates’ capital’.

The gangs have not made public their ransom demands, according to East Africa Seafarers programme coordinator Andrew Mwangura. “Carrying out 35 of the 39 ship hijackings worldwide in the first nine months of 2010, Somali pirates used fishing vessels to reach as far as the southern Red Sea, where they hijacked a chemical tanker in July, the first such hijacking recorded in the area,” the report says.

For your information, You can now request for armed maritime security escort from Mombasa-Kenya or at any of the following connecting ports at a short notice by sending a short e-mail message to us

Mombasa (Kenya)
Durban (Republic of South Africa)
Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)
Nacala/Beira (Mozambique)
Mukalla/Hodeidah (Yemen)
Salalah (Oman)
Colombo (Srilanka and Sub Continent)

IMB says worldwide figures show that in the past nine months, pirates boarded 128 ships and fired at 52 while 70 vessels thwarted attacks. Pirates used guns in 137 incidents and knives in 66, killing one crew member, injuring 27 and taking 773 hostages. “Globally, the number of vessels hijacked was higher than the 34 recorded in the same period last year, despite a slight fall in the number of piracy incidents, down from 306 in the first nine months of 2009,” adds the report. And although attacks reduced in the Gulf of Aden from a high of 100 in 2009 to 44 this year due to the presence of international navies at the Gulf, pirates dared out and successfully carried out attacks more than 1,000 neutical miles from Somalia.

IMB said navies from around the world helped prevent several attacks. Despite a fall in the number of attacks in this piracy hotspot, the level of hijackings remained similar to that of last year. “The navies in the Gulf of Aden and the Somali basin have to be once again commended because increased intelligence gathering coupled with strategic placement of naval assets has resulted in the targeting of suspected Pirate Action Groups before they become operational,” said Captain Pottengal Mukundan, IMB director. “However, this is a vast area and the navies cannot realistically cover it,” he added.

PIRATES FREE "GREEK VESSEL" MV VOC DAISY

2010-10-18T15:36:00.008+04:00

Above : A South Korean-operated, Singapore-owned Samho Dream supertanker, seized by Somali pirates last year, is seen in this undated handout. A South Korean fishing boat with 43 people on board has been seized by Somali pirates off the Kenyan coast, the foreign ministry said Sunday, the latest vessel to be captured by the bandits.

Latest Somali Piracy reports indicate that Somali pirates have released a Greek-operated vessel and its crew of 21 Filipino seamen following the payment of a ransom, the maritime watchdog Ecoterra International reported Monday.

Just earlier on, A South Korean fishing boat with 43 people on board has been seized by Somali pirates off the Kenyan coast, the foreign ministry said Sunday, the latest vessel to be captured by the bandits. The 241-ton crab fishing vessel, which was carrying two South Koreans, two Chinese and 39 Kenyans, was hijacked on October 9 in the Indian Ocean off the Kenyan island of Lamu, the ministry said in a statement.

It is the latest of dozens of vessels to have been captured by pirates off the Horn of Africa in recent years, threatening international shipping and trade as a new Maritime Security "Private Navy" has been launched in Mombasa-Kenya in conjunction with AFRICAN SHIPPING LINE based in Mombasa - Kenya.

"We are investigating the exact circumstances surrounding the incident by setting up an emergency team at our embassy in Kenya," the ministry said, without revealing the whereabouts of the vessel or crew.

YTN news channel reported that the fishing boat, Keummi 305, and its crew had been taken to a pirate stronghold in northern Somalia, citing South Korean sources in Kenya. Yonhap news agency reported that the 54-year-old captain, one of the South Koreans aboard, was also the head of the shipping company that owns the vessel. The company, Keummi Fishers, has been on the verge of collapse due to financial troubles, which will further complicate ransom negotiations, it said.

"The company has been sitting on piles of debt... we are clueless on how to resolve this," said a company official quoted by Yonhap. The official said the pirates have not yet contacted the firm.

Piracy has surged in recent years off Somalia, a lawless, war-torn country that sits astride one of the world's most important shipping routes, leading to the Suez Canal. Dozens of ships have been hijacked and held for ransom, notably the Sirius Star, a Saudi-owned supertanker that is more than 1,000 feet long. The pirates are estimated to have made 60 million dollars in ransoms last year.

Foreign naval powers, including a joint European Union force and the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, have mounted patrols off the Horn of Africa in a multinational effort to try to secure the area, with some success. South Korea is one of the countries involved in the effort. But the pirates, often operating in small, fast boats from a larger "mother ship", have been able to seize boats hundreds of miles offshore, as far east as the Maldives and as far south as Mozambique.

In April a South Korean oil tanker with 24 crew on board was hijacked by pirates off Somalia and is still being held. The 300,000-ton ship, the Samho Dream, was on its way from Iraq to the US state of Louisiana with a crew of five South Koreans and 19 Filipinos. Since 2006 at least two other South Korean vessels have been seized and released after ransoms were paid.

The Panama-flagged, Liberian-owned MV VOC Daisy, which was hijacked on April 21 in the Gulf of Aden "has now been confirmed to sail free", said Ecoterra, an environmental NGO monitoring regional maritime activity. "The vessel is now sailing to Salalah in Oman and all 21 Filipinos are well, given the circumstances," Ecoterra added.

The watchdog said the bulk carrier has been free since at least Saturday following the delivery of a ransom "by a vessel believed to belong to a Greek security company operating in the area with two ships." Following the ship's release and weekend confirmation that Somali pirates had seized a Korean fishing vessel earlier this month, the number of foreign ships currently held for ransom stands at 25, according to Ecoterra. October is traditionally a busy month for Somalia's marauding pirate gangs, who take advantage of calm weather between monsoon seasons to hunt some of the thousands of vessels plying the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.

Naval powers have deployed dozens of warships to patrol the region's waters but they have failed to stem piracy, one of the few thriving businesses for coastal communities in a country devastated by war and poverty.

PIRACY ATTACK MV IZUMI ALONG SOMALI BASIN

2010-10-12T16:13:00.014+04:00

Ransom-seeking Somali pirates seized on Sunday 20 Filipino sailors on board a Japanese vessel, bringing to 101 the total number of Philippine seafarers being held in the Gulf of Aden. An initial information from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB)’s Piracy Reporting Center in Kuala Lumpur showed the Filipino crew were taken hostage. “Normally, pirate activity picks up off the Africa coast when the South West monsoon recedes. We are monitoring the situation after the attack on the ship but won’t be able to give more details at the moment," Cyrus Mody of the IMB said in an article posted on United Arab Emirates news site Khaleej Times Tuesday.

A private navy escorts vessels are available at Mombasa and Durban through the services of a maritime Security Company and AFRICAN SHIPPING LINE based in Mombasa-Kenya and who have the capabilities in Somalia Piracy zones.

A Danish warship was dispatched to investigate after the owners of the Panama-flagged merchant vessel Izumi received a distress signal Sunday indicating it was likely under pirate attack, the EU naval force said. "In the early hours of October 11 the captain of the vessel made contact with the Danish warship, stating that pirates were in charge of the MV Izumi," the EU mission said in a statement. Khaleej Times quoted the Japanese transport ministry as saying the Panama-flagged ship named Izumi, was operated by NYK-Hinode Line Ltd.

It said the ship was carrying a cargo of steel and was heading for Mombasa. In a later report, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said a European Union naval force, which regularly conducts patrol in the area, immediately dispatched a Danish and French warship to track the MV Izumi after receiving a distress call from the hijacked ves

sel.

French warship FS FLOREAL is now monitoring the pirated vessel which is presently 170 nautical miles South of Mogadishu, it said. It added that it is coordinating with the local manning agency of the vessel to secure the safe and early release of the seafarers. The DFA said it has also instructed the Philippine embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Tokyo to keep track of the negotiations being undertaken by the vessel’s principal, Fair Field Shipping Corp. Manila likewise reported the incident to the United States-led international maritime security task force in Manama, Bahrain.

Japan assured the Philippine government that it will help secure Filipino seafarers against pirates in the Gulf of Aden through the dispatch of vessels and maritime patrol air crafts. Filipinos account for 70 percent or 30,000 seafarers manning Japanese vessels, the DFA said. On June 19, 2009, Japan’s Diet passed the Anti-Piracy Measures Law, which penalizes acts of piracy and provides for measures to enable the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to protect commercial ships, both Japanese and non-Japanese, from pirates operating off the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden.

The Philippines is the world’s leading supplier of ship crew with over 350,000 sailors, or about a fifth of the world’s seafarers, manning oil tankers, luxury liners, and passenger vessels worldwide, exposing them to piracy attacks. As a policy, the Philippine government does not negotiate nor pay ransom to kidnappers, but gives ship owners the free hand in negotiating for the release of abducted Filipino sailors. The French warship FS Floreal is monitoring the pirated vessel, which was 170 nautical miles south of Mogadishu, other statements say.Japanese officials said the multi-purpose ship, owned by Japanese shipping company NYK-Hinode Line Ltd., had been surrounded by the pirates off Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa. The ship was carrying steel products and was scheduled to travel from Kimitsu port in suburban Tokyo to Singapore and Mombasa, the shipping company said in a statement. After boarding the Izumi, pirates were travelling in the direction of Somalia, Japan's Jiji Press reported, citing sources from the transport ministry.

"We don't know who the pirates are nor where they are from," said foreign ministry official Yasumasa Iijima, adding that contacts with Izumi were lost after the urgent message Sunday. Japanese officials said the ship weighs 14,162 tonnes but the EU mission reported a deadweight of 20,170 tonnes.

The EU mission said last week that Somali pirates were holding 17 ships with 369 hostages.The latest hijacking came as Japan increased efforts to counter piracy in international waters. Japan last year joined the United States, China and more than 20 other countries in the maritime operation against pirates who have attacked ships in the waters off the Horn of Africa, a key route leading to the Suez Canal. Tokyo has also dispatched two maritime surveillance aircraft and scores of military personnel to the region to beef up its anti-piracy mission.

SOMALIA PIRACY WATCH

2010-09-22T18:47:00.004+04:00

SDV TRANSAMI CONSTRUCTS A DRY PORT AT NAIROBI -KENYA

2010-09-21T14:37:00.008+04:00

An SDV Transami inland container depot at Embakasi, Nairobi on the Left.

A dry port terminal being constructed by logistics company SDV Transami is set for completion next month, easing congestion at the Mombasa port and saving traders costs associated with delays. The Port of Mombasa is already under pressure from increased trade in Kenya and neighbours Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi and the Great Lakes region.

“With Kenya’s growing economy, there is need for the Port of Mombasa to become more competitive by increasing its efficiency. The intention is to have the new terminal as a holding ground that will ease congestion there,” said Mr Tony Stenning, the SDV Transami regional managing director.

Since 2000, container traffic at the port has grown eight per cent annually, according to the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA). In 2007, the port handled 585,000 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (Teus) against an installed capacity of 250,000 Teus. Last year, the port handled over 620,000 Teus.

News of the completion of the Sh700 million terminal comes just weeks after the Kenya Ports Authority invited bids for the extension of berths at Mombasa port to enable the gateway handle larger vessels. Once the work is complete on berths 18 and 19, the port will simultaneously handle three ships measuring 760 metres, managing director Gichiri Ndua said.

