Malawi Waterways Assessment
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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.

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
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	-----

Day	Route	Arrival	Departure
MV Mtendere Schedule
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	-----
At present (July 2014) the MV Chilembwe is being assembled and will be operational in October 2014 to replace the aging MV Ilala. When operating the MV Mtendere is available for charter trips

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
The MV Viphya (pontoon) can load 24 TEU’s or 8x 10 – 15 mt trucks and can discharge directly on to beaches

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
The MV Songea, is operated by TPA from Itungi Port and and can carry 200 passengers and 45 mt of cargo.
Lake Malawi – Itungi Port
It is generally accepted that Lake Malawi’s middle line and its northern and eastern shores form much of Malawis boundry Tanzania and Mozambique and this area forms the The Southern Tanzania ‘alleyway’. Itungi Port is located about 250 kms from Kyele,it operates a branch office for Lake Malawi Ports, serving about 13 points along the lake. The port has a draft of 3m, it has a 300 m² workshop, a passenger shed and a generator house.
Lake Malawi – Mbamba Bay Port
Mbamba Port is opposite Nkhata Bay about 170 kms from Songea and 70 kms Mbinga District town.
Lake Malawi – Liuli Port
The port is located about 34 kms from Mbamba Bay. It has a building used as the port office and one room is set aside as a goods shed.
Lake Malawi – Manda Port
The port is located about 275 kms from Rudewa District town. It has a building used as the port office and one room is set aside as a goods shed.
Lake Malawi – Other Ports
The following ports are served on request but there is no infrastructure and vessels anchor at a distance from the shore: Liuli, Manda, Matema, Lundu, Lambili, Igunga, Lupingu, Njambe, Nkili, Ndumbi, Makonde.

Malawi – MSC Storage
Marine HQ	Malawi Shipping Company (MSC), P.O. Box 15, Monkey Bay, Malawi
Contact	Howard Shaba	Email	shaba.shaba@gmail.com	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
Please note: The remaining ports have no proper port facilities and visiting vessels are required to anchor off-shore.

Malawi Waterways Assessment

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