Kenya: In a historic feat, the Port of Lamu on Sunday evening welcomed the largest vessel ever to dock at any Port in East and Central Africa. The MV Baltimore Express, a colossal, measuring 369 meters in length overall, arrived from Oman’s Salalah Port.
To put that size into perspective, the ship spans nearly the length of three football pitches with 69 meters to spare. Many regional ports would struggle to accommodate such a giant, but Lamu stood up to the challenge.
With the port’s quay length of 400 meters per berth, MV Baltimore Express docked smoothly without any incident. The vessel was operated by German shipping line Hapag-Lloyd, during her stay in Lamu handled restows of dangerous cargo. This repositioned the DGs aboard the vessel in compliance to the International Maritime Organisation.
The call followed the earlier record set by a sister vessel MV Nagoya Express, a 335-meter container ship which docked at the Port of Lamu in August 2025. KPA’s General Manager Port of Lamu – Capt. Abdulaziz Mzee welcomed the ship, noting the port’s proven ability to handle ultra-large vessels.
General Manager Mzee said that the call lifted Lamu’s profile on the global maritime map and compared to some of the world’s most developed ports like Singapore, Rotterdam and Hamburg.
What sets the Port of Lamu apart from other regional ports is its naturally deep harbour of 17.5 meters. This depth allows Panamax and post-Panamax ships to sail into the channel with minimal or no dredging.
Many other African ports require constant dredging to deepen seabed enough to accommodate mega ships and stay competitive. This natural advantage enables Lamu to rival the world’s most modern ports. This positioned it not only as a trans-shipment gateway but also as a strategic hub capable of handling very high cargo volumes.
So far, Lamu has handled over 120 vessels since the start of the year with more expected to call in the coming days. To complement this growth Kenya Ports Authority is investing in modern equipment with the port expected to receive new cranes, terminal tractors and other cargo handling equipment in the course of the year.
Equally, Captain Aziz confirmed that ninety motor vehicles out of the 5000 had been discharged in March have already been evacuated from the port. As the global shipping industry evolves and ships continue to grow, the Port of Lamu stands uniquely ready. It is built for the future, not catching up to it