Shipping firms have in the recent past been introducing surcharge due to delays at the port, which end up increasing the cost of doing business in Kenya. It is estimated that delays and corruption at the port add up to 30 per cent on consumer prices for imports. As a result, Tanzania has been selling the its facility in Dar es Salaam as an alternative route. A new measure to establish a dry port in Tororo, Uganda could also help ease congestion at the Port of Mombasa. The inland port will quicken cargo clearance at the Mombasa for goods bound for Uganda and the Great Lakes region.

“The port will significantly improve efficiency in cargo handling thereby reducing freight costs and demurrage occasioned by long delays,” said Mr Mohamed Jaffer of Great Lakes Ports.

HANJIN SHIPPING, UASC (UNITED ARAB SHIPPING COMPANY) INTRODUCE WEST AFRICAN SERVICE

2010-09-20T12:43:00.005+04:00

Hanjin Shipping together with UASC (United Arab Shipping Company) have introduced a West Africa Service early this year connecting Africa with Europe ports of Valencia. Hanjin is Korea's largest and one of the world’s top ten container carriers that operates some 60 liner and tramper services around the globe transporting over 100 million tons of cargo annually. Its fleet consists of some 200 containerships, bulk and LNG carriers. Hanjin Shipping has a comprehensive global business network with 4 regional headquarters, 200 overseas branch offices, and 30 local corporations.

Named WAF (West Africa Service), this new service will be running between Valencia, Lagos, Cotonou, Tema and Abidjan with 2 of 1,700TEU class ships, 1 deployed by Hanjin Shipping and the other by UASC.

Hanjin Shipping comments that the introduction of WAF will not only enable the company to expand its presence in Africa, one of the world’s fastest growing markets, but also to better service quality by extending the scope of its service range. In addition, Hanjin Shipping reveals that they are planning to change the calling port from Valencia to Algeciras this coming April, in accordance with the opening of the company’s new dedicated terminal in the region, which is expected to become a new logistics hub in the Mediterranean and West African regions for Hanjin Shipping.

Meanwhile, Hanjin Shipping is continuing to seek opportunities to cooperate with partner carriers in service-launching and more in order to satisfy the various needs of its customers.

WAF (West Africa) Service

Port Rotation: Valencia → Lagos → Cotonou → Tema → Abidjan → Valencia

Vessel Deployed: 1,700TEU X 2 (HJS X 1, UASC X 1)

EVERGREEN, OOCL AND SIMATECH SHIPPING TO LAUNCH SOUTHEAST ASIA-MIDDLE EAST LINER SERVICE

2010-08-10T20:48:00.005+04:00

New Asia Africa Container Lines are envisaged everyday as business is booming between Asia and Africa countries even as Evergreen Line, Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) and Simatech Shipping have agreed to operate a new joint Southeast Asia-India-Middle East liner service beginning on August 20, 2010. Previously, AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES in co-ordination with various Lines and NVOCC's have grouped to initiate a cross ASIA-AFRICA CONTAINER LINES.

The partners have agreed to operate the AGI service with five 2,700 TEU ships. The Evergreen vessel LT Genova will initiate the service from Laem Chabang departing on August 20. Evergreen, OOCL and Simatech have entered the new service to meet growing trade demand between ASEAN nations, India, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. The AGI service will shorten transit times and enhance the shipping network in the region.

The ASEAN-Gulf-ISC (AGI) service will have the following port rotation with a 35-day voyage.

Laem Chabang – Singapore – Tanjung Pelepas - Port Klang – Colombo – Jebel Ali – Karachi – Mundra – Colombo – Port Klang – Singapore – Laem Chabang

African Shipping Line at Mombasa-Kenya are ship agents at both Mombasa (Kenya) and Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania) ports for various other shipping Line connecting Asia Africa Shipping Line routes.

CHINA KEEN ON INVESTMENT & SHIPPING IN KENYA TANZANIA

2010-08-10T20:40:00.009+04:00

China will finance the building of a second port in Kenya, a transport corridor connecting South Sudan and the upgrading of a railroad linking Kenya's Mombasa port and the Ugandan capital, a statement said Wednesday.

Kenya is a gateway to East Africa and a key focus of China's trade and economic cooperation with the African continent. The war-free country with stable political situation made Kenya an ideal regional base for Chinese investors to expand their business in Africa.

China has had a long involvement with Africa, going back to the early days of independence movements in the 1960s and before. But the current level and intent of China’s involvement is different. China’s principal interest in the continent is access to natural resources. But it is not its only interest. China’s economic interests are wider. China’s trade with Africa has risen sharply, from $10 billion in 2003 to $20 billion in 2004 and another 50 percent increase is expected in 2005. Chinese goods are flooding African markets, and – not so different from the United States – there has been growing concern in Africa about the effect on local industry. The primary focus is on textiles where the growth of Chinese exports constitutes a double whammy for Africa. Exports of Chinese textiles to Africa are undermining local African industry while the growth of Chinese exports to the United States is shutting down the promising growth of African exports in this field.

The road could provide a route to export Chinese oil from southern Sudan.

Recently, China's CNOOC (0883.HK) spudded a $26 million exploration well in northern Kenya on Wednesday that will be the deepest yet in a country that has searched in vain for commercial oil and gas deposits for decades.

The Boghal-1 well in Block 9 of the Anza Basin is the 32nd drilled in the east African nation, which hopes to capitalise on growing interest in the continent among explorers due to high oil prices and growing energy nationalism elsewhere.

MSC MV CHITRA COLLIDES WITH MV KHALIJIA 2 OFF MUMBAI

2010-08-10T14:37:00.007+04:00

The Panamanian-registered container ship MSC Chitra that had Saturday collided with the MV-Khalijia-II, a St. Kitts registered ship, tilts in the Arabian Sea, close to Mumbai, India, Monday, Aug 9, 2010. Indian coast guard ships and helicopters are working to try and contain an oil spill from the dangerously tilting container ship following the collision near Mumbai, a spokesman for India's defense ministry said Monday.

MSC Chitra had collided with MV Khalijia-111, about 10 kms off the Mumbai coast. Oil was leaking from two of the 12 tanks of MSC Chitra which had got damaged due to the collision. The two tanks could together hold 879 tonnes of oil, sources in the Coast Guard said. The accident caused the vessel to run aground and list heavily to one side. The ship had 2,262 tonnes of oil and up to 400 tonnes of it had leaked into the Arabian sea, threatening marine life and ecology along the Mumbai coastline including in the mangroves.

TANZANIA PORTS TO IMPROVE SERVICES : TPA

2010-08-07T15:48:00.004+04:00

The Dar-es-Salaam port is working on a major upgrade that could get rid of congestion, attract new business and position itself as “the harbour of choice” in the region.

This could see the Mombasa Port, also battling with congestion made worse by the post-election violence, face increased competition for business in the region.

A senior Tanzania Port Authority (TPA) says they have embarked on new strategies that would lead to increased container terminal capacity and the use of inland depots, optimimum use of the terminal capacity within the port and active participation of various stakeholders in the programmes to reduce dwell-time of cargo at the port.

Key long-term measures by the TPA include construction of multi-storey car park to leave space for container handling. This plan, according to Mr Rugaihuruza, is expected to be ready by the end of 2010.The port managers are also planning the construction of a new container terminal at Bagamoyo and two berths.

UGANDA COMISSIONS AN INLAND DRY PORT THROUGH KENYAN GREAT LAKES PORTS

2010-08-07T15:32:00.003+04:00

A Kenyan-based, Great Lakes Ports Ltd is setting up a Sh9.6 billion ($120 million) dry port in Tororo, Uganda bordering Malaba in Kenya to cut delays witnessed at the congested Port of Mombasa.

Great Lakes Ports Ltd has an agreement with the Government of Uganda for a 35-year lease from commencement of full operations and 10 years exclusivity licence. The firm is also building a $50 million handling facility at Changamwe, Mombasa where all sea-borne Ugandan goods will be passed through and later fed to the Inland Port at Tororo.

Countries like Rwanda and Congo that use Uganda as a transport route for their imports will also have their goods cleared at Tororo. Lengthy delays, double charges and damages including total loss of cargo at Mombasa port are some of the issues that have been raised by importers.

The reason for delays, they say is bureaucracy, congestion and levying of tariffs due to delays by shipping lines.

It is estimated that the cost of transportation from Mombasa to Kampala is four times more expensive than from Singapore to Mombasa. Usually when traders, for example those from Uganda, which is landlocked, fail to clear their goods from Mombasa, they are auctioned, making them lose outrightly.

The Kenya Ports Authority and Kenya Revenue Authority, on average, auction 600 containers per year. In money terms, it is about Sh12 billion. In terms of vehicles, an average of 900 units are auctioned annually.

FERTILIZER BEING DISCHARGED FROM MV SEAGREEN AT MOMBASA PORT

2010-08-07T15:23:00.005+04:00

The first consignment of 30,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer for a Kenyan Government farmers agency arrived at the port of Mombasa aboard the MV SEAGREEN last week.

The Vessel had to use a longer route to avoid piracy threats along the Somalia coastline.

The second consignment of 26,000 metric tonnes was still in the high seas and was expected to dock at Mombasa before the end of August.

LIVESTOCK SHIPPING FROM AFRICA

2010-07-18T20:44:00.009+04:00

Please be advised that we have 2 Livestock Vessels for Sale. Incase you need further Information, Call Africa Shipping Lines, Mr. Ibrahim on +254.726.722.226 & +254.726.814.441

Please indicate your Budget as well so that we look into your consideration.

Livestock shipment is not a new way of shipping. Livestock vessel started plying International water even before 1600's.

Seagoing vessels modified or purpose-built for the transportation of live animals. This are called Livestock Carriers. But subject to appropriate regulation, live animals may be transported as part of the cargo on various classes of ship. That particular method of transportation is more common on short sea crossings (e.g. ferries) and usually involves relatively small numbers of animals. Livestock carriers are those ships, which specialise exclusively in the transportation of large numbers of live animals together with their requirements for the voyage. (food, water, sawdust bedding, medication, etc.). Voyages on livestock carriers generally last from three days to three to four weeks.

Livestock shipment from Africa is gaining momentum to countries in the Middle East especially Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait. Some other countries like Egypt and Mauritius have high demand for Livestock used for meat processing and export.

Mombasa Port is currently a potential for Livestock shipment. Kenya has a high volume of livestock equivalent to 20 Million animals.

EXPORTS TO INDIA FROM KENYA

2010-06-30T13:13:00.007+04:00

Please be advised that we will be starting only FCL (Full Container Load) for cargo bound for India and Sub Continent specifically for the following destinations: Mombasa- Nhava Sheva(Mumbai) Mombasa- Chennai, Mombasa-Colombo.

Incase, you need to ship containers, cargo to those destinations, Please feel to contact our office on Switchboard at Tel: +254.726.722226 for more information.

HYAGREEVA SHIPPING LINES PVT LTD, CHENNAI, INDIA APPOINT US THEIR AGENTS IN OUR NETWORK ACROSS AFRICA

2010-04-08T14:37:00.008+04:00

African Shipping lines has been appointed the HYAGREEVA LINES, INDIA agent in our network across Africa. When we received their notice of Agency Appointment, we at AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES were elated.

