The Port of Tanga reports that it has grown its vessel volumes significantly in the past five years to handle both freight and passengers and link a number of African countries.
The number of vessels calling at the Tanzanian port has increased by 14% in the last five years, which has seen it building on its mainstay of handling mainly agricultural products to including copper and major commodities.
The Tanzania Port Authority’s (TPA) three main Indian Ocean ports are Dar es Salaam, Mtwara, and Tanga; minor seaports serving coastal traffic include Lindi, Kilwa Masoko, Mafia Island, Bagamoyo, Pangani and Kwale.
The Port of Tanga lies on the northern coast of Tanzania near the Kenyan border. It was built in 1914, initially to serve the commercial and agricultural needs of northern Tanzania.
It specialised mainly in the movement of cargo from the timber, black tea, sunflower products, coffee and macadamia sectors amongst others.
"The port is now recording growth in handling imports of raw materials, including pet-coke, clinker, water pipes, trucks, ammonium nitrate, machinery, and machinery parts. This is due to the national revitalisation of the industrial sector," a report released by the Tanga port manager, Masoud Mrisha, states.
With the port's expansion and improvement, he believes it has the potential to perform better right now.
Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Malawi and Kenya are the market countries that could be served by the port. The report claims that it is the only port in Africa with such a capability.
It provides passenger services to handle traditional and modern vessels, including cruise ships and dhows that travel to Unguja and Pemba in Zanzibar.
Being close to the Northern Tourism Circuit, which includes Saadani National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Serengeti and Kilimanjaro National Park, the port has the potential to grow cruise tourism calls.
