Port of Mombasa Sees Record Cargo Growth in 2024

MOMBASA, Kenya – The Port of Mombasa, East Africa’s premier maritime gateway, recorded a significant increase in cargo throughput in 2024, with a total of 41.1 million tons of cargo passing through its facilities.

This marks a notable rise from the 35.98 million tons handled in 2023, according to the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).

KPA Managing Director Captain William Ruto announced the statistics on Thursday, highlighting Uganda as the top destination for transit cargo.

“Uganda remains our top transit destination, accounting for 65.7 percent of our transit cargo with 8,811,289 tons handled in 2024, up from 7,115,079 tons in 2023, representing a growth of 1,696,210 tons or a 23.8 percent increase compared to 2023,” said Captain Ruto.

South Sudan followed as the second-largest recipient of cargo from Mombasa, with 12.7 percent of the consignments.

The Democratic Republic of Congo accounted for 11.8 percent, Rwanda 5.1 percent, and Tanzania 3.4 percent.

The port also experienced remarkable growth in transshipment traffic, recording 491,666 TEUs in 2024, a 132.9 percent increase compared to 2023.

“This growth can be attributed to vessel diversions stemming from the Red Sea crisis and an increase in vessel calls to Mombasa driven by our efficient turnaround times,” Captain Ruto added.

December 2024 saw the highest cargo throughput for the year, with 3,746,363 tons shipped.

The port’s overall performance was bolstered by significant growth in both containerized and bulk cargo volumes.

Transshipment traffic, in particular, received a boost as major shipping lines chose Mombasa as their transshipment hub, enabling smaller feeder vessels to serve ports across eastern and southern Africa, as well as the Indian Ocean Islands.

The increase in cargo volume comes as a relief after the challenges faced in 2023, when diplomatic tensions between Kenya and Uganda led to a 200,000 metric ton decrease in Ugandan cargo passing through the port.