There are few agencies that can boast of the success we have achieved over such a relatively short period of time and we hope to supplement the same in our agreement. A great deal of that success, in our opinion, must be directly attributed to our strong leadership and the sense of direction that we provide in the business of agency.

Thank you for your Co-operation and hope we succeed in our endevours.

NOTICE TO TRADE: CLEARING YOUR CARGO AT MOMBASA -KENYA

2010-03-07T18:30:00.017+04:00

African Shipping Lines Services Kenya Limited undertakes clearing of Cargo (Containers/ Break-bulk and Vehicles) plus offer for a dedicated transport solution at the Port of Mombasa en-route to the following Local and Transit points:

Kenya,
Uganda,
Tanzania,
South Sudan,
Rwanda,
Burundi
South Ethiopia
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Kindly be advised that, our professional Customs clearing department will forthwith be handling clearing of all kinds of goods including Foodstuffs (Rice, Sugar, Milk), Textiles, Clothes, shoes, Electronics, perfumes, Travel accesories, cosmetics, Hardware(Spare parts,Machines,Tiles), Furnitures, Tyres, and many more cargo once you submit your Bill of Lading to our staff at our offices. Transport to your doorstep will be provided at costs.

The management advises however that, It is preferable to deal directly with our office at Ambalal, Mombasa-Kenya which offers other integrated facilities like Logistics and transport services up to the clients door-step. This is to avoid delays and loses caused by dealing with third parties and brokers.

You can Call Mr. Ibraheem on Mobile +254.726.722226/+254.738.135883 or Call our office +254.41.2315622, E-mail: aslkenya@ymail.com

Thank you,

MOL ANNOUNCES NEW INDIAN BOUND ROUTES

2010-03-07T18:07:00.006+04:00

Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), the Japanese owned container shipping line have announced more changes to their schedules. This time they have called the new route “SMX” and the service will run on a loop between Laem Chabang, Singapore, Port Kelang, and Chennai with the inaugural sailing of the 162 metre 18,000 DWT vessel MOL Evolution on the 23rd March from the Thai port.

MOL have been thorough in reassessing their sailing schedules in the light of particularly difficult times for the container shipping industry and believe that the SMX route will enable customers to use the network to offer a wide variety of both inbound and outbound services to meet rising demands in this region which the company has said it feels to be a major developing market.

The SMX service rotation will be:

Laem Chabang (Tue, Wed), Singapore (Fri, Sat), Port Kelang (Sun, Mon), Chennai (Fri, Sat), Penang (Wed, Thur), Port Kelang (Thur, Fri), Singapore (Sat, Sun), Laem Chabang

CHINA WILL FIGHT SOMALI PIRACY

2010-01-29T13:48:00.004+04:00

China has agreed to join an international naval operation to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia.China has been focusing on protecting its own shipping in the area, but it will now join the naval forces of the US, Nato and the European Union.

This grouping, the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (Shade), protects a shipping corridor in the western Indian Ocean.This is the area where pirate attacks are most frequent.Members of the international naval task force say that although attacks there have increased, fewer have been successful.

China's economic growth coupled with demand for Chinese goods in Africa has seen Chinese Shipping Lines expand their business in the east coast of Africa. Chinese Manufacturers use China Container Lines to move their cargo to the interiors of Kenya and Tanzania.

PIRACY REMAINS A THREAT AT INDIAN OCEAN

2009-12-31T12:49:00.003+04:00

Striking into the heavily patrolled Gulf of Aden, Somali pirates seized a British-flagged chemical tanker -- the first merchant vessel to be hijacked there in nearly six months, the same day that a ship was taken by brigands in the Indian Ocean, officials said yesterday.

The double hijacking late Monday shows that, a year after an international naval armada began deploying off Somalia to protect shipping, piracy remains a problem. Monday's attacks occurred more than 1,000 miles apart, indicating the wide range of territory prowled by pirates and underscoring the difficulty of policing such a large area. Cmdr. John Harbour, the spokesman for the European Union's anti-piracy force, said the seizures were likely only a coincidence and not coordinated because several pirate bands operate in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.

"Most of the time we are able to disrupt them, but sadly they were successful taking two ships at once. It's not the first time they've taken two ships at once," Cmdr. Harbour said. EU officials believe about 1,000 Somalis are involved in the piracy trade.

Somali pirates have hijacked more than 80 ships in the past two years, with many of the hijackings earning the pirates multi-million-dollar ransoms.

MV VOGE TRUST TILTS AT MOMBASA-KENYA

2009-12-04T13:15:00.005+04:00

Rapid response by the Kenya Navy and Kenya Ports Authority on Thursday averted an ecological disaster after stabilising an oil tanker that was listing at the Mombasa port.

The 6.30 am sent the Port of Mombasa into a state of panic after the Monrovian flagged vessel started listing at the Mbaraki wharf.

It’s understood that the vessel is carrying 35,000 metric tonnes of diesel.

Fears of ecological disaster has gripped Kenya as an oil tanker listed in the Indian Ocean off the coastal city of Mombasa, news agencies reported. Officials confirmed on Thursday that the Monrovian flagged MV Voge Trust vessel started listing dangerously at the Likoni Channel of the Mombasa port. Eyewitnesses said the vessel which was approaching the port of Mombasa at about 0400 GMT tilted heavily to one side, sparking fears of an ecological disaster.

“The ship was headed for the KOT to deposit oil when it developed technical challenges in the middle of the channel way, but we have managed to contain the situation,” Authorities said.

Eye witnesses say the vessel tilted heavily to one side as it approached the port. They saw smoke coming from the rear of the ship. Crews on the ship immediately dropped anchor to avert further listing.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

2009-11-18T17:11:00.004+04:00

OUR MISSION:
To set world class standards in the cargo sector through providing a diverse range of high quality services that cover land, sea, air and land sea cargo whilst ensuring true benefits to employees, striving to satisfy consumers and serving the community.

OUR VISION:
To be a Global Leader in the cargo and transportation sector, dedicated to providing the best services with the highest standard of quality and to be a Role Model for all cargo companies worldwide. Our satisfied clients have always experienced growth in their various sectors due to the mutual importance we put in their work. We provide an easy access for our clients to make it easy for them to do shipping with us. To provide high quality and cost effective services to our clients and sustain Shipping Business in Africa with the rest of the World!

MOMBASA PORT PRIVATIZATION "PUT ON HOLD"

2009-11-18T12:37:00.005+04:00

The government has put on hold the planned privatisation programme at Mombasa port to seek consensus among stakeholders opposed to the move.

The chairman of the privatisation commission Prof Peter Kimuyu said that although privatisation was crucial in order to make the port competitive in the region it was necessary, also, to develop consensus with stakeholders for the project to succeed.

The ministry of labour has also stepped in with the chief industrial relations officer at the ministry appointed a conciliator on October 19, to arbitrate the trade dispute between the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Dock Workers Union (DWU).

The privatisation commission was due to select a firm that would develop and implement the privatisation proposal. Four firms have so far submitted tenders for the consultancy job: local audit firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers; CPCS Transcorm Ltd; HPC Hamburg Port Consulting GmbH and; Maritime and Transport Business Solutions.

The DWU are demanding for a new programme to be formulated by the privatisation commission and published subject to discussion and agreement by the DWU and KPA.

THE SEA PIRACY IN EAST COAST OF AFRICA MUST BE TACKLED

2009-11-08T23:29:00.005+04:00

Suspected Somali sea pirates have seized a Greek cargo ship with its Ukrainian and Philippine crew off the east African country of Tanzania Thursday, Greek port police said. The MV Delvina, which had a cargo of wheat, was heading for Mombasa, Kenya from the Mediterranean when it was captured 280 nautical miles east of the Tanzanian coast.

It is understood that, they have now extended their attacks as far as syschelles 700 miles into the Indian Ocean where even the International Navies including US Navy, The NATO ships stationed can't control them. This is a disaster for trade into Eastern Africa and the world must assist in handling the situation before it gets out of hand.

NOTE ON RO-RO SHIPMENT TO KENYA AND UGANDA

2009-11-02T15:58:00.005+04:00

Three foreign companies have been contracted to inspect vehicles destined for Uganda before shipment, starting this month. By hiring them, the Uganda National Bureau of Standards hopes to curb increasing volumes of substandard used cars in the market.

The agencies that won a five-company international competitive bidding process include the Japan Export Vehicle Inspection Centre, (which will inspect vehicles from Japan, United Kingdom, South Africa, Singapore and other countries, apart from the United Arab Emirates. The company has branches in these countries. Other agencies are: Jabal Kilimanjaro Auto Elect Mechanic and Paints Company, which will inspect all vehicles originating from the United Arab Emirates; and East Africa Auto-Mobile Services, which will also inspect vehicles coming from the United Arab Emirates.

The companies will charge varying inspection fees. For instance, vehicles from Japan, Singapore, UK, South Africa and Dubai will attract fees of $145, $180, 125 pounds, R160 and $125, respectively.

Any vehicle imported into Uganda without certification will be subjected to a penalty of 15 per cent of the cost insurance and freight (CIF) value and then sent for inspection. The Bureau of Standards said the companies have already apprised auction houses and relevant authorities in the export countries of the new procedures.

“Any vehicle being shipped from any part of the world must be inspected and a certificate of conformity issued. It does not matter whether the importer is an individual or a company,” said Patrick Sekitoleko, quality assurance manager of the standards bureau.

Most of the vehicles imported into Uganda are from the Middle East, Japan or Europe.

Unfortunately, some are in dangerous mechanical conditions and are imported without following proper procedures. The move is the first of the bureau’s new programme of pre-export verification of conformity (PVoC) to cover all imported goods. The PVoC will detail the condition, accessories, structural, functional and mechanical integrity of used vehicles destined to Uganda.

In Kenya, the age of the vehicle is the parameter used to control importation. Vehicles older than eight years are not allowed into the country. The inspecting companies will be based in the countries of origin.

They will inspect the vehicles and issue certificates of conformity to those that meet the standards.
There will also be an accompanying report attesting to the inspection. The Certificate of Conformity is a mandatory clearance document that all imported vehicles must have. The documents will be tamperproof. The bureau has been carrying out destination inspection where goods are inspected on arrival at the ports of entry. The inspection has been largely successful, despite implementation challenges like delayed clearance of imports at the ports of entry. Most products must be sampled and tested before they are released into the market. With the PVoC, delays at ports of entry are expected to reduce. The PVoC will benefit the importer, the country and the buyers.

For the first time, professional independent assessment of vehicles’ overall conditions prior to export will be done. The move will also curb importation of stolen vehicles into the country. The Bureau of Standards has been battling with importers of substandard products at the ports of entry.
Some importers, fearful of losing business, have resorted to of coercing, intimidating and enticing inspectors to clear their substandard goods.

Some simply abandon such goods at the ports and change their business names to avoid being blacklisted.

THE FUTURE OF THE MOMBASA PORT AND THE KENYA MARITIME OVERHAUL

2009-10-17T23:09:00.003+04:00

International firms have shown interest in the management of Mombasa port even as it emerges that a recently enacted law denies them a stake in the venture. The government has already started the process of privatising the port. A study to determine which sections of the facility should be handed over to private hands is in the offing. The move is expected to increase efficiency at the port, which serves five countries in the region.

