Lamu has booked at least 11 vessels within a span of eight days with major calls by key global shipping lines, placing Kenya’s second major sea port on the global trade map.
This is for the period October 6 and October 13 (Tuesday next week), Kenya Ports Authority berthing schedule shows.
Notable calls within this period are by MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company), the world's largest container shipping line by fleet size and cargo capacity, whose MSC Long Beach vessel with a cargo capacity of 5,527 TEU (and up to 6,039 TEU depending on rating), called on October 6.
French ocean transportation and logistics company-CMA CGM Group has also become a frequent user of Kenya’s second major sea port.
Its container vessel CMA CGM Nerval with a capacity of 6,758 Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit docked at the facility on October 7.
Other vessels calling during the period include Greece, Chinese, UAE, other European countries and regional owned ships flying under different states’ flags.
The Port of Mombasa is expected to handle a total of 34 vessels in the next two weeks.
“During the same period, the Port of Lamu is expected to handle 11 vessels, comprising nine container vessels, one anchorage ship and one conventional vessel,” KPA said.
Overall, the two ports are expected to handle 45 vessels over the next 14 days.
This comes amid a growth in the number of vessels calling at the Lamu Port, which last year recorded a trotal of 155 ships.
Total Cargo handled was 799,161 tonnes (up from 74,380 tonnes in 2024, representing a 974 per centr increase).
This marked a major rise compared to 20 lines or vessels in 2024, 36 in 2023, four in 2022, and 12 in its launch year of 2021.
The had handled over 120 vessels by mid-May 2026, according to Kenya Ports Authority Managing Director, William Ruto, with this year’s numbers expected to set a new record.
At the beginning of this month, the port recorded a significant milestone after welcoming MV Hamouna.
This is a massive container vessel measuring 366 metres in length overall (LOA), further underscoring the port’s deep-water capability and its growing role as a transshipment and regional trade hub along the LAPSSET Corridor.
Apart from its impressive size, MV Hamouna arrived carrying approximately 14,500 TEUs, with about 5,200 TEUs discharged at Lamu Port, before being transshipped to various destinations by smaller feeder vessels.
Captain Ruto said the vessel’s arrival further demonstrated Lamu’s growing dominance as a strategic regional maritime hub.
“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,” he said.
With the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Dangote East Africa Refinery Capt. Ruto said the project would further boost port operations and create additional opportunities for maritime and logistics services in the region.
The Port of Lamu’s ability to accommodate some of the world’s largest vessels is supported by its deep-water harbour and modern berthing infrastructure.
Its berths have a depth of approximately 17.5 metres, providing sufficient draught for large vessels.
MV Hamouna is among the largest vessels to call at Lamu this year. Earlier, MV Baltimore Express, a 369-metre container vessel operated by German shipping line Hapag-Lloyd, called at the port.
In August 2025, another Hapag-Lloyd vessel, MV Nagoya Express, measuring 335 metres, set a previous vessel-size record at the Port of Lamu.
Its proximity to the open sea also gives Lamu significant potential as a transshipment hub for cargo destined for East Africa, the Middle East and beyond, placing it in competition with established regional transshipment centres such as the Port of Salalah in Oman.
