Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) has revealed that Dar es Salaam port has received its biggest cargo vessel ever, measuring 199.95 metres by width of 32.2 metres.
The Tranquil Ace (IMO: 9561253), arrived at the Dar Port after midnight of August 10, 2021 and expected to leave the port today August 11, 2021. This historic milestone would build both domestic and foreign confidence on the capacity of the facility.
The ship had 3,743 vehicles, of which 2,945 vehicles (65 percent) were in transit to other countries and the remaining 798 vehicles were for Tanzania.
TPA’s director general Eric Hamissi said the handling and clearing of cargo from such a big ship will automatically market Tanzanian ports across the world.
Hamissi said, “This means exporters and shipping lines have confidence in the port of Dar es Salaam. It means a lot, because this is a direct shipping. It came direct from Japan to Dar es Salaam,” he added.
“This is a huge milestone for Tanzania since no other country in the East and Southern region with the exception of from South Africa has ever handled this much volume,” .
“Going forward we expect more ships. If we have demonstrated we can handle such big shipping lines with such consignment with this kind of volume,” said the director general.
John Massawe who is the Branch manager of Inchcape Shipping Services (the shipping service company that handled the big vessel) explained that this was the start of a new journey to effectively use the Dar port to its full capacity.
He said, “This has built confidence, because we have never seen such a big ship dock at our port. Thus, for businesses it is an opportunity to now utilize the port.”
Massawe said in its direct route, the ship spent 20 days from Japan direct to Dar, which is less than the usual 30 days.
TPA’s boss Hamissi also said the Dar port has performed well in the previous two months of June and July 2021, compared to the same period last year.
He said the port handled 1,192,000 tonnes and 1,455,000 tonnes of cargo in June and July, 2021 respectively, higher than 934,000 tonnes and 1,187,000 tonnes in June and July 2020.