Although the firms interested in bidding are expected to have huge capital outlays as port management is a capital intensive affair, the Merchant shipping Act (MSA) bars shipping lines from involvement in any other business in the country’s transport and logistics supply chain, a provision which could lock them out.

“We still don’t understand why the section was inserted at the last minute. One could read mischief in the sense that someone wanted to lock out shipping lines from competition in the port privatisation tendering process,” said a manager of a shipping line who did not want to be named.

The Privatisation Commission of Kenya has already started the process of identifying a consultant who will advise the government on which part of the port should be privatised.

“The firm would advise us on which areas should be privatised because, as you should realise, the government has privatised some of its parastatals yet we don’t get the desired efficiency,” said Transport minister Chirau Mwakwere.

DP World has already indicated that it would like to take over the management of the Mombasa container terminal if it goes up for privatisation.

Mr Anil Singh of DP World reportedly said that the firm was awaiting the completion of a study into the future of the port, by Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), which would propose the extent of private sector concessions on offer.

“We would want to be involved sooner rather than later. We have been waiting for an indication,” said Mr Singh.

The debate over whether to transfer control of Mombasa port to a private operator has raged for at least five years.

But the government doesn’t seem to have reach an agreement on the issue.However, it remains to be seen whether this will translate into the introduction of the port/landlord model of management.

One of the government’s main challenges will be to decide whether it offers concessions for both the existing KPA terminal and the new Kipevu West Container Terminal (KWCT), which is due for completion in 2015.

The option of allowing KPA to retain control over the existing terminal, while acting as the landlord of its main competitor, KWCT, might be unworkable according to some experts.

Maersk-Kenya, a subsidiary of APM Terminals, has in the past also indicated its interest to bid for berths. However, DP World’s interest could result in strong competition for any port privatisation tender.

The Dubai based company already operates port facilities on all sides of the Arabian Peninsula and has recently taken over the Dakar container terminal in Sénégal, West Africa. Mombasa could fit in well with the company’s expansion agenda.

Stakeholders in the maritime industry have been asked to support the recently enacted Merchant Shipping Act 2009, to boost trade in the region. Transport minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere said the Act will spur economic growth, given that 95 per cent of international trade is maritime-based.

Speaking during the official opening of a regional stakeholders meeting on the establishment of consultation machinery on maritime transport services in Mombasa, Mr Mwakwere moved to allay fears among a section of shipping lines that the new Act will lock out foreigners.

“It is regrettable that some stakeholders misinterpreted this Act as one enacted to restrict foreign direct investment in the maritime transport sector. This is not so. On the contrary, the government through my ministry, encourages collaboration between local and foreign firms.”

The Act does not prohibit direct foreign investment in any segment of the logistics chain. It addresses the issue of vertical integration of the logistics chain where a few dominate the sector by applying pricing practices that limit the entry of new participants, he added.

The minister said the government had mandated the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) to monitor the efficiency and competitiveness of a transport logistics supply chain required in Kenya’s maritime industry.

ROW OVER CHARGES AT MOMBASA PORT

2009-10-09T23:34:00.003+04:00

Kenya Shipping agents are up in arms this week at the continuing delays to import cargo which is afflicting the industry. The privately run Container Freight Stations (CFS’s) which were set up in 2007 specifically to cope up with the backlog long associated with the country’s trade appear to be the root of the problem.

Containers are piling up awaiting clearance exactly as they used to at Kilindini Harbour, the deepwater facility in Mombasa Port. The CFC’s handle three quarters of the arriving containers and, having seen the charges for scanning and inspection scrapped by the Kenya Ports Authority this month, are apparently now levying a $75 a box charge for handling.

There are several causes for the delay, the four customs bonded CFS’s often have old dilapidated handling equipment and too little of it. After an initial three week period cargo officially goes into store in the Kenya Revenue Authority (Customs) warehouse and incurs a rent charge. If it doesn’t transfer in time the rent still accrues plus charges from the CFS’s in addition.

There are also allegations of corrupt practice. Rent is free within a CFS for the first, recently reduced, five day period and then charges start to accrue. The slowing of document processing and subsequent delays in clearance is an old, oft used trick, like cube cutting to extort extra revenue from shipping contracts and always becomes more prevalent in times of financial crisis.

The problems are likely to prompt action from the authorities. The Kenyan Maritime Authority and the Ministry of Transport are said to be taking a keen interest in the situation. Meanwhile the Kenya Ports Authority are proceeding with works to expand the docks at Mombasa to allow larger ships access and to speed transit through to end users.

Japanese investors have provided funds to the KPA to deepen the approaches and harbour by dredging although this has met with local opposition from fishermen who will be adversely affected and inviting a possible clash with environmental activists.

KENYA SHIPPING LINES AND THE COST OF MARITIME CHARGES

2009-09-26T18:06:00.006+04:00

The Kenya Shippers Council (KSC) has initiated talks with shipping lines and agents with the aim of reducing the cost of maritime transport, which has made the East African route one of the most expensive in the world.

The Kenya Ships Agents Association executive director, Mr Frederick Wahutu, said they were yet to agree on charges to be levied. According to Mr Wahutu, some of the levies shippers claim to pay to shipping lines and agents were not collected by the two.The shippers have complained about numerous high charges levied by shipping lines and their agents, most of which they say are unjustified.

According to a press release posted on the Kenya Association of Manufacturers’ website last week, KSC had enumerated several charges that it claims are unjustified. Cargo owners, KSC said, were concerned about the delivery order fee which, according to ship agents, is a service charge. Deliver order fee, of up to $65 depending on which shipping line one is dealing with, is charged for issuance of a letter of release of shipped goods in exchange for the bill of lading and is a practice unique only to Mombasa.

“There is a bill of lading fee which KSC regards as an unjustified cost because it is basically an invoice,” the statement says. According to Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) report, a bill of lading fee of $50-60 is levied in addition to delivery order fee.

Bill of lading is issued as a right when one pays for freight. Charging for it, the KMA report says, is equivalent to charging a fee when collecting an air ticket bought on the internet.

The amendment to the bill of lading and manifest correction is charged between $30 and $50 which is considered to be too high.

KSC has also raised concern over a $25 charge for cleaning an empty container. Whereas cleaning should only arise when the goods carried in the particular container were potentially dirty, according to KMA, the situation on the ground is that all shipping lines operating in Mombasa port collect advance cleaning fee whether the container is dirty or not.

Mr Wahutu said that in some cases shippers may release a clean container but by the time it reaches the shipping lines or his agent, it will be dirty. The shipping lines charges a terminal handling charge of $70-$80 per container.

The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) has a similar tariff for the same container and a shipper ends up paying twice with no attendant value addition, according to KMA. “Again this is unique only to Mombasa after Tanzania scrapped the charge ages ago,” the KMA report says.

TRADE NOTICES: AUGUST/SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

2009-08-21T19:03:00.018+04:00

TRADE NOTICE: MID JULY-AUGUST

2009-07-19T02:40:00.006+04:00

The following will be our schedule for End of JULY, 2009 Through Half of AUGUST, 2009

RO-RO CAR SHIPMENT / CONTAINER VESSEL SAILING FROM DUBAI-UAE

MOMBASA/ DARES SALAAM NEXT VESSEL: JULY 23RD , 2009

DJIBOUTI- BERBERRA NEXT VESSEL: 26TH JULY, 2009

PORT SUDAN NEXT VESSEL: 07/08TH AUGUST, 2009

All types of cargo ( RORO, Break-Bulk, Project) will be received. Please keep being posted.

Thanks

RO-RO, BREAK BULK, PROJECT CARGO VESSEL SCHEDULE

2009-04-25T16:00:00.005+04:00

The following will be our schedule for End of April, 2009 Through Half of May, 2009

MOMBASA/ DARES SALAAM (Vessel already arrived and discharging).
NEXT VESSEL: MAY 6TH, 2009

DJIBOUTI/BERBERRA NEXT VESSEL: 29TH APRIL, 2009.

PORT SUDAN NEXT VESSEL: 11/12TH MAY, 2009.

All types of cargo ( RORO, Break-Bulk, Project) will be received. Please keep being posted.

Thanks

NOTICE TO TRADE: AFRICA CONTAINER SHIPPING ROUTES

2009-04-12T12:45:00.011+04:00

Beginning This month, we will have Africa container services to the following ports directly to the following ports.

Mombasa(Which will cover South Sudan Cargo including Juba and Southern Ethiopia), Dar-Es-Salaam(Will cover Rwanda cargo, Burundi Cargo and Eastern Congo(Lubumbashi), Malawi, )Beira, Maputo, Berberra, Djibouti, Assab, Port Sudan, Port Said, Abidjan, Tema, Port Gentil, Cotonou, Dakar, Libreville covering the whole continent of Africa.

Other focal points like Alexandria, Algiers, Massawa, Bamako, Banjul, Bissau, Blantyre, Bobo-Dioulasso, Bulawayo, Cape Town, Casablanca, Conakry, Douala, Durban, East London, Freetown, Gaborone, Harare, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kitwe, Lagos, Las Palmas, Lilongwe, Lobito, Luanda, Lusaka, Mahe, Matadi, Mauritius, Mogadishu, Monrovia, Nairobi, Ndola, Niamey, Nosy Be, Nouadhibou, Nouakchott, Oran, Ouagadougou, Pointe Des Gallets, Pointe Noire, Port Elizabeth, Port Harcourt, Port Louis, Praia, Sfax, Takoradi, Tamatave, Tanga, Tangier, , Tenerife, Tunis are covered through the above nearest ports.

We have agencies in Inland Container Depots like that of Nairobi ICD and so on. Please check if you some more information on these... Shipping cargo to Africa has never been easy as ABCD....Among the details you will find are Port PDA's, Port particulars, Some Vessel/ Ship particulars and so on.

Our normal RO-RO services include Ports in the Red Sea and Eastern Africa together with the ports in Gulf of Aden. General cargo to South West Africa Including Namibia, Angola(Luanda, lobito) Matadi will also be accelerated.

Africa Shipping Line RORO(Car shipment)/ Container/ BreakBulk services to Juba, South Sudan have began in earnest and shipping agents who have RO-RO cargo or any other type of cargo can contact Mr. Ibraheem on 971.50.8976941/+254.726.722226 placing shipment orders. Rates are favourable. We will also undertake all kind of general cargo with minimal handling.Our Cut off times are strictly as schedule. Shipment of vehicles, cars to Africa has never been such easy.

CONTAINER TRAFFIC IN MOMBASA INCREASES

2009-04-10T01:20:00.002+04:00

Container traffic at Mombasa port rose slightly by 5.2 per cent to 615,733 twenty-foot equivalent units (Teus) last year, authorities said. The growth was, however, slower than the 22 per cent expansion the port saw in 2007 when it handled 585,367 Teus, the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) said in a statement.

"The slowdown in growth of container traffic was a result of a sluggish economic performance occasioned by the post-election skirmishes experienced early in the year and the current global economic downturn" KPA said.

KPA said total throughput increased to 16.41 million tonnes from 15.96 million in 2007. Although the post-election violence blocked transport routes to neighbouring landlocked countries, transit traffic headed there grew by 10.2 percent to 4.87 million tonnes from 4.4 million in the previous year, the authority said.

