Due to power blackout that hit Mombasa for about four days, The Kenya Port Authority recorded a substantial loss.
Exact figure has not been quoted since experts are still assessing the losses which KPA incurred after power supply was cut short due to Kipevu substation getting burnt down from an electric fault.
Operations at the containers terminals had to stop because cranes at the port solely depend on power supply from the mains from the Kenya Power company.
Yesterday experts from the affected department at the port were still compiling reports on the actual loss suffered during the three-day outage.
KPA head of corporate affairs Bernard Osero said they need some more time to have a comprehensive report on the losses suffered.
“We are waiting for reports from various departments before we give out the total losses. We cannot give out half baked information for now,” said Osero on phone.
The losses are estimated to run into millions of money as loading and offloading of cargo was stalled for three days. The Sea to Shore Gantry cranes and the Rail Mount Gantry cranes that are used to load and offload cargo at the port were jammed after the incident.
Three ships that were docked at the port were forced to use their own cranes to offload cargo as they wait for the power supply to resume
On a normal day two cranes operate on a single ship with cargo offloading ranging between 1,700-1,800 containers. The exercise was however affected by the power shortage.
However, Osero said cargo clearing was not affected as generators were used to supply power to the offices. Meanwhile, the Kenya Power Company said they have fully restored power to all their customers in Mombasa.
Speaking journalists KPLC corporate communications manager Bomba Mahaga said they have fully restored power to all their clients. “All customers are back to supply,” he said.