According to a World Bank report titled the Global Container Port Performance Index, the Port of Mombasa has continued to perform poorly against its regional peers.
The latest report released mid-May 2023 ranked Kenya at position 326 out of 348 ports globally.
According to World Bank, the new position - considered the port's activities in 2022 - dropped from position 296 in 2021, representing a drop of more than 30 slots.
Mombasa Port's drop was attributed to the reduced cargo volume the port cleared in 2022, which was a drop compared to 2021, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
With its latest ranking, the port trailed its main Eastern African competitors, including Dar es Salaam and Djibouti.
Dar es Salaam, believed to have eaten into the Kenya port's cargo volume, improved its global standing to position 312.
In the report, the World Bank explained that it settled on the ranking after observing the efficiencies depending on how much time a ship spent docked at the ports.
"Dar Es Salaam, Monrovia, Douala, Pointe-Noire, Tema, Luanda, Lomé, Lagos, Port Victoria, Dakar, and Ngqura have driven the overall improvements and reductions in average arrival hours in African ports.
"The increase is slightly offset by increased average arrival time in Cape Town, San Pedro, Abidjan, and Mombasa," read the report in part.
In 2022, Mombasa Port handled 33.74 million metric tonnes, a drop from the 34.76 million tonnes recorded in the previous financial year.
According to KNBS, the drop was caused by road tolls, heavy traffic and, at times, multiple charges when trucks arrive at the border.
Recently, there was also a tussle between the state and Mombasa residents over the transfer of clearing services to Naivasha and the forced use of Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) for transportation.