Three-quarters of the transit traffic was destined for Uganda, which imported 3.7 million tonnes of merchandise. The Democratic Republic Congo was in second place with 304,400 tonnes. The amount of bulk liquid handled by the port on the Indian Ocean reduced slightly to 5.63 million tonnes, a 0.2 per cent fall from the previous year. Transshipment, or goods destined for an intermediary destination, was also down.

KPA said it awarded Japan Port Consultants a project design and supervision contract for a second container terminal with a 1.2 million Teus capacity.

CAPTAIN OF MAERSK MV ALABAMA FREE AT LAST....3 SOMALI PIRATES KILLED, ONE ARRESTED

2009-04-08T16:18:00.016+04:00

The hijacked MAERSK MV ALABAMA ship freed by its crew has docked in Kenya and the captain rescued today in a dramatic and swift rescue mission which killed 3 somali pirates and one arrested.

Earlier reports indicated that US navy operation had stopped negotiating with the somali pirates Saturday Night and demanded the Pirates to be arrested and be put on justice but when they refused, The US Navy Seals made a dramatic operation that rescued Capt. Richard Phillips.

Somalia's vast sea area makes it very complicated to deal with these pirates and a concerted effort to guard and protect the critical sea routes have become a nightmare to US and European countries which have sent defense vessels there...

However, Sea Farers Association Spokesman based in Kenya, Andrew Mwangura says that the pirates are still holding many other crew and it would be justified if something is done and try to also rescue them. Among them are many philipinos, Indians, Srilankans and many Chinese and European crewmen.

Earlier reports indicate that, the pirates holding Phillips in the lifeboat fired a few shots at a small U.S. Navy vessel that had approached, a U.S. military official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The official said the U.S. sailors did not return fire, the Navy vessel turned away and no one was hurt. He said the vessel had not been attempting a rescue. The pirates are believed armed with pistols and AK-47 assault rifles. Other pirates had difficulties trying to rescue them. Somali Pirates are holding about a dozen ships with more than 200 crew members, according to the Malaysia-based piracy watchdog International Maritime Bureau.

DISTANCE OF VARIOUS PORTS FROM MOMBASA

2009-04-05T11:57:00.003+04:00

Distance In Nautical Miles

Mombasa - Aden 1615
Mombasa - Beira 1139
Mombasa - Berbera 1622
Mombasa - Bombay 2392
Mombasa - Cape Town 2503
Mombasa - Colombo 2496
Mombasa - Dar es salaam 171
Mombasa - Diego Garcia 1969
Mombasa - Djibouti 1729
Mombasa - Durban 1703
Mombasa - East Landon 1956
Mombasa - Kandla 2411
Mombasa - Karachi 2349
Mombasa - Kilifi 30
Mombasa - Kipini 105
Mombasa - Kismayu 301
Mombsaa - Lindi 384
Mombasa - Lamu 130
Mombasa - Madras 3037
Mombasa - Mahe Island 949
Mombasa - Malindi 60
Mombasa - Majunga 790
Mombasa - Maputo 1467
Mombasa - Mtwapa 9
Mombasa - Mauritius ( Port Louis ) 1419
Mombasa - Mogadiscio 499
Mombasa - Mtwara 368
Mombasa - Mukalla 1436
Mombasa - Muscat 2114
Mombasa - Tanga 66
Mombasa - Zanzibar 134

SHIP OWNERS TO RAISE RATES TO AVOID PIRACY

2009-04-04T16:10:00.002+04:00

Exporters hiring ships using piracy-prone routes will incur additional insurance costs and pay for the days a vessel is detained by hijackers.Other costs relate to additional crew and preventive measures employed to reduce the risk of attacks, according to new guidelines published by the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), an independent international shipping association.

The new guidelines on transportation of bulk cargo vulnerable to piracy mean companies will spend more when hiring a ship for a specific period.For instance, if a ship is hired for 15 days, and is hijacked and detained for 25 days, the company hiring it will pay for the extra 10 days. Other costs the company could incur are those of additional personnel and for preventive measures to reduce the risk of pirate attacks.

This is justified on the basis that without the charterers specific orders to proceed to or through a risk area, such costs would not have been incurred. Ships that are hired for a specific period of time are mostly used to transport bulk cargo like oil, clinker or coal. It means that cement makers and oil importers in Kenya will need to be extra cautions in line with the new guidelines, which could see them spend more on shipping if not properly followed.

JEBEL ALI LOADING: PORT SUDAN & DJIBOUTI

2009-03-26T17:44:00.008+04:00

ANNOUNCEMENT!!! ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES-DUBAI will be loading a RO-RO vessel + Break Bulk

FROM: JEBEL/ALI
TO: PORT SUDAN/ DJIBOUTI/ BERBERRA
FROM: 27TH MARCH 2009.

AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES AGENCY-DUBAI (ACTS AS AGENTS)

PLEASE SOLICIT EXPORT ENQUIRIES FOR RORO UNITS (SEDANS & HIGH/HEAVY).

ETA: PORT SUDAN 8TH APRIL 2009.
ETA : DJIBOUTI 10TH APRIL 2009.

FOR FREIGHT / SPACE ENQUIRIES PLEASE CALL:

MR. IBRAHIM ON +97150-8976941 or leave a message on this site or by sending an e-mail to africanshippingdubai@gmail.com or by replying to this message.

THE FUTURE OF KENYA SHIPPING LINE

2009-03-21T12:32:00.004+04:00

Kenya continues to lose out in the lucrative shipping industry as it continues to rely on ships for hire to transport its exports.The hope that one day the country could own its own shipping line continues to remain a mirage despite its neighbour cashing in on the high freight.

The Ethiopian Shipping Lines (ESL) continues to carve a niche in the world’s shipping industry as Kenya National Shipping Line (KNSL) shows no hope of owning its vessels soon.Maritime experts are now calling on the government to offer incentives to private entities interested to buy ships that could fly the Kenyan flag.“The dream that the country would one day own a ship, which led to the formation of KNSL in 1989, has died,” says Wilfred Kagimbi, Kenya Maritime Authority chief surveyor and receiver of wrecks.

Mr Kagimbi says KNSL dream has been overtaken by time as other African countries which purchased their own vessels have already relinquished management to private hands.

Shipping to Africa and especially to Kenya and adjacent countries is normally done by reliable shipping lines like African Shipping Line based in Dubai and other Major Lines. Freight goods include RO-RO cargo, Break bulk, project and containerized cargo mostly to Kenya and Tanzania ports that leaves for Interior.

SMOOTH TRANSPORTATION IMPROVES CARGO CLEARANCE AT MOMBASA

2009-03-12T13:11:00.004+04:00

Mombasa port has recorded impressive operational performance at its container terminal in the last few weeks.The port realised a record 1,117 moves in 24 hours mid last week in the handling of MV MSC Eagle.

The vessel that had docked at berth 17 had earlier recorded 555 moves in a full shift of eight hours. The acting terminal manager, Mr Sudi Mwasinago, said effective equipment and labour utilisation on the vessel resulted to the exemplary performance.He noted the performance is way above the agreement between KPA and the East African Conferences Lines (EACL) that requires the port to maintain a threshold above 200 moves per 24 hours. As for the performance contracting between KPA and the government, the port is required to attain 136 moves per shift, translating into 408 moves every 24 hours.

“The splendid performance is attributed to the improved co-ordination and supervision of ship and yard operations,” said Mr Sylvan Mghanga.

Other factors he cited include adequate space in the yards, optimum labour, equipment and motivated staff. Starting mid last month, the port has been registering general improved performance in a number of areas. The total container population has reduced drastically from 15,000 TEUs in January to 10,000 TEUs this week, against total yard holding capacity of 15,000 TEUs.

The port management also attributes this to efficiency in cargo deliveries by road which currently stands at about 1,000 TEUs per 24 hours. The last week record performance is only comparable to 1,076 moves per 24 hours realised in the handling of MV Msc Sudan in September 2006.

Earlier in the year, a record performance was realised on the handling of MV. Nordstar of Maesk Lines, which recorded 924 moves in 24 hors and 453 moves in one shift.Moves per hour or per 24 hours is the most efficient index of measuring port performance, which tallies the number of containers moved from a vessel to the yard or from the yard to the vessel.

But even as the port remained upbeat on its improved performance, the clearing agents say the Kenya Revenue Authority’s Orbus system that is used for payment of duties has failed them.“We recognise the improved performance on the part of the KPA, but we are very frustrated by the KRA over the constant and sometimes prolonged system failure,” says Mr Gerald Kagumo, the chairman of the Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (Kifwa).

The KRA was yet to say precisely what the cause of the problem was but officials at the Mombasa Long Room assured the clearing agents that their IT experts were trying to sort out the problem.

SHIPPING LINES INCREASE RATES AS COSTS SOAR

2009-03-02T00:49:00.003+04:00

As rising operation costs eat into returns, shipping lines have increased freight rates for cargo shipped into the region from India, a move that is likely to push importers into passing on increasing costs to consumers.

Emirates Shipping Line (ESL), Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), French carrier CMA CGM, and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) have adjusted their charges up to $300 per a Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) shipped from Asia to East Africa.

TEU is the standard unit for counting containers of various capacities and for describing the capacities of container ships or terminals.

“The economic crisis... requires extraordinary measures,” stated Emirates Shipping Line press statement.

Experts say the high cost operations in the region could complicate matters for Emirates shipping line that had pulled out of highly competitive markets like the US due to low business occasioned by global downturn. ESL ships now call at the State-owned Jaya Container Terminal and it uses Colombo Port as a hub to service its markets in the Far East, India, the Middle East and East Africa. ESL, founded in 2006, continues to see opportunities in the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent and Africa regions, which have not witnessed a severe volume crunch.

The shipping line plans to introduce more vessels on the route between Jebel Ali and East Africa hoping to boost its market share.Mediterranean Shipping Co., Emirates Shipping Line and CMA CGM effected the increase the rates on February 17th, while MOL implemented the new charges last Saturday.

Other African sector shipping Lines including the African Shipping Line based in Dubai, UAE have either re-adjusted their prices or are considering a way forward, agencies describe.

MOMBASA PORT SET TO HAVE A SECOND CONTAINER TERMINAL

2008-11-15T01:23:00.005+04:00

The Kenya Ports Authority will increase efficiency and capacity at the port of Mombasa in a bid to position it among the top 20 ports in the world by 2010.
Currently the port is ranked fourth on the continent after Richards Bay, Saldanha and Durban in Southern Africa.

Recently-confirmed KPA managing director James Mulewa said that in order to solve the problem of capacity limitation, the authority will build a second container terminal to increase the volume of cargo handled from 600,000 twenty-foot-equivalent containers to 1.8 million. The authority has also asked for Ksh3 billion ($37.5 million) from the government “to replace the aging cranes and other equipment bought five years ago, which are now due for replacement” said Mr Mulewa.

He said the movement of cargo had improved since the number of weighbridges were reduced to two, adding that when the Rift Valley Railways streamlines operations and improves cargo delivery, it will help the port handle an increased volume of cargo. The port will also approve more container freight stations for licensing by the Kenya Revenue Authority. Currently, there are only two such stations that handle containers — Consalbase and Mombasa Container Terminal.

