President Uhuru Kenyatta launched operations at the newly built Port of Lamu, with the arrival of the first ship MV CAP Carmel which was followed by another Mv Seago Bremerhavel.
MV CAP Carmel started its voyage from Dar es Salaam to the Kenyan coast 8 days ago on May 11, 2021 and arrived ahead of the commissioning on May 20.
The container ship which was built in 2003 is sailing under the flag of Singapore and eing operated by Maersk Shipping and Logistics, the world’s largest shipping line.
The two ships will be carrying avocados and an assortment of goods and signaled the start of operations after President Kenyatta commissioned the first berth at Lamu Port.
Lamu Port will be able to handle bigger ships due to its superior berths that are 400 metres long compared to Mombasa’s 350 metres.
Once all the phases are complete, the port will have 32 berths, making it the largest in sub-Saharan Africa.
Lamu Port also has a depth of 17.5 metres which is more than Mombasa’s 15 metre deep sea port.
Ships calling on the Lamu Port will be granted a 30-day free cargo storage moratorium and tax rebates of up to 40% to make the port more competitive.
On his way to commissioning the Sh310 billion infrastructure project, President Kenyatta launched the 114km Garsen-Witu-Lamu road.
The road will facilitate the movement of cargo in and out of the new deep sea port.