Importers will, starting June 20, pay a US$100 surcharge on containerised cargo destined for the depot at Embakasi in Nairobi.

East Africa Conference Lines is set to introduce the charge because of Kenya Railways' inability to transport containers from the port of Mombasa to Embakasi.

A statement from the Nairobi secretariat said there were approximately 1,000 import containers at Mombasa port awaiting railage to the Embakasi depot. The shipping firm also blames the pile-up of cargo at the port of Mombasa on the poor state of the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.

The statement said shippers and receivers using the Mombasa-Embakasi railtainer service were suffering heavy delays due to a shortage of Kenya Railways' rolling stock and locomotives.

"Representations continue to be made to the Kenya Railways but there is no sign that the situation is improving," the statement says.

East Africa Conference Lines says US$100 surcharge on a Twenty Equivalent Unit container will become effective on arrival of MSC Augusta at the port of Mombasa. Shipping lines will levy the surcharge on all through bills of lading issued in Europe for goods destined for the Embakasi depot.

"Where a change of status from delivery Mombasa to delivery Embakasi is made to a bill of lading in Mombasa, the surcharge will apply from June 20," the statement said.

The shipping firm says the situation will be kept under close review and the surcharge will be removed as soon as the conditions return to normal.

A KR official said the slow off-take of cargo from the port of Mombasa to Embakasi has been occasioned by the recent decision by South Africa to withdraw 10 locomotives it had leased to Kenya.

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