By Vincent Odhiambo | The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) has started moving heavy equipment that will be critical in handling cargo from the Port of Mombasa to Lamu Port as Kenya prepares to open the new facility on June 15, 2021.
The movement of goods between the two ports will be done in two shipments which will include Comarco, a marine and specialized contractor.
Over the weekend, Comarco and engineers from the port of Mombasa loaded the first shipment that is expected to leave Mombasa on Monday and arrive in Lamu on Tuesday.
The first shipment will contain equipment which does not need stability in loading and unloading including four-terminal tractors, eight skeletal trailers, two forklifts, two low-bed trailers, four lateral mark buoys and assorted lifting equipment
While supervising the loading of the equipment, KPA official Ernest Mbalanya said the exercise was executed with precision and care to avoid damages and also considered the adverse sea weather before sailing off.
“This forms the initial phase of transporting equipment that is critical in cargo handling to the new Lamu Port. We shall be carrying out a second shipment that will involve the bigger cranes that are used in loading and offloading from ships on May 5,” said Mbalanya.
Safety measures
For safety purposes, the equipment loaded on the 106-meter-long barge, will be sailing at a speed of five knots and will include lifting gears, one forklift boom attachments, three rail chains as well as four lateral mark channel buoys (navigational aid devices) each complete with 20 meters chain attachment.
On May 5, another shipment of sensitive equipment that requires stability that including two rubber-gantry cranes, one Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) scanner, two mobile cranes and other equipment critical for operation at the new port will start to be ferried.
Comarco is also expected to transfer a gigantic Rubber-Tyred Gantry Crane (RTGC) soon after making the first delivery.
According to Mbalanya, the equipment has been used before but assured Kenyans that they are in good shape.
He said that the equipment being shipped from the port of Mombasa will not affect the operations and services at the port and added that KRA would invest in more equipment
“These are more or less new equipment, they have not been used for long and their productivity is still high. We have followed the history of the machines through breakdown analysis and we don’t expect breakdown at Lamu Port because of breakdown of machines”
Other crucial equipment required for operations including four Kalmar terminal tractors, eight skeletal trailers, one 25- tonne forklift, one five-tonne forklift, two low bed trailers, two (20) spreaders and two (40) spreaders and one over- height spreader are expected to be transferred to Lamu Port by May 20.
The government has so far built the first three berths at the Lamu Port worth more than Ksh.40 billion with each berth measuring 400 meters that can comfortably accommodate the longest ship in the world.
The berths were constructed by China Communication Construction Company (CCC).
