Lamu Port Makes Good Progress as MV Devon Docks
MV Devon received at Lamu Port. (Photo by Rashid Kiyumbe)
By Rashid Kiyumbe
Email, thecoastnwspaper@gmail.com
The Lamu Port business continues to grow with each passing day as more ships dock at its three berths this month.
The latest ship to call at t he port site in Kililana is MV Devon. It arrived on Thursday, June 5, 2025 and was received by top Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) officials led by the port’s general manager Engineer Vincent Sidai.
Addressing journalists shortly after receiving the vessel, the manager noted that since the port was operationalised on May 20, 2021 its activities have grown in bounds with receiving ships fr om various countries at almost weekly basis.
Eng. Sidai expressed happiness with the operations and the general progress at the facility saying more vessels were expected over the weekend.
“The Lamu Port transshipment business has really taken its course. In recent times, we’ve been receiving vessels from Oman, Djibouti, Tanzania, Zanzibar and the rest of the countries in the world to Lamu almost on weekly basis. This is a clear indication that the facility’s initial expectations are being met,” he said.
He called upon Lamu residents and the various investors in the country, including those dealing with ships, to have confidence on the port.
“We need your support to move the Lamu Port forward. Operations took off well in 2021 and since then, we’ve had great strides.”
The Lamu Port is a Sh310 billion facility. It is one of the crucial elements of the entire Sh25 trillion Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor which is a vision 2030 flagship project.
Apart from the MV Devon, other ships that have so far called at port situated at Kililana area are bulk cargo carrier MV African Swan.
The vessel, which came from Djibouti, was the first-ever bulk cargo ship to have docked at Lamu Port since its operationalisation about five years ago.
Others are MV CAP Carmel, MV Seago Bremerhaven, MV Amu 1, MV Spirit of Dubai, MV Seago Piraeus, MV Seago Istanbul, Ionian Express, Zuhra II, MV Songa Cougar, MV Banyas 1, MV UHL Finesse, MV Boston Trader among others.
It is worth noting that the efficiency and capacity of operations at Lamu Port is also attributed to the purchase of Harbour Mobile Cranes (HMCs) by the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).
In June 2023, KPA bought and dispatched the state-of-the-art cranes at the Lamu Port. They were all manufactured in Germany.
All the cranes have a lifting capacity of 100 tonnes, a specification that has enabled the port’s capability to handle larger cargo vessels like the MV African Swan.
