NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 4 – The Port of Lamu has handled about 5,200 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) from a single vessel for the first time, as the facility continues to build its container handling capacity.
The port on Saturday received MV Hamouna, a 366-metre container vessel carrying approximately 14,500 TEUs, with about 5,200 TEUs set for discharge at Lamu.
The discharged containers will be transferred to smaller feeder vessels for onward transportation to other destinations, making the latest call an example of transshipment activity at the port.
Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Managing Director Captain William Ruto said the volume discharged from the vessel was the highest handled from a single ship at the port.
“This is the first vessel to discharge over 5,000 TEUs at once. Even our Mombasa Port has not surpassed this figure, making Lamu Port the next frontier in the maritime industry,” said Captain Ruto.
MV Hamouna entered the port through the Eastern Channel, navigating about 14 nautical miles before berthing.
The vessel’s arrival highlights the physical capacity of Lamu to accommodate large container ships. The port’s berths have a depth of about 17.5 metres, allowing it to handle vessels with deeper draught requirements.
However, the latest call comes as Lamu remains a smaller container operation compared with the Port of Mombasa, which handles the bulk of Kenya’s containerized cargo and serves as the country’s main maritime gateway.
Lamu’s container traffic is expected to be influenced by the development of the LAPSSET Corridor, which is intended to connect the port with northern Kenya and neighboring countries.
The port has received several large container vessels in recent months.
MV Baltimore Express, a 369-metre vessel operated by Hapag-Lloyd, called at Lamu earlier this year, while MV Nagoya Express, measuring 335 metres, set an earlier vessel-size record at the port in August 2025.
The latest call also comes amid plans for the development of the Dangote East Africa Refinery in Lamu.
KPA has said the project could generate additional demand for port and logistics services, although the scale and timing of such demand will depend on the progress of the refinery.
