Malawi Waterways Assessment
Reportedly, ships operating on Lake Malawi are old ships and rarely keep to schedule and carry limited amounts of cargo. Cargo handling facilities at most lake ports are very limited and present many logistical challenges. The Shire River is the only outlet from Lake Malawi, from the southernmost tip of Lake Malawi it flows 402 kms to the Zambezi River at Caia in Mozambique. Currently there is no river transport operating on the Shire River as there are a number of falls and cataracts that make navigation within Malawi impossible. Boats can access Malawi from the sea as far as the southernmost settlement of Nsanje only, however there are plans to establish an operating waterway on the river.
In September 2009 a consortium called the Zambezi Water Transport Company has initiated a feasibility study into the $6-billion Shire – Zambezi waterway project following the signing of a MoU with the would-be beneficiaries of the project, namely Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. The project aims to reopen the Shire – Zambezi waterway from Nsanje, in southern Malawi, to the Indian Ocean Port of Chinde, in Mozambique, a distance of about 238 km. This will enable barges and medium-sized seagoing vessels to ply between Chinde and Nsanje, thereby providing direct waterway access to the Indian Ocean. The feasibility study will ascertain the navigability of the Shire and Zambezi rivers, the Zambezi River is wide and shallow, the Shire River is deep and narrow. The SADC and Comesa, which adopted the ambitious project as a regional initiative, last year jointly invited expressions of interest from interested firms to undertake the feasibility study. Construction on the Port of Nsanje, Malawi’s proposed port on the Shire – Zambezi waterway project, which started with the construction of port facilities at Nsanje port in 2009 stalled in 2012. The project is being undertaken by Portuguese contractor Mota Engil and the Malawi government in a public – private partnership.
Company Information
Lake Malawi and the Shire River (144km) provide the major waterways in Malawi. Lake Malawi, previously Lake Malawi, is a fresh water lake with a 30000 km2 surface. The Shire River connects the lake water with the Zambezi River south east of Mutarara in Mozambique. Various private companies operate on the lake. The biggest operating company is Malawi Shipping Company (MSC, formerly Malawi Shipping Company). MSC operates from Monkey Bay to various destinations such as Chilumba, Nkhotakota, Nkhatabay, Likoma Island and Chilumba.
For information on Malawi Waterways contact details, please see the following link: Annex 2.4 Port and Waterways Company Contact List
Passenger Carrying Capacity |
|||
---|---|---|---|
MSC |
AJD |
Malungo |
|
Number of Passenger Vessels < 50 pax |
1 |
||
Number of Passenger Vessels > 100 pax |
3 |
Cargo Capacity |
||
---|---|---|
MSC |
Malungo |
|
Number of Boats |
6 |
1 |
Tonnage / Volume Carrying Capacity |
381m3 and 670mt |
20mt |
Number of Barges |
3 |
|
Tonnage / Volume Carrying Capacity |
1,550mt |
|
Other (specify) |
3 pontoons, dredges & floating dock |
|
Tonnage / Volume Carrying Capacity |
600mt |
|
Travel Time-Tables
MV Ilala Schedule – North Bound |
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---|---|---|---|
Day |
Route |
Arrival |
Departure |
Friday |
Monkey Bay |
----- |
10:00 |
Friday |
Chipoka |
13:00 |
16:00 |
Saturday |
Nkhotakota |
00:00 |
02:00 |
Saturday |
Matangula (Moz) |
06:00 |
08:00 |
Saturday |
Likoma Island |
14:00 |
18:00 |
Saturday |
Chizumulu Island |
19:30 |
22:00 |
Sunday |
Nkhata Bay |
01:00 |
07:00 |
Sunday |
Usisya |
10:00 |
11:00 |
Sunday |
Ruarwe |
12:00 |
13:00 |
Sunday |
Tcharo |
14:00 |
14:30 |
Sunday |
Mlowe |
16:00 |
17:00 |
Sunday |
Chilumba |
20:00 |
----- |
MV Mtendere Schedule |
|||
Day |
Route |
Arrival |
Departure |
---|---|---|---|
Wednesday |
Monkey Bay |
----- |
09:00 |
Wednesday |
Makanjia |
12:00 |
13:00 |
Wednesday |
Meponda |
14:30 |
15:30 |
Thursday |
Senga Bay |
05:00 |
06:00 |
Thursday |
Makanjia |
07:30 |
08:30 |
Thursday |
Monkey Bay |
11:30 |
----- |
|
Malawi Shipping Company – Vessels |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name |
Length (m) |
Weight (mt) |
Cargo |
Passengers |
Comments |
MV Ilala |
52.4 |
630 |
216 m³ |
460 |
Currently operational |
MV Mtendere |
50.7 |
924 |
90 m³ |
420 |
Awaiting a new engine |
MV Chauncy Maples |
38.4 |
250 |
75 m³ |
182 |
Non-operational, built 1899 |
MV Karonga |
43.1 |
545 |
300 mt |
0 |
Cargo only (mostly fuel drums) |
MV Ufulu |
45.8 |
424 |
310 mt |
0 |
Tanker |
MV Ncheni |
15.0 |
3.0 |
60 mt |
0 |
Can discharge on to beaches |
MV Katundu |
61.5 |
750 |
48 TEU’s |
0 |
Barge |
MV Nkhwazi |
34.6 |
295 |
282 mt |
0 |
Barge |
Cargo Barge 300 |
15.0 |
5.0 |
116 mt |
0 |
Barge |
Viphya |
16.0 |
6.0 |
600 mt |
0 |
Pontoon |
Seacara |
12.3 |
5.4 |
0 |
0 |
Dredge |
Floating Dock |
44.5 |
15.6 |
0 |
0 |
Floating Dock |
|
Lake Malawi – Tanzania Ports Authority |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Operator |
Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), Itungi Port, P.O. Box 400, Kyele, Tanzania |
||
Contact |
TPA Manager – Captain Faya |
Cell |
+255 732 951 530 |
Contact |
Port Master – Mr. Nandi |
Cell |
+255 784 383 989 |
Tel |
+255 25 254 0462 |
Fax |
+255 254 0302 |
|
|||
Lake Malawi – Itungi Port |
|||
|
|||
Lake Malawi – Mbamba Bay Port |
|||
|
|||
Lake Malawi – Liuli Port |
|||
|
|||
Lake Malawi – Manda Port |
|||
|
|||
Lake Malawi – Other Ports |
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|
Malawi – MSC Storage |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Marine HQ |
Malawi Shipping Company (MSC), P.O. Box 15, Monkey Bay, Malawi |
||||
Contact |
Howard Shaba |
|
Cell |
+265 993 076 767 |
|
Port |
Machinery |
Storage Area |
Storage – Containers |
||
Chilumba |
1x 35 my gantry crane 1x 20 mt mobile crane 1x 6 mt forklift 5x 3 mt forklifts 1x tractor 1x trailer |
Dry – 800 m² Wet – 583,000 litres |
270 TEU’s |
||
Contact |
Ports Operations Officer – D.P. Ndindi |
Cell |
+265 888 500 856 |
||
|
|||||
Nkhata Bay |
1x mobile crane 1x tractor 1x trailer |
Dry – 500 m² Wet – N/A |
Containers cannot be handled at Nkhata Bay |
||
Contact |
Port Operations Officer – Francis Makaiani |
Cell |
+265 888 344 217 |
||
|
|||||
Chipoka |
1x 35 mt gantry crane 4x 3 mt forklifts |
Dry – 800 m² Wet – 923,000 litres |
300 TEU’s |
||
Contact |
Port Operations Officer – M.F. Swira |
Cell |
+265 999 212 080 |
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