Specialized trucks with the capacity to load and unload containers of up to 50 metric tons using hydraulic systems have hit the Kenyan market.
This will be a game changer for the local importers facing immediate cargo storage challenges since it will give them an opportunity to be left with containers on site for convenient offloading in line with the free period allowed by the shipping line.
Importers are supposed to return empty containers to designated yards in Mombasa within 14 days for domestic cargo and up to 45 days for transit goods.
This technology has been popular in West Africa and Europe and has been introduced in Kenya for the first time by Ev-Logistics, a new transport company based in Mombasa. The new fleet is targeting cargo offloaded at Mombasa port and Inland Container Depot in Nairobi.
The modified trucks can stack up to two containers high, which will significantly improve truck turn around and also save on transport cost. An importer with a huge shipment of containers will not be required to hire a large fleet of trucks since the specialized containers only require 15 minutes to offload the cargo.
The new side loaders guarantee safety for fragile cargo and are specifically designed to meet the needs of the importers by providing container handling outside the port.
“Our logistics package includes both transport and handling on site and is geared to be not only cost effective but also convenient to our clients,” Ev- Logistics Director Kimkung Mwanjala told Freight Logistics.
The new truck will ease pressure from transporters or loaders who have often had to work on tight timelines exposing them to injury, damages on goods and sometimes theft when they have to work overnight. Shippers using the specialized trucks will be able to plan for labour, especially when handling delicate cargo that requires meticulous planning.
The short period of time required to unload a container will give the transporter an opportunity to carry out proper planning such as arranging for the parking and reduce on additional costs of security, which has become a norm in the transport industry.
For export containers, the loading and unloading can be done with precision. With the new trucks, exporters or traders will not be required to invest in container handling equipment at their loading points, freeing their capital for their core business.
“Our Objective is to achieve efficient container handling operations,” Mwanjala said
Among other benefits include reduced labour cost, improved working space
and tonnage to be transported put under control.
With the Nairobi Inland Container Depot traffic increasing immensely from State directive to haul cargo from the Port of Mombasa to Nairobi using Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), the new trucks will have an added advantage.
The depot doubled the number of cargo it handled last year compared to previous years.
According to Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) in 2019, a total of 418,830 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) were handled at the NICD up from 257,972 TEUs in 2018.
The truck will also be valuable for Mombasa bound cargo that is being cleared through the Container Freight Stations (CFSs).
