Vehicle calls
Used and new vehicles for Kenya and its neighbours arrive at Mombasa on pure car carriers and ro-ro vessels from Japan, the Gulf, Europe and South Africa. Maingate Shipping acts as port agent for these calls, coordinating the ramp, the driver teams, the port's vehicle yards and the inspection and customs regime that used vehicles pass through.
A vehicle call is fast when the yard is ready and the drivers are organised, and slow when it is not. The desk prepares both before the vessel berths.
Berth allocation for the vessel's ramp, tide and ramp angle checked, stevedore driver teams booked in numbers that match the discharge plan, and the port's yard allocated for the number of units on the manifest.
Kenya inspects used vehicle imports for roadworthiness and age at origin and on arrival; the desk coordinates the standards inspection, customs verification and the release of units to the importers' clearing agents so that the yard clears as fast as it fills.
Vehicles for Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and DR Congo move under transit bonds by road or rail, and the desk coordinates the transit documentation with the clearing agents and the port.
Maingate Shipping Limited, Mombasa: ship agents at Kenyan ports since 2020, crew managers and recruiters of Kenyan seafarers, ship brokers for the East African trades, and the coordinating desk for port calls across Africa. The office at Express Building on Moi Avenue is a short drive from Kilindini Harbour and Moi International Airport, which is why crew, spares and cash reach vessels at Mombasa without a wasted hour.
The company works for owners, charterers, managers, traders, lines, clubs and fleets, and puts its terms, its DAs and its reports in writing.
It depends on unit count, driver teams and yard readiness; the desk gives an estimate for each call from the manifest and current conditions.
Yes. Trucks, buses, tractors and machinery on ro-ro decks are discharged with the operators and lashing gear the units require.
The desk acts for the line or the vessel's owners as port agent; importers are served through their clearing agents with whom we coordinate.
One instruction, one account, one contact for the master and one for the principal.
Related desks on the same instruction line.
Also on maingateshipping.com: Ship agency at Mombasa · Ship agency and charter brokers · Ship brokerage · About Maingate · Contact
Maingate Shipping Limited · Express Building, Moi Avenue, Mombasa, Kenya · ops@maingateshipping.com · +254 784 622 091