Ports are an important node of shipping, and one route after another connects ports, laying the cornerstone for the development of international trade. In recent years, with the development of the global economy, the foreign trade industry of developed countries such as Europe and the United States, Japan and South Korea has gradually become a Red Sea market, accompanied by the rapid development of the Southeast Asian foreign trade market. In this context, many foreign traders have turned to emerging markets such as Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Among them, Africa can be divided into East Africa, West Africa, North Africa, South Africa and Central Africa according to the local area. Although many foreign traders have poured into the African market, due to the large number of ports, everyone still does not know much about the ports. Here, Mei Xinjun will first introduce the East African ports.
1. Overview of East African ports
East African countries include Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and the western Indian Ocean island nation of Seychelles.
The basic ports of East Africa include Mombasa and Dar es Salaam. The so-called basic port, refers to the liner company's ships are mostly located in the center of the larger port, so generally to regularly dock the port, East African maritime port equipment conditions are better, the cargo load is more and stable, the provision for the basic port is no longer limited in cargo.
Important ports include Djibouti, Mogadishu, Tamataf, etc. (Port Louis and Maputo are classified in East Africa in their geographical positions, but are listed by shipping companies as major ports in South Africa on the route). Non-basic ports generally charge a transfer surcharge in addition to the basic port charges. When a certain cargo volume is reached, a direct flight surcharge will be added.
Major ports in East Africa
Among the east African ports, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam are the gateway ports of East Africa, and many landlocked countries have transited through them.
#蒙巴萨港 (MOMBASA)
01 Geographical location and advantages
The Port of Mombasa (port code KEMOM) is located on the island of Mombasa on the southeast coast of Kenya, with a railway bridge connecting the seawall and the mainland, bordering the western side of the Indian Ocean, and is the largest port in Kenya and one of the largest in East Africa. The conditions of the Port of Mombasa are second to none among many ports in East Africa. The port has 21 berths of various types of 10,000 tons or more, the port draft is more than 9.45 meters, 24 hours navigable, with a variety of loading and unloading equipment and ro-ro equipment, of which the maximum lifting capacity of containers is 40 tons. The port area has a transshipment shed area of 92,000 square meters, and there are supporting facilities such as cold storage and freight yard.
02 Port facilities of Mombasa
Due to the perfect facilities and convenient transportation conditions of Mombasa Port, which is close to the geographical advantages of Central African countries, Mombasa is also a transit port for major Countries in Central Africa. Whether it is containerized cargo or major bulk cargo, it needs to be transferred from the port of Mombasa, such as to Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Rwanda and other national cities. At the same time, the port of Mombasa is also the most frequently docked by many bulk carriers passing through East Africa.
At the front yard of the Mombasa Container Port Area, there is a dedicated railway directly connected to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, Kesumu, the third largest city in Kenya, and Kampala, the capital of Uganda, and there are special container trains to Nairobi every day. The Mombasa Port Authority has CFS yards in Nairobi, Kesumu and Canberra. In addition, there are door-to-door road intermodal services from Mombasa to Rwanda and Bron. According to incomplete statistics, the port of Mombasa imports and exports about 150,000-200,000 TEU containers per year, which is about 3-4 times the import and export volume of neighboring ports.
#达累斯萨拉姆港 (DAR ES SALAAM)
Located in Dar es Salaam Bay on the eastern coast of Tanzania, bordering the western side of the Indian Ocean, dar es Salaam Harbour (port code TZDAR) is tanzania's largest seaport and one of the most famous ports in East Africa. There are perfect wind and wave shelter facilities in the port, and there are 11 main berths in the port area, and the loading and unloading equipment is fully equipped, of which the maximum lifting capacity of floating cranes is 120 tons. Bulk docks reliably berth 30,000 dwt bulk carriers, and oil tanker jetty terminals can berth 36,000 dwt tankers.
02 Dar es Salaam Port Facilitation
Dar es Salaam is the political, economic, cultural and transport center of Tanzania, from which several important railways are extended, through which two-thirds of the country's import and export goods are distributed, while providing convenient access to the sea for parts of the neighboring Congo and two landlocked countries of Rwanda and Burundi.
The port of Dar es Salaam is well-transported, with the Trans-Tanzania Central Railway, stretching from Dar es Salaam in the east to Kigoma on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in the west. There is also the Tanzania-Zambia Railway built with the assistance of the mainland, starting from Dar es Salaam, with a total length of 1860km, the completion of this railway not only connects tanzania and Zambia, but also promotes the development of Tanzania's national economy. Inland and remote areas, roads are the mainstay.
2. Control logistics and win the market
African ports are strategically located, and in the context of the accelerated development of globalization, African coastal ports have become the key infrastructure for Africa to participate in economic globalization. As a place with unlimited international trade opportunities, Africa is naturally an area that needs to be deeply involved in the process of international trade development. However, the in-depth development of International Trade in Africa will have to face huge geographical differences, logistics and transportation.
Meixin focuses on industry supply chain solutions, in addition to deeply cultivating the United States, it can also provide full-container logistics services for customers focusing on the African market. The service map of Meixin in Africa covers 22 countries and 18 ports, which can control logistics nodes, grasp the status of goods at any time, and better ensure logistics timeliness.