Busia News Blog

Kenya Ports Authority (KPA)

Lamu Port is beginning to reap the ripple effects of the ongoing conflict in the Gulf, with several shipping agents already making inquiries about available docking space.

In a notable development, the port has received its second car carrier ,Grande Florida, a vessel operated by Grimaldi Shipping Line. The ship, with a capacity of up to 9,000 vehicles, arrived carrying 3,800 cars from Yokohama, Japan, originally destined for Port Jebel Ali in Dubai but rerouted due to the conflict.

This latest arrival brings the total number of vehicles handled at Lamu Port to over 4,200, all of which will be stored within the port’s warehousing facilities.

With expectations of more vessels diverting from traditional Gulf routes, activity at Lamu Port is set to rise steadily, positioning it as an emerging strategic alternative in regional maritime logistics.

In 2018 there happened a robbery involving some very senior politicians in Budalang’i. Building materials that were meant for the Sigiri Bridge Construction had arrived earlier that day.

The materials were to be sold to dealers as it had been the norm that had led to the collapse of the Bridge midway during its construction.

What had been planned to be a smooth diversion of the building materials to be return into the local market after being sold to local dealer in Hardware businesses turned fetal to a number of those involved as a disagreement arose.

It happened into the night, by morning there lay bodies of the dead Laborers who had been paid to transfer the materials from the trucks that had delivered them onto the local wheeler-dealer’s trucks.

Many more bodies were recovered downstream the Nzoia River.

Many lost their lives in the process, but the case was well covered up.