The two set up in October last year have handled over 50,000 teu at a time when the port was faced by a serious threat of Vessel Delay Surcharges by shipping lines.

“More CFSs with the capacity to handle 3000 teus at a go will be licensed,” Mr Mulewa said.

However, the KPA boss said that since the development of the port of Mombasa had almost reached its full capacity, and in order for the country to remain relevant in the future shipping industry in the region, it was necessary to build a second major port in Lamu. The port of Mombasa was designed to handle only 20 million tonnes of cargo per annum. The Lamu port will be expected to serve landlocked Ethiopia and Southern Sudan, with a population of 80 million and 12 million respectively.

The reconstruction of Southern Sudan has generated huge imports needs and Lamu’s direct line of sight with Addis Ababa will allow for the shortest railway link between them. With the entry of Southern Sudan into the region’s economy, it is estimated that the demand for cargo imports will rise to over 32 million tonnes of per annum. The port of Mombasa and the existing road and rail network cannot possibly handle the increase in volume and weight of materials that will be required by Southern Sudan.

Currently Southern Sudan is exporting crude oil through a 1,600 kilometre-long pipeline connecting its oil fields to the Red Sea at Port Sudan. It is expected that these volumes will increase and the region has proposed an alternative oil pipeline through Kenya. The proposed route of this second corridor is Lamu-Garissa-Isiolo-Maralal-Lodwar and Lokichogio, branching at Isiolo to Nairobi to the south and to Ethiopia in the north. It will also serve South Sudan cargo through Juba.The port at Lamu is envisaged to be linked to the port in Mombasa by a new railway line and an access road, according to a lead consultant on the project, Dr Mutule Kilonzo. Lamu has naturally deep waters and a port there would accommodate bigger ships than those docking in Mombasa.

A free trade zone that will be developed along with the port is expected to foster the growth of trade and commercial activity to make Lamu a commercial hub. Dr Kilonzo said the project is expected to start by 2010.

Dubai World has been eyeing the Mombasa Port for sometime and we are unsure if the new project will be theirs for a take.

TANZANIAN DAR PORT SET TO IMPROVE OPERATIONS

2008-10-29T18:01:00.005+04:00

A senior Tanzania Port Authority (TPA) says they have embarked on new strategies that would lead to increased container terminal capacity and the use of inland depots, optimimum use of the terminal capacity within the port and active participation of various stakeholders in the programmes to reduce dwell-time of cargo at the port.

Key long-term measures by the TPA include construction of multi-storey car park to leave space for container handling. This plan, according to Mr Rugaihuruza, is expected to be ready by the end of 2010.The port managers are also planning the construction of a new container terminal at Bagamoyo and two berths.

TANZANIAN DAR PORT SET TO IMPROVE OPERATIONS

2008-10-29T18:01:00.002+04:00

A senior Tanzania Port Authority (TPA) manager, Mr Jason Rugaihuruza, says they have embarked on new strategies that would lead to increased container terminal capacity and the use of inland depots, optimimum use of the terminal capacity within the port and active participation of various stakeholders in the programmes to reduce dwell-time of cargo at the port.Key long-term measures by the TPA include construction of multi-storey car park to leave space for container handling. This plan, according to Mr Rugaihuruza, is expected to be ready by the end of 2010.

The port managers are also planning the construction of a new container terminal at Bagamoyo and two berths.

GHANA CONTRACT WITH MERIDIEN PORT SERVICES STILL INTACT

2008-10-25T19:17:00.003+04:00

Ghana's Ministry of Harbours and Railways on Thursday denied media reports that it has suspended the contract between the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and Meridian Port Services (MPS) to shorehandle containers in Tema Port.

A statement signed by Mr Ahmed Ayuba, Special Assistant to the sector Minster, Prof. Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, said no directive had been issued regarding the suspension of the contract.The statement said following increased agitation by indigenous stevedoring companies on stevedore operations, Prof Ameyaw-Akumfi invited the Ghana Association of Stevedoring Companies (GASCO) where he reaffirmed that the implementation of rights under the concession agreement between GPHA and MPS with respect to shorehandling of containers in the Tema Port had been suspended.

“The Minister assured GASCO that a meeting among GPHA, GASCO and the Ministry will be held to identify and resolve challenges facing stevedore companies in the Tema Port.”

Early last week, the Times newspaper reported that the GPHA had suspended the implementation of a license agreement under which MPS was expected to handle all vessels carrying more than 50 containers to the port. In the said report, Kwadwo Adansi Bonna, General Manager of GPHA, explained that though the implementation was based on the license agreement, it had not been approved by the GPHA. This was after another media reports on the mounting tension at the port over the decision by GPHA to implement the contract with MPS.

Eight indigenous stevedoring companies had complained that the implementation of the contract would collapse their businesses and make about 3,000 workers jobless. Under the contract, MPS would handle vessels with 50 and more containers. The company has the technological advantage for quick turn around time for ships.

INCREASED CONTAINER TRAFFIC CONGESTS MOMBASA

2008-10-25T18:40:00.010+04:00

Shippers in Africa have been told to prepare to absorb extra costs caused by congestion in the regional ports following increased global container traffic, which have also stretched global port capacities.

Experts say this perennial problem dogging most ports in Africa could take up to 15 years of infrastructural and other logistics enhancement to be solved. This is in contrast to other parts of the world where it would take a far much shorter period. This is as a result of African governments’ bureaucracy.Global ports are currently recording increased container traffic, leading to congestion at even reputable ports like Liverpool, Southampton in England, Colombia, Kochi, Mumbai and Karachi in India and Sydney in Australia.

Others, according to a World Bank report, are Santos and Buenos in South America while those in North America are Los Angeles and Oakland. In Africa, they include the ports of Mombasa, Dar-es-Salaam, Durban and Abidjan, among other smaller ports. Kenya has embarked on improving it's ports and harbours and is putting stringent measures to improve and maintain efficiency to be among the most valued ports.

KPA TO ENLIST CONTAINER FREIGHT STATIONS (CFS) TO EASE CONGESTION

2008-10-18T18:58:00.005+04:00

Pic

Cargo pile up at Mombasa port container terminal. Kenya Ports Authority has invited bidders to apply for container freight station licenses

More container freight stations will be enlisted to mitigate the cargo congestion crisis at the Mombasa port.The Kenya Ports Authority has invited bidders to apply for container freight station (CFS) licenses in a move that affirms the increasing role that such stations will continue playing in the local cargo handling chain in future.

Firms to be licensed will operate alongside the two leading logistic service providers — Consolbase Limited and Mombasa Container Terminal, which are mandated by KPA to clear containers on its behalf. Apart from the two, there are 11 other container freight stations which specialise in handling group cargo and motor vehicles.

Container freight station is emerging as a major sub-sector in the shipping industry, as shrewd investors steadily move in to cash in on this logistic solution.Though the concept is relatively new in Kenya, those venturing into it say that such terminals have a bright future considering the recent trend of port authorities commercialising cargo handling services.

Over the last five years, 13 firms have ventured into freight stations. These include Awanad, Mitchell Cotts, Mombasa Container Terminal, Kencont, Consolbase, African Liner Agencies, Boss Freight, Siginon, Regional Logistics, Makupa, Kenfreight, Portside and Interpel.

“I think CFS will play a bigger role in future; their role in helping to decongest port during the post election violence is an illustration of the critical role they can play in the cargo handling chain,’’ Mr Mohammed Jama, a director of Interpel CFS told Business Daily.

A Container Freight Station is an extension of the port thus it ordinarily has to operate under customs control and other governmental agencies. It must have the minimum cargo handling and storage facilities.A CFS operates in the same way as an inland container depot (ICD) only that the latter is in most cases located further inland. Their main functions include receipt and dispatch of cargo, loading and offloading of group cargo from containers, provision of transit operations among others.

Their popularity has been boosted by the shipping trends worldwide and a realization by both government and private sector of the great economic benefits accruing from such yards or terminals. Some of these include convenient handling of long distance or transit cargos.The make it possible to bring the customs services near the centres of production and consumption. There is also the efficiency of the yards which leads to less demurrage and pilferage being incurred.

The direct movement of cargo from the Mombasa port to the CFS means such cargo is not subjected to customs procedures at the gate of the port thus saving on time. When the KRA is licensing a CFS it has to take into account factors such as location, facilities, security and equipment, among others.

A nearby railway line is an important asset for CFS developers, but following the poor performance of the Rift Valley Railways in recent times, several of the recently gazetted CFS happen to be kilometres away from Kenya’s lines. Other key facilities include warehouses, gate complexes, cargo handling equipment such as cranes, haulers and trolleys and a premises to house customs and other agencies.

A warehouse is needed to provide storage and working area for non containerized cargo. Enough space is needed to isolate the separate export bound cargo from the imports which are unpacked and distributed to individual owners.A gate complex is required for proper regulation of entry and exit of vehicles carrying cargo and containers through the terminal. It is where documentation, security and container inspection procedures are undertaken.

DUBAI WORLD KEEN ON MOMBASA PORT

2008-10-04T15:33:00.006+04:00

Dubai World, a UAE government investment with a plan on four strategic growth including Transport & Logistics, Drydocks & Maritime, Urban Development and Investment & Financial Services is set to take up the Kenya's Mombasa p ort any time soon.

Analyst say, If that happens, massive equipment investment would be in the works and ship turnaround cut to just three hours like they did in Dakar, Senegal, and Djibouti which they control.They are also partners and managers in Sokhna port of Egypt, Aden and Jeddah. Their entry would appreciably change the politics of the port which is simmering to inefficiencies.

DP World operates several ports in the world after it became economical to separate ownership and operation globally and it's noteworthy that the 10-year-old DP manages more than the Djibouti Port — including container, oil terminals and berths and marine services, Djibouti Airport and a free trade zone. The port has now become a byword for efficiency, especially in handling massive cargo from Ethiopia after a fallout with Eritrea, who almost exclusively handled their exports before.

DP spokesman Anil Singh said the group has been waiting for the port to complete a feasibility study, a process that would pave the way for private players. “We would want to be involved sooner than later. We have been waiting for an indication,” Mr Singh said.

Mombasa Port has lately contributed to the brisk economic growth in Kenya and the whole of East African region business relies mainly on it, Factors that saw port cargo grow by 10.7 per cent last year. In 2003, it was handling cargo estimated at 12 million tonnes annually. This has shot up to slightly under 16 million, only exacerbating the administrative chaos that have become a permanent feature of the deep-sea port. In terms of twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU), the growth has been faster at 22 per cent with a total of nearly 600,000 containers handled.

DP World says the port needs major rehabilitation and new equipment. The spokesman said they would be happy to make a difference.

“The process of making the initial changes takes between three and six months,” Mr Singh said.

Meanwhile, DP World is set to open a new container terminal in Djibouti this December and have already cut waiting time in Dakar from seven days to three hours. Mombasa certainly can do with that efficiency. Given the kind of politics surrounding the port, it is unlikely we can easily reach that efficiency level shortly though, they say.

Certainly, if Kenya wants a manager, DP World, who famously failed to secure contract for running US ports due to clearly xenophobic lobbying, would have to contend with other aspirants, including the famous Singapore PSA.

