Dar es Salaam. With the continued global economic recovery, the performance of Tanzanian ports rebounded in the third quarter of 2021, as cargo handling by lake and sea ports increased by 10.7%.

According to the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), freight volumes totaled 4.677 million tonnes, a significant increase from 4.226 million tonnes handled during the corresponding period in 2020.

The port of Dar es Salaam, which holds the largest share, cleared 4.400 million tonnes of cargo against 3.9 million tonnes of cargo handled during the same period in 2020.

The performance reveals an unprecedented year with the Covid-19 pandemic having a huge impact on ports around the world.

“The performance of the port of Dar es Salaam was in part due to the expansion of berths and the dredging of the entrance channel, as well as the efforts of the government to encourage neighboring countries to use the port” , said BoT in its Consolidated Zonal Economic Performance report.

Other ports that have recorded notable increases are Mtwara and Lindi.

The central bank indicates that, for the port of Mtwara, the increase is explained by the importation of liquid cargoes, especially petroleum products. For Lindi, this is an increase in general cargo, especially forestry and maritime.

Freight volumes passing through the port of Mtwara increased by 70.8% to 46,711 tonnes while that of Lindi reached 3,225 tonnes, compared to 598 tonnes recorded in 2020.

Tanzania has the ports of Dar es Salaam, Tanga, Lindi and Mtwara in the Indian Ocean. It also has ports in Lake Victoria which serve the neighboring countries of Kenya and Uganda; Lake Tanganyika which connects with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, and Lake Nyasa which connects with Malawi.

Speaking to The Citizen, Tanzania Ports Authority Director General Eric Hamissi said deliberate efforts were being made by the government to invest in port handling equipment, which has increased efficiency and efficiency.

He said that in the national budget for fiscal year 2021/22, the government allocated 500 billion shillings to improve port infrastructure and that equipment worth 210 billion shillings had already been distributed.

“After the economies opened, the number of ships handled each month increased from 51 to 70 last year,” he said.

According to Hamissi, last year the port authority took a historic milestone after processing 10,000 tonnes in a single day, which had never been done before.

“Each day we typically process 5,000 tonnes and our average is 7,000 tonnes – with the exception of that day in November 2021 when we hit a historic milestone in processing ten thousand tonnes on that day,” Mr. Hamissi. He also combined improved port performance with management and staff who worked effectively to reduce cargo congestion in ports by clearing them on time.

On August 10, 2021, the port of Dar es Salaam received its largest cargo ever, the “Tranquil Ace” (IMO: 9561253), carrying 3,743 vehicles, of which 2,945 vehicles (65%) were in transit to other countries, while the remaining 798 vehicles were destined for Tanzania.