Tanzania has become the first country in Africa's Eastern and Central to host a huge vessel-the Tranquil ACE Panama carrying over 3,700 vehicles. The ship from Japan docked at the Dar es Salaam Port since yesterday morning, carrying a total of 3,743 vehicles, sending a key message over significant expansion of the port and improved efficiency.
Speaking to journalists at the port, Director General of the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), Mr. Eric Hamissi, said the country has never hosted such a big vessel in the history of the port. "We have broken the record. The previous record was the arrival of a ship with capacity to carry 2,600 cars," Mr. Hamissi explained, noting the Tranquil ACE Panama, which is owned by Mitsui Company, has cruised from Japan directly to the Dar es Salaam Port.
About 65 percent of the vehicles carried in the ship, which started off loading from yesterday, are in transit and the remaining 35 percent are destined for Tanzania. "This figure signals that we are the leading importers for other neighboring countries in comparison to the past, this is due to efforts by the sixth-phase government to attract business people in the country,"he said.
Speaking over general performance of the port during the past two years, the DG said the number of cargo handled has tremendously increased. The port handled 1,45 tonnes of cargo in July this year, up from 1,19 tonnes of the previous month, which is an increase by 18 percent. Likewise, the cargo handled in June this year was up by 28 percent in comparison with the number handled during the corresponding month last year, when the port served 938,000 tonnes.
Again, for the month of July this year the port's cargo handling capacity increased by 23 percent compared to the same period last yearwhen the cargo was about 800,000 tonnes. "This year we have done a good job despite COVID-19 pandemic which has affected many ports worldwide," he said while, criticizing individuals who claim that the number of ship arrivals has declined at the port. He pointed out that in July last year the port hosted 116 vessels, but in July this year 136 vessels docked, an increase by 17 percent.
The captain of the Tranquil ACE Panama, Diordado Garate, commended government's efforts to improve the port, and expressed optimism that more big vessels will be coming in the future. On his part, Branch Manager for Inchcape Shipping Agent, Mr. John Massawe, said since the project to improve port infrastructures started, the Mitsui Company has been pleased and has built trust over the port's capacity to handle cargo.
The volume of cargo, handled at the Dar es Salaam port, is projected to rise by about 43 percent during the next four years when the ongoing berths expansion is completed. Handled cargo volumes will increase by 7,5 million tonnes - to 25 million tonnes in 2025 - compared to the 17,5 million tonnes handled last year. Despite of the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the port managed to handle 17,5 million tonnes of cargoes in 2019/2020, compared to 17,1 million tonnes recorded in 2018/2019.
This will be possible through the ongoing $421 million (about 900bn/-) Dar es Salaam Marine Gateway Project (DMGP), a ten-year project that started in 2015. The project is being conducted in two phases, where the first phase covers the expansion of eight berths, drilling the entry-pathway, container yards and construction of railway. The second phase will cover the expansion of four berths (Berth 8 to Berth 11).