CARS AT MOMBASA PORT TO BE DESTROYED FOR SCRAP

2008-09-11T13:29:00.007+04:00

More than 700 imported vehicles and cargo in 7,000 containers abandoned at the Mombasa port will be destroyed. The exact value of the cargo could not be established, because owners did not lodge documents to show their value, but it was estimated to be worth billions of shillings.

Acting Finance Minister John Michuki announced in Mombasa on Wednesday, saying the cars would be crushed and sold as scrap because they had been at the port for long and were more than eight years old. Imported cars older than eight years are not allowed into the country.

Mr Michuki gave port users up to October 31, to embrace 24-hour operations. Addressing stakeholders, he said the containers had taken up space at the port, and would be destroyed.
"The question whether the goods should continue lying at the port or not has been a subject of public interest. It has been decided that Customs will advertise the vehicles before they are crushed into scrap metal," he said.

Transport Assistant Minister John Mwau, Environment Assistant Minister Ramadhan Kajembe, Attorney-General Amos Wako, Finance PS Joseph Kinyua, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner-General Michael Waweru and KPA acting Managing Director James Mulewa, among others, accompanied Michuki.

The stakeholders were drawn from the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, Kenya Shippers Council, Kenya Transport Association and Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (Kifwa) among others. The minister said officials from the National Environment Management Authority had been directed to deal with containers with cargo that could be an environmental hazard.

However, Minister Michuki assured a representative of the Ugandan government, Mr Patrick Kyemba, that exporters from the neighbouring country would be allowed to collect their vehicles if they presented ownership documents to KRA.

Kyemba had pleaded with the minister to allow Ugandans more time to remove their vehicles from the port to container freight stations in Mombasa. During the meeting, Michuki directed KRA and KPA to merge their electronic clearance systems by October 31, to allow quick processing of cargo documents.

The minister said the 24-hour port operation, which was introduced on August 18, had not improved the flow of cargo through the port because of teething problems.He asked KPA to seek approval for a Sh1.5 billion loan from the Finance ministry, to buy cargo-handling equipment to boost the 24-hour port operation. Michuki said he had written to Internal Security Minister George Saitoti, asking him to provide more police officers for security during night port operations.

He said there was a high risk of losses at the port due to insecurity, adding that adequate security personnel must back the round-the-clock operations. Michuki also said he had written to Industrialisation Minister Henry Kosgey, urging him to ensure that Kenya Bureau of Standards had personnel on night duty.

"After visiting the port yesterday (Tuesday), I wrote to the two ministers so that they can act to ensure the 24-hour port operations succeed," he said. At the same time, Michuki announced that idlers would be kicked out of the port to end corruption. "By October 31, clearing and forwarding agents should operate from their offices in town and not the port. All busybodies must be removed because they promote corruption," he said.

Michuki said he would convene a port stakeholders’ meeting on November 10 to ensure his deadline was honoured by KRA and KPA. He took issue with Coast MPs demanding that KPA managing director must be from the region, saying the port was an international facility. "This is an international port and should not be treated as a village project. The only reason why one should serve as KPA MD is competency," Michuki said.

Mr Waweru said KRA would not allow KPA to transfer cargo directly from the port to inland container depots upcountry until it executed Sh500 million-security bond.
If allowed, he explained, it would lead to loss of revenue.

MOMBASA PORT'S NEW CONTAINER TERMINAL FUNDED BY JAPAN

2008-08-21T15:54:00.004+04:00

Design work for the Sh16 billion container terminal for the port of Mombasa begins next month. The project with a capacity of 1.2 million teus ( 20 foot equivalent units) will be completed in 10 months.

Engineering work could begin from July next year and the first phase of the terminal completed in 2013. The project, the biggest ever at Mombasa port in recent times, is being undertaken by Japanese Port Consultancy.

But while the construction of the new terminal would modernise the port, it has emerged that movement of containers would be hampered unless wide roads are constructed.

Briefing Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his delegation at the port recently, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) officials said the new terminal was designed with a six lane road up to the Old Port Reitz Airport Road where it joins a single lane road. KPA chief operations manager Engineer Joseph Atonga warned of chaos if the roads is not widened. The six lanes cover about 1.6km from the new container terminal to be located west of the existing port.

“We have informed concerned ministries about this problem. We will require six lanes beyond the new container terminal to ensure smooth flow of traffic,” Atonga said. This is expected to be costly because it would involve compensation of property owners and demolition of houses and other structures.

The Sh16 billion, a soft loan from the Japanese Bank of International Corporation, did not include construction of the road extension beyond Port Reitz area.

“We are asking the Prime Minister to assist us address the problem,” said Atonga.

Raila said the Government was interested in modernising the port and making it more efficient. He said the Government would fast-track establishment of a free port at Dongo Kundu area near the port. The project will include a fixed by-pass linking Moi International Airport and the Diani tourist resort in the South Coast. Meanwhile, priority will be given to the extension of a two kilometre stretch from the Old Port Reitz airport road to Magongo area.

This is expected to cost between Sh400 million and Sh500 million.

TAPPING AFRICAN BUSINESS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST

2008-08-19T19:26:00.007+04:00

Africa, particularly the Horn of Africa now seems to be playing a greater role in world trade that is combining East and West business through Freight( Airfreight, Sea Freight) and so on.

From Crude Oil of Arabian countries, almost all kind of trade from China, Motors from Japan, Hides and Skin from Africa, The business is booming from East to West with Middle East and Africa playing bigger roles in providing logistics.

VEHICLE IMPORTERS AT MOMBASA PORT TO PAY US$300 FOR NUMBER PLATES

2008-08-13T14:14:00.008+04:00

Local motor vehicle importers are incurring an extra cost of Sh20,000 per vehicle as demurrage charges in a newly-introduced rule by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) for number plates.

KRA had directed, in April last year that importers would not be allowed to take their cars until they acquired actual number plates for the same.The taxman had argued that motor vehicles without number plates were being used in acts of thuggery in the country, which they said were on the rise.

Efforts to get a comment from KRA over the matter were futile. Importers are, however, questioning the rationale of introducing the clause arguing if the main issue was theft, the law enforcers could easily identify the vehicles used by logging in the chassis number to identify the owners of the vehicle.

PORT SUDAN RECORDS REMARKABLE GROWTH

2008-08-13T14:04:00.007+04:00

Port Sudan recorded a remarkable performance in total cargo traffic last year, which saw her ranked top of Dar- es- Salaam and just a digit below the port of Mombasa, in the Eastern and Southern Africa ports standings.

According to the Ports Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa (PMAESA) statistics, Port Sudan recorded a total cargo traffic growth of 10.3 per cent compared to Dar and Mombasa that had 1.9 and 10.7 per cent respectively.The 26 ports under PMAESA recorded an average annual growth of 3.5 per cent from 249.2 million tons in 2006 to 257.8 million tons recorded in 2007.

The growth rate is said to be a consistent with the average economic growth of 3.5 per cent witnessed in many countries in the region. Shipping Lines that operate at Port Sudan Include AFRICAN SHIPPING LINE

SHIPPING SERVICES TO AFRICAN PORTS MADE EASIER....

2008-08-11T17:46:00.012+04:00

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GLOBAL OFFICES & AFFILIATES

2008-08-10T20:35:00.045+04:00

MOMBASA PORT (KENYA-EAST AFRICA)

REGIONAL OFFICE, AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES SERVICES (KENYA) LIMITED, NKRUMAH ROAD, MOMBASA TRADE CENTRE, AMBALAL HOUSE, 1st FLOOR SOUTHWING, SUITE S1.07 , P.O.BOX 84832-POST CODE 80100,
TEL: (MOBILE) +254.726.722226, +254.726.814.441, (AIRTEL) +254.738.135883
TEL/FAX: +254 (41) 2315622
MOMBASA - KENYA.

NAIROBI OFFICE:
P.O.BOX 102395-00100, MAMA NGINA STREET,
NAIROBI- KENYA.
E-mail: aslkenya@ymail.com

CONTACT DETAILS:
IBRAHIM A. ABDINOOR: +254-726-722226/+254.726.814.441/+254.738.135883

FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON B/L FROM(DUBAI/INDIA/CHINA/JAPAN:

Please advise to write Agents/notify Consignee on all your B/L:
AFRICAN SHIPPING LINE SERVICES (KENYA) LIMITED - MOMBASA, KENYA.

All Consignees are kindly advised to contact our Mombasa offices at AMBALAL HOUSE and obtain Delivery orders against presentation of Original B/L's and payment of the same. There are new rules to obtaining the D/O. Please check at the office or ask to be sent a copy.

Vessel ETA's are subject to change without notice.

DUBAI (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES)
AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES HEADQUARTERS-DUBAI
P.O.BOX 120508, MAMZAR ROUND-ABOUT, DEIRA -DUBAI
Email: africanshippingdubai@gmail.com

CONTACT DETAILS:
IBRAHIM A. ABDINOOR (CEO)
DUBAI (UAE) : +971.50.8976941
MOMBASA (KENYA): +254.726.722226,+254.726.814.441, +254.738.135883

FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON B/L (DUBAI/CHINA/JAPAN:

Please advise to write Agents/notify Consignee on all your B/L:
AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES

All Consignees are kindly advised to contact our offices and obtain Delivery orders against presentation of Original B/L's and payment of the same. There are new rules to obtaining the D/O. Please check at the office or ask to be sent a copy.

Vessel ETA's are subject to change without notice.

DAR-ES-SALAAM (TANZANIA)

AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES AGENCIES TANZANIA LTD
DARESALAAM-TANZANIA, ZANZIBAR, BURUNDI & EASTERN CONGO
E-mail: asltanzania@gmail.com

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Please advise to write Agents/notify Consignee on all your B/L:

AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES

All Consignees are kindly advised to contact our offices and obtain Delivery orders against presentation of Original B/L's and payment of the same. There are new rules to obtaining the D/O. Please check at the office or ask to be sent a copy.

Vessel ETA's are subject to change without notice.

INDIA, SRILANKA & PAKISTAN (NHAVA SHEVA, COLOMBO, SINGAPORE, KARACHI)

M/S. HYAGREEVA LINES PVT LTD
116, Linghi Chetty Street
CHENNAI - 600001
INDIA
Tel : 0091 44 42052861
Fax: 0091 44 42052862
africanshippingdubai@gmail.com

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Please advise to write Agents/notify Consignee on all your B/L:
AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES

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Vessel ETA's are subject to change without notice.

DJIBOUTI PORT (DJIBOUTI)
AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES AGENCIES DJIBOUTI LTD
DJIBOUTI CITY - NEAR CARREFOUR
E-mail: asldjibouti@ymail.com

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AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES

All Consignees are kindly advised to contact our offices and obtain Delivery orders against presentation of Original B/L's and payment of the same. There are new rules to obtaining the D/O. Please check at the office or ask to be sent a copy.

Vessel ETA's are subject to change without notice.

PORT SUDAN (SUDAN)
AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES AGENCIES (As Agents)
PORT SUDAN-SUDAN
E-mail: africanshippingdubai@gmail.com

FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON B/L (DUBAI/CHINA/JAPAN:
Please advise to write Agents/notify Consignee on all your B/L:
AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES

All Consignees are kindly advised to contact our offices and obtain Delivery orders against presentation of Original B/L's and payment of the same. There are new rules to obtaining the D/O. Please check at the office or ask to be sent a copy.

