German firm Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth largest container shipping company, has made its way into the Kenyan shipping industry.
The operations of the firm will be managed by Kenyan firm Diamond Shipping services.
Hapag-Lloyd will make weekly trips from the port of Mombasa to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia before coming back through the port of Dar Es Salaam and again to Mombasa.
[box type=”shadow” align=”” class=”” width=””]According to data from the Ministry of Trade,the port of Mombasa has the capacity to handle 27 million tonnes of cargo annually a major improvement since 2011 when the port used to experience congestion.[/box]
Speaking at the launch of the company’s operations in Kenya, the firm’s Managing Director for Africa and the Middle East Dheeraj Bhatia said, “We looked at Kenya and saw it was a major point of entry if we have to access East Africa and its hinterlands.”
“I am delighted that our East Africa Service from and to Kenya is developing so positively. After only four months in operation, we have significantly expanded our business with overall vessel utilization beyond our expectations,” said Mr Bhatia.
“With our upcoming new EAS2 service we will be able to offer even better connections from and to East Africa. All in all we are experiencing growing client demand which demonstrates the economic potential of Kenya.”
I am delighted that our East Africa Service from and to Kenya is developing so positively. After only four months in operation, we have significantly expanded our business with overall vessel utilization beyond our expectations Dheeraj Bhatia
Hapag-Lloyd offers inland transportation to and from East African hinterland locations of Bujumbura (Burundi), Kigali (Rwanda), Lubumbashi (Democratic Republic of Congo), Lusaka (Zambia) and Kampala (Uganda).
The firm also operates in 19 other African ports especially in countries on the Atlantic coast such as Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Angola and also has a major presence in South African ports.
The GDP of Kenya has grown significantly in the last two years, rising by an average of approximately six percent. Kenya primarily exports coffee and tea, but also vegetables, fruits and textiles. The main imports are vehicles, spare parts, yarns, machines and electronic goods.