Business at the Mombasa Port has slowed down following heavy rains being experienced in the county.
The poor weather has interrupted the smooth flow of cargo, especially the bulky ones like fertiliser, dealing a big blow to farmers as the planting season sets in.
Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) head of affairs Bernard Osero said the ongoing heavy rains have affected operations at the port mainly the conventional cargo section that handles bulk cargo.
Mr Osero said one of the vessels offloaded only 262 metric tonnes of fertiliser in a shift, compared to the 1,000 tonnes that is handles under normal circumstances.
He said visibility was also poor due to heavy rains, which also slowed down crane operations because of slippery conditions.
“The downpour at the port has heavily affected visibility and operations. Commodities like fertiliser cannot be offloaded. In the last 24 hours, only 220 tonnes of fertiliser have been offloaded compared to 3,300 tonnes in a normal day,” said Osero.
He added, “A slow off-take of the bagged fertiliser was also visible as a result of the low number of trucks that turned up for business. At the main container terminal, operations were going on but equally on a slower pace,” said Mr Osero.
Marine services were also affected as pilotage and mooring operations were slowed by poor visibility at sea due to the heavy rains.