Second livestock export to Oman leaves Lamu port

The second batch of livestock transshipment to the Port of Salalah in Oman finally left the Lamu Port over the weekend aboard MV Banyas 1 after a month of waiting to assemble the animals.

MV Banyas 1, a Togolese specially designed livestock carrier vessel docked at the Port of Lamu on November 4 to ferry livestock, including camels, bulls, sheep, and goats.

Speaking to Nation.Africa on Monday, Lamu Port Cargo Operations Manager, Peter Masinde confirmed the ship’s commencement of the journey to Oman on Saturday afternoon with 2,955 live animals, a journey that is expected to take one week.

Out of the 2,955 animals, 663 are camels, 375 are bulls, 867 are sheep and 1,050 are goats.

Initial reports from the Lamu Port Management had, however, indicated that over 7000 livestock, including 1000 camels, 300 bulls, and 6000 goats and sheep were to be ferried to Oman in the second transshipment.

Mr Masinde said apart from the live animals, MV Banyas 1 also ferried 2,491 bags of hay and silage to Oman in the second transshipment.

“MV Banyas 1 left Lamu Port for Oman on Saturday at 2 pm. We expect the ship to dock at the Port of Salalah in Oman within a span of six to seven days,” said Mr Masinde.

The Cargo Operations Manager cited transport hitches, especially for big animals like camels and bulls assembled from far-flung counties of Garissa and Wajir to the Lamu Port as a key factor that contributed to the delay in loading of the animals and allowing MV Banyas 1 to leave Lamu for Oman in the second transshipment.

Mr Masinde asked livestock keepers in counties with high animal populations to invest heavily in the transport sector to ease the ferrying of camels and bulls to Lamu Port from other counties.

Counties leading with the highest camel population in Kenya and on which the Lamu Port’s live animal export business to Oman is highly dependent are Mandera, Turkana, Wajir, Garissa, and Marsabit.

These counties are, however, a far distance from the Lamu Port, where most of them are not less than 250 kilometres away.

“It is high time livestock keepers invest in special trucks and lorries to ferry animals to the Lamu Port. Many camels bought all the way from Garissa and Wajir had to be brought to the Lamu Fort on foot which is time-consuming. The livestock market is now here with us but the challenge is on how the big animals bought in far counties can reach the port facility for loading to Oman,” said Mr Masinde.

He also advised hay and silage producers to embrace the activity as the demand for animal feeds at Lamu Port continues to rise with each passing day.

Lamu is producing hay and silage, though at a low rate with Laikipia and Narok supplementing the same.

“Hay and silage is currently a nice venture. A simple bale of hay goes for not less than Sh300 at Lamu Port,” said Mr Masinde.

On his side, Lapsset Regional Manager in charge of Coast, Salim Bunu noted that the ongoing shipment of live animals from Kenya to Oman via the Lamu Fort is crucial as that alone will alleviate losses for pastoralist communities where harsh climatic conditions have led to the deaths of livestock. 

“Sincerely speaking, the livestock export business to Oman through the Lamu Port is providing the much-needed relief for pastoralists amid an unprecedented drought crisis,” said Mr Bunu.

During the first transshipment where MV Banyas 1 exported at least 16,000 live animals including cows, goats, and sheep from the Lamu Port in October this year, it took only one week to assemble the livestock before leaving for Oman.

The ship docked at the Lamu Port from the Suez Port in Egypt on October 14^th and left for the Port of Salalah in Oman on October 21^st.

This is the longest stay that MV Banyas 1 has docked at Lamu Port before it left over the weekend, particularly since the live animal business was announced to have started at the facility in Kililana, Lamu West in early October this year.

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