Vessel ETA's are subject to change without notice.

ADEN PORT/HODEIDA/ MUKALLA ( YEMEN)
AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES AGENCIES –ADEN PORT
E-mail: aslyemen@gmail.com

FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON B/L (DUBAI/CHINA/JAPAN:
Please advise to write Agents/notify Consignee on all your B/L:
AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES

All Consignees are kindly advised to contact our offices and obtain Delivery orders against presentation of Original B/L's and payment of the same. There are new rules to obtaining the D/O. Please check at the office or ask to be sent a copy.

Vessel ETA's are subject to change without notice.

GUANGZHOU/ SHENZEN/NINGPO/SHANGHAI PORTS (CHINA)
AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES AGENCIES CHINA AGENCY
HASSAN: E-mail: aslguangzhou@gmail.com

OR INSTRUCTIONS ON B/L (DUBAI/CHINA/JAPAN):
Please advise to write Agents/notify Consignee on all your B/L:
AFRICAN SHIPPING LINES

All Consignees are kindly advised to contact our offices and obtain Delivery orders against presentation of Original B/L's and payment of the same. There are new rules to obtaining the D/O. Please check at the office or ask to be sent a copy.

Vessel ETA's are subject to change without notice.

CONTAINER TERMINAL AT MOMBASA AND IT'S IT WOES

2008-08-02T13:04:00.003+04:00

Is Kilindini Waterfront Automated Terminal Operation System (Kwatos) failing? This is the million dollar question bothering importers and exporters as they incur losses due to delays occasioned by the system.

Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (KIFWA) chairman, Mombasa branch, Peter Otieno said that it was taking up to two weeks to clear a container from the port. The situation could be worse for those importers who are incurring demurrages.

Before the introduction of Kwatos it took a clearing agent up to a week to clear a single container from the port of Mombasa, said Mr Otieno in an interview with Shipping News.

“We are now incurring an overhead cost of Sh21,000 to clear a single container from the port of Mombasa since the introduction of the system,” said Mr Otieno, arguing that the manual system should run together with Kwatos until the cause of the hitches was identified and rectified.

TRANSHIPMENT CARGO "TEMPORARILY" SUSPENDED AT MSA

2008-07-24T10:11:00.005+04:00

Kenya Ports Authority has suspended landing of transshipment cargo in Mombasa port from next Monday due to over congestion.

This will allow the port to clear a backlog of 2,741 Twenty Foot Equivalents Units as at Wednesday, destined for Dar es Salaam and other Indian Ocean ports. Normally, the port handles about 2,000 units for transshipment.

The port of Dar es Salaam, which regularly faces similar problems of congestion, significantly relies on Mombasa as one measure of controlling the problem.

Mr Harry Abok, the port’s corporate communication officer, said the suspension was only temporary. “We shall resume transshipment business as soon as we clear the backlog,” the officer said.

Mr Abok said that the port of Mombasa is not bound to take any transshipment cargo and only engages in the business when it is convenient.

Unlike the inland cargo, the transshipment cargo is kept near the berth for convenience and is supposed to stay at the port for only 32 days. “But this does not normally happen and sometimes it takes longer than the stipulated period...

“And since the containers cannot be taken to container freight stations, there is always the problem of availability of space whenever there is a slight congestion at the port,” Mr Abok added.

Once the transshipment cargo has been offloaded from the ships, it is taken to the port of destination using small ships, Mr Abok said.

He said the suspension was not unusual and the port had done it in the past. “During the post-election period, for instance, we suspended the service and resumed in March when the conditions at the port improved,” he said.

KPA announced the suspension on Wednesday in a media advertisement.
There are 11 ships waiting for berths at the port. Mr Abok said this is a high season when the port receives many vessels, some arriving at the same time. The port has increased the number of berths reserved for containers from four to seven.

Kenya's Port managing director Abdallah Mwaruwa expressed concern about lack of stability and satisfaction with the computerised cargo handling and clearance system- Kwatos, which is the main reason why the port is experiencing the present congestion.

Since it was launched on July 1, this year, the Sh450 million system has reported problems of network interface with the already existing enterprise resource planning system which computerised KPA’s internal managerial system in the first phase of computerisation.

Mr Mwaruwa said the port may resort to the old manual system for some time. “The review will hopefully give Kwatos more time to be rectified,” he added.

KENYA: MOMBASA PORT NO LONGER FACING CARGO CLEARANCE PROBLEMS

2008-07-22T11:32:00.006+04:00

The Kenya Mombasa Port has now started operating very efficiently after the previous years facing its stiffest challenges. This was due to an operational crisis caused by the cargo clearance operating system at it's facilities.The introduction of the automated Kilindini Waterfront Terminal Operations System (Kwatos), a cargo clearance system had failed to stabilise previously but which is now operating at good speed most of the time.

As a result, Shipping Lines, transporters and clearing and forwarding agents are now doing brisk business as the Kenyan Government has put mechanisms to attract foreign Vessels at the port. The Government though admitting that there was some teething problems with the systems at the port in the past which led to congestion at the port, defended the new Sh450 million investment and asked for patience, saying it was experiencing teething problems but would eliminate paper work associated with clearing of cargo in the long run.

Various ships are berthing every hours now.

DJIBOUTI PORT TO INCREASE TARIFFS FROM AUGUST 15TH

2008-07-12T18:22:00.012+04:00

There will be a new set of tariff rates to be applied to all services at the Port of Djibouti, beginning mid-August 2008, DP World Djibouti announced. Communicated to the Ethiopian authorities through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who were caught off guard, and so completely taken aback by this development, various sources revealed.

The new rates would introduce increases of up to 25pc in marine charges; an average of 2,000 ships dock at the Port of Djibouti every year. Other increases include cargo port dues, storage charges (25pc), and a 15pc rise in the cost of container stevedoring by the latter for the first time since 1984, disclosed a letter signed by Aboubaker Omar Hadi, commercial director of DP World Djibouti, on June 25, 2008.

This will be the first comprehensive adjustment of tariff on port operations since Ethiopia and Djibouti signed a port utilization agreement in May 2004. The port’s management was given to DP World in 2000, under a 20-year contract. The current increase in various forms of port dues is attributed to a global escalation of prices on fuel, which increased by 350pc, and a headline inflation of 19.2pc in Djibouti, the letter stated.

The letter also argued that the management had invested in the acquisition of new equipment, such as four reachstakers, and ordered an additional six at a cost of six million dollars. This is meant to improve services by providing port operations 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

This is all in its bid to “deliver world class port and marine services.”

But increasing the tariff amount is only a part of what was in the letter. The management decided to reduce the free storage period for local cargo from 10 to three days and on that of transit cargo (mostly to Ethiopia) from two weeks to eight days. The management has also introduced a new fee of one dollar whenever a gate pass is issued.

“Every port in the world has increased its tariffs,” said a Djiboutian businessman. “It shouldn’t be surprising that the management did this. Every thing seems to be increasing these days” . The increase of port dues is a very sensitive issue for Ethiopia, a country that depends almost entirely on the Port of Djibouti for its international trade.

The Port is not only used as a gateway for Ethiopian transit cargo, but also as a point of destination, according to a study conducted by the Ministry in November 2004. The volume of its import and export cargoes has been on the rise: from 3.9 million tonnes in 2006/07 to 4.6 million tonnes in 2007/08. Projected to grow by 20pc, the volume is anticipated to exceed five million tonnes this year.

Last time, the port attempted to increase its tariff in January 2001 by 30pc, Ethiopian authorities protested vehemently, for it would have had subjected the country to an additional cost of nearly 170 million dollars.

How much the latest increase will cost Ethiopia is a question that trade and transport experts were pondering last week. A technical committee under the auspices of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) was formed last week. It comprises members from four federal agencies: the Ministry, Customs Authority, Maritime Transit Enterprise (MTS) and the Ethiopian Shipping Lines (ESL).

“We have been informed through a letter issued by the port,” Ephraim Tufa, head of Port Department under the Ministry and chairman of the intra-agency committee, says “It is too early to determine the extent of the impact on our economy. But I can tell you it will affect us a lot.”

The committee is analysing the impact of the tariff increase on all four areas. A particular concern for Ethiopian authorities, however, is the reduction of free storage period from 15 days to eight days. Ethiopian cargoes are often laid inside the port and free zone areas without being cleared for months. A glimpse along the road that passes through free zone and vehicles depot located behind the airport would have exposed a pile up of goods destined to Ethiopia; inside the container depot is a mountain of containers. The shorter the free storage grass period is the higher the cost for Ethiopian importers, both private and public.

The cost benefit analysis is expected to be completed next week, and the finding will be submitted to Girma Birru, minister of Trade and Industry, and Ethiopia’s led trade negotiator on bilateral and multilateral fronts.

He signed the port utilization agreement four years ago in Djibouti; it is an agreement that compels Djibouti to conduct consultation with Ethiopia prior to the introduction of tariff adjustment. “I’m surprised they did this before talking to us,” said a prominent negotiator on port related issues with Djibouti.

Other sources knowledgeable of the agreement between the two countries say Djibouti’s commitment it to inform Ethiopian authorities two months ahead of an intended increase, providing sufficient time for the first to start engagement.

“They [Djibouti authorities] have informed their counterpart their intention of adjusting the tariffs long ago,” said another businessman in Djibouti. “What you may see now the start of discussions between the two parties.”

Ethiopia uses 90 percent of Djibouti port’s services and relies nearly 100% on the port for imports. It is to be recalled that the Port of Djibouti had introduced an increment in 2001, after negotiations with the Ethiopian government.

Ethiopia’s import traffic via Djibouti port has been regularly increasing. Over 3.9 million metric tons of goods were imported in the year 1998 E.C. The volume increased to over 4.6 million metric tons in 1999 E.C.

According to a report from ENA, Ethiopia’s import via the Port of Djibouti increased by 20% in March this year, quoting the Ethiopian Ambassador to Djibouti, Ato Shemsedin Ahmed Roble. Relief grain import has decreased while construction materials and goods related to investment and infrastructure development have significantly increased lately.

However, in view of the current drought this situation may reverse. The new increment when applied will concern all port users, including vessels, operators, charters, mortgagees or agents, the cargo owners or agents (shippers), and other users of the port.

Djibouti Port Commercial Director, Aboubacar O. Hadi had explained that port charges on import represent only 1.6% of the total value of goods and on export the charges represent only 0.78%. In view of the continuous upgrading undertaken by the Port, and the hike in petrol price, over USD 145/barrel and rising, increments in the port charges were inevitable, note observers.

In 2007, Ethiopian imports were at 5 billion dollars and exports were 1.2 billion dollars worth. The port charge increment would incur millions in additional costs for Ethiopia.

The port of Djibouti had total traffic of 7.4 million metric tons in 2007, a 36% increase from the 5.4 million metric tons in 2006. The transshipment traffic has also been growing rapidly. Ethiopia and Djibouti combined represent 120,000 container imports, while transshipment alone is 50,000 containers.

The Port is also expecting to increase its transshipment business starting from next year with the Port of Doraleh. After completion in December 2008, the Port of Doraleh expects to service in the first two years 1.5 million containers per year. Later, it is expected to handle 2 million containers.