How Many Ships Dock in Mombasa and Lamu – Monthly Port Calls

Kenya has two seaports, one in Mombasa and the other in Lamu. The port of Mombasa is one of the largest in East Africa, handling millions of containers annually and hundreds of ships monthly. 

The port of Lamu is relatively newer and was developed to serve the northern corridor as part of the LAPSSET program.

Quick Facts

1. In 2022, Kenyan ports handled 1.45 million TEUs.
2. In 2025, the port of Mombasa received 1,656 port calls, compared to Lamu’s 77.
3. Imports passing through Kenyan ports in 2025 amounted to 28.3 million tons.
4. Exports through Kenyan ports in 2025 were 1.15 million tons.
5. Containers were the most common cargo type with a total of 720 port calls.

How Many Containers do Kenyan Ports Handle?

Data from the World Bank revealed that in 2022, Kenyan ports handled a total of 1.45 containers, as measured in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).^[1]

Compared to Tanzanian competitor ports, this was double what they handle. In total, Tanzanian ports handled 700,000 containers in the same year.

How Many Vessels Docked in Kenyan Ports?

Unlike TEU, which measures the number of containers passing through a port, port calls are the number of vessel arrivals in a port.

In 2025, the port of Mombasa had 1,656 port calls, compared to only 77 in Lamu. This represents the total number of shipping vessels that docked in both ports.^[2]

Total Imports Through Kenyan Ports

Most Kenyan imports pass through Kenyan ports. In 2025 alone, a total of 28.3 million tons of imports came through Kenyan ports.

This was significantly higher than the 15.3 million tons of imports that went through Tanzanian ports in 2025.

Total Exports Through Kenyan Ports

Kenya imports more than it exports and we can see this from the table below.

While Kenya imported 28.3 million tons of goods in 2025, it only managed to export 1.15 million tons of goods. In contrast, Tanzania exported more through its ports than we do, with total exports amounting to 2.16 million tons in the same year.[3]

Port Calls into Kenyan Ports by Cargo Types

Ships don’t just transport containers. In other cases, they can be tankers carrying fuel or other chemicals, or they could carry general cargo that cannot fit into containers.

Other vessels carry dry bulk goods such as grain and fertiliser, or RORO, which stands for Roll On and Roll Off, representing vessels that carry wheeled machines such as cars.

In 2025, a total of 720 vessel arrivals carried containers, with 322 consisting of dry bulk vessels.

Between the port of Mombasa and Lamu, the number of port calls by cargo type IN 2025 could be broken down as follows:

See Also

1. Are Tanzanian Sea Ports Overtaking Mombasa?
2. Length of Paved and Unpaved Roads in Kenya – Bitumen and Earth Roads.
3. Access to Electricity in Kenya by County
4. Population Access to the Internet by County

References