Landlocked principals
For principals in Juba, the sea starts at Mombasa or one of the other gateways. Maingate Shipping attends the vessel, clears the corridor paperwork and reports to the inland office as if it were standing on the quay.
Maingate Shipping Limited coordinates port agency for South Sudanese cargo at Mombasa, Port Sudan. Inbound, South Sudan receives fuel, food staples, relief cargo, vehicles, construction materials and equipment; outbound it ships crude oil by pipeline to Port Sudan, with gum arabic and timber by road. Each gateway has its own desk in this cluster; this desk is where a principal in Juba starts.
The regime: South Sudan's imports clear at Mombasa and move under transit bond through Kenya and Uganda, with humanitarian cargo following the agencies' own procedures. 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: relief agencies and their forwarders are the largest principals on this corridor, and the desk reports to their standard from the ship's rail to the Nimule crossing.
South Sudan's gateways, and what each is for. Port Sudan: the northern route when conditions allow. Mombasa: the Northern Corridor through Uganda to Nimule, the route for fuel, food, relief cargo and vehicles.
The desk quotes the options for each cargo on current port and border conditions, and the principal chooses on cost and time rather than on habit.
Inbound, South Sudan receives fuel, food staples, relief cargo, vehicles, construction materials and equipment. The vessel is attended at the gateway by Maingate's own staff at Mombasa or by our partner at the other ports under Maingate's instruction, the discharge is matched to the trucks or wagons, and the transit bond is lodged before the first tonne lands.
Bulk fertilizer and fuel programmes are the largest movements, and the desk coordinates bagging, tank space and haulage with the discharge so that the vessel is not stopped by the shore.
Outbound, South Sudan ships crude oil by pipeline to Port Sudan, with gum arabic and timber by road. 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 South Sudan corridor: South Sudan's imports clear at Mombasa and move under transit bond through Kenya and Uganda, with humanitarian cargo following the agencies' own procedures. 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 South Sudanese shipment: relief agencies and their forwarders are the largest principals on this corridor, and the desk reports to their standard from the ship's rail to the Nimule crossing.
Through Mombasa, Port Sudan, each with its own corridor, and the desk coordinates the call at whichever one the cargo uses.
Yes. The desk prices the port call and the corridor for each option on current conditions.
Yes, with reporting to the agency's standard from discharge to the border.
Yes. The chartering desk fixes the tonnage and the agency desk attends the call, on one file.
Nominate Maingate Shipping and the answer comes from Mombasa with a proforma DA attached.
Where a South Sudanese shipment goes next.
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