BEST RECORD PERFORMANCE WITNESSED AT THE PORT OF MOMBASA

BEST RECORD PERFORMANCE WITNESSED AT THE PORT OF MOMBASA

By Douglas Muriithi

The Port of Mombasa has witnessed a record

performance by a new caller at the second

container terminal.

Container carrier Mv. Cosco Yinkou docked

On Friday 12th June 2020 at wee hours berth

No.21 and was expected to complete discharge

and loading operations .

KPA Crane operator and the man of the moment

George Ominde recorded 362 moves per crane

shift, registering the best performance since the

beginning of the year.

The vessel worked with three Ship to Shore

gantry cranes registering a total of 914 moves

during the shift leaving a balance of 978 moves,

both in and out. She is expected to sail later in

the day recording fast turnaround time. This is

quite remarkable considering that the shipping

industry is also grappling with the covid-19

pandemic.

It was a double victory for the container carrier

as she also marked her maiden call to the port

under the new joint service dubbed Mashariki

by two world largest shipping lines. In this

sharing agreement Maersk and COSCO (China

Ocean Shipping Company) ranking the top and

third largest shipping companies respectively

increase their network for Eastern Africa region.

The two shipping giants will now ensure a

dedicated service for both Mombasa and Dar

Es Salaam ports. The vessel sharing deal is

meant to further improve the service level and

port coverage for customers. The new

dedicated ocean service will also see the

shipping line increase its network connecting

Asia to Eastern Africa.

According to Maersk Shipping Line, Mv. Cosco

Yinkou is the first vessel to arrive at the Port of

Mombasa following the launch of the first

sailing of the improved service under the

sharing agreement on May 21st. May 21st.

With a new direct connection to the port of

Shanghai, it will provide customers, who are

served via the port of Mombasa, great access

to one of the key markets in China. In addition,

the export customers will experience a great

enhancement with cargo from Mombasa to

Asia moving on average 2 weeks faster. From

Mombasa Maersk offers end-to-end transport

solutions to many of company’s customers

based in Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan for

both dry and refrigerated cargo.

Commenting on the latest record, Kenya Ports

Authority Acting Managing Director Eng. Rashid

Salim congratulated the staff for their

dedication and teamwork which he attributed to

the splendid ship performance .He described it

as a job well done by the operators especially

now with the covid-19 pandemic not-

withstanding.

He noted that keeping in line with the measures

against the corona virus, discharge of the Port

operations has continued with reduced staff as

some worked from home as well as those with

underlying medical conditions.

The acting MD attributed the improved

performance to a great coordination amongst

the various players in the whole cycle and right

attitudes.