Kenya's Port of Mombasa has seen a significant increase in transit cargo in the first half of the year, as hinterland countries shifted their freight operations from the Dar es Salaam harbour due to inefficiencies there.

Transshipment through Mombasa rose by 18 percent, with notable growth from Burundi, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.

Burundi experienced the most substantial increase, with the port handling 1,502 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in the first six months of 2024, up from 357 TEUs during the same period in 2023, a 320 percent rise.

Rwanda also saw an 82 percent increase in TEUs, from 7,182 to 13,059, while Tanzania's volumes grew by 62 percent, from 5,131 TEUs to 8,325 TEUs.

The efficiency of the Port of Mombasa, where cargo clearance can take as little as four days, compared to up to 25 days at Dar es Salaam, has attracted shippers.

This efficiency helps avoid significant demurrage costs associated with delays. The Central Corridor, which begins at the Port of Dar es Salaam and serves Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, and Eastern DRC, remains the shortest route for these countries.

However, the Dar es Salaam Port, Kenya's main regional competitor, is grappling with severe congestion, leading to prolonged vessel clearance times.

This congestion has an impact on shipping costs and causes market shortages, prompting Great Lakes countries to divert more traffic to Mombasa.

Key metrics at the Port of Mombasa have improved, with the turnaround time for container vessels decreasing from an average of three days in 2022 to two days in 2023.

The average container dwell time also dropped to 3.5 days from 3.9 days last year, a 10 percent improvement.

Additionally, ship waiting time for containerised vessels decreased to 0.2 days, while the gross vessel turnaround time fell significantly from 90.5 hours in 2022 to 64.1 hours in 2023.