Corridor desk
Burkina Faso trades through Lomé, Tema, Abidjan, Cotonou. Maingate Shipping coordinates the port call, the corridor documents and the reporting to principals in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso from one desk in Mombasa, so that an importer or exporter inland deals with one agent whichever gateway the cargo uses.
Maingate Shipping Limited coordinates port agency for Burkinabè cargo at Lomé, Tema, Abidjan, Cotonou. Inbound, Burkina Faso receives fuel, fertilizer, cement, food staples and mining equipment; outbound it ships cotton, shea products, sesame and gold, the last by air. Each gateway has its own desk in this cluster; this desk is where a principal in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso starts.
The regime: cargo moves under the West African transit regime from the port of choice, with the Burkinabè shippers' council coordinating corridor allocations. The desk prepares the corridor documents with the receiver's clearing agent before the vessel arrives, so that discharge is not held by paperwork.
What shapes the traffic: fuel and fertilizer programmes for Burkina Faso often ship in bulk to Lomé or Tema for bagging and road haulage, and the desk coordinates the port call with the haulier's loading.
Lomé: the Lomé corridor, the busiest route for Burkinabè cargo. Tema: the Tema corridor through Ghana. Abidjan: the Abidjan corridor with its railway to Ouagadougou. Cotonou: the Cotonou corridor for eastern Burkina.
Corridor choice for Burkina Faso is not fixed: rail performance, border delays and port congestion move the answer, and the desk's job is to know the answer this month.
Imports for Burkina Faso are fuel, fertilizer, cement, food staples and mining equipment, and most of them arrive in bulk or in bags on vessels the desk attends at the gateway. Discharge is planned with the receiver's forwarder, the bond is lodged and the haulage booked to the rate the berth can deliver.
The inland office receives the daily figures and the out-turn as the receiver's clearing agent does.
Outbound, Burkina Faso ships cotton, shea products, sesame and gold, the last by air. Export documents, loading supervision, mate's receipts and bills of lading are handled at the loading port, and vessel nominations are timed to the producer's programme and the corridor's delivery to the quay.
Where the shipper needs tonnage, the chartering desk fixes it and the same file runs from fixture to sailing.
Documents on the Burkina Faso corridor: cargo moves under the West African transit regime from the port of choice, with the Burkinabè shippers' council coordinating corridor allocations. Getting them right before discharge is the difference between cargo that leaves the port as it lands and cargo that pays storage while a form is corrected.
And the fact behind every Burkinabè shipment: fuel and fertilizer programmes for Burkina Faso often ship in bulk to Lomé or Tema for bagging and road haulage, and the desk coordinates the port call with the haulier's loading.
It depends on the cargo, the receiver's location and current corridor conditions; the desk compares Lomé, Tema, Abidjan, Cotonou for each shipment and says which it would choose.
Yes. Importers, exporters and their forwarders appoint the desk for the port call and the corridor coordination and receive the same reporting as a shipowner.
Maingate Shipping's own staff at Mombasa and Lamu; our partner agent at the other gateways, appointed and instructed by Maingate, with the Mombasa desk coordinating and reporting.
The bond is lodged with the receiver's clearing agent before discharge, and the corridor documents follow the cargo to the border.
Nominate Maingate Shipping and the answer comes from Mombasa with a proforma DA attached.
Where a Burkinabè shipment goes next.
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Maingate Shipping Limited · Express Building, Moi Avenue, Mombasa, Kenya · ops@maingateshipping.com · +254 784 622 091