Shippers have urged Kenya’s tax and rail authorities to urgently fix cargo scanner breakdowns at the Port of Mombasa and the Nairobi Inland Container Depot (ICD), warning that prolonged disruptions are causing delays and undermining trade facilitation.
The Shippers Council of Eastern Africa (SCEA) said a rail-mounted cargo scanner at the Port of Mombasa has been out of service for the past two months, forcing all containers transported by the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to Nairobi to bypass scanning at the port of departure.
As a result, containers are only scanned on arrival at the ICD in Nairobi, shifting the entire inspection burden to the inland facility and slowing cargo clearance, the council said.
The problem is compounded by capacity constraints at the Nairobi ICD, where only two of the four drive-through scanners are currently operational. With all SGR cargo now requiring scanning on arrival, the reduced equipment is struggling to cope with volumes, SCEA said.
SCEA chief executive Agayo Ogambi said the breakdowns have led to longer truck queues, extended cargo dwell times and higher costs for importers, clearing agents, logistics firms and the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA). He warned that the delays threaten efficiency along the Northern Corridor, a key regional trade route.
In a letter to Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner General Humphrey Wattanga and Kenya Railways managing director Philip Mainga, Ogambi said temporary measures to keep cargo moving were not sustainable.
He called for the fast-tracking of repairs or replacement of the rail-mounted scanner at the Port of Mombasa, as well as the repair or replacement of the two non-operational scanners at the Nairobi ICD. He also urged the establishment of a sustainable maintenance framework to prevent future disruptions.
“Restoring full scanner functionality is critical for efficient port operations, revenue protection, customs integrity and national security,” Ogambi said.
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The appeal comes amid rising congestion at the Port of Mombasa, driven by higher cargo volumes, with traders calling for faster clearance and greater use of inland container depots and container freight stations to ease pressure at the port.
