Ship cargo, machinery and vehicles from the USA to Kenya and Tanzania

The Kenya Bureau of Standards describes PVoC as a conformity assessment procedure applied to goods destined for Kenya in the country of supply or origin, by KEBS-appointed inspection agents, to assess compliance with applicable Kenya Standards. Whether your commodity is on the schedule depends on the product, so check before booking. Ask us at quote stage.

In the United States, before your cargo sails. That is the detail most shippers miss. PVoC is arranged at origin by an appointed inspection agent, and the resulting Certificate of Conformity travels with the shipping documents. It is not something arranged at Mombasa after arrival.

It becomes expensive. Consignments arriving without a CoC face a surcharge calculated on the CIF value, plus mandatory destination inspection and laboratory testing, which means delay and additional cost on top. The saving from skipping the origin inspection is never worth it.

Yes. KEBS identifies exempted categories including raw materials, machines and spares imported by registered local manufacturers, products certified by KEBS under the Diamond Mark of quality certification, and products waived by government. Your consignee's status can therefore change whether your cargo needs it.

Both operate their own conformity programmes with their own regulatory authorities, similar in structure to Kenya's. The documentation needed differs slightly by country. If your cargo is transiting Kenya to Uganda, the destination country's requirements apply, not just Kenya's.

Before the cargo is booked, not after. The inspection happens at origin and the certificate has to accompany the shipping documents, so it needs to fit into the schedule ahead of loading. Raise it with us at quote stage and we will flag whether your commodity looks likely to need it.

Because it handles not only Kenya's own imports but transit cargo for Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, Burundi and parts of the DRC and Ethiopia along the Northern Corridor. For a large part of the region's containerised trade, Mombasa is where the sea leg ends and the inland leg begins.

No, and the distinction matters from the first document. Cargo moving through Kenya to another East African country is handled under the regional transit framework rather than as a Kenyan import. Tell us and your agent the final destination country at the outset, not the port.

It generally requires a regional customs transit guarantee executed in the destination country, an entry declaration in that country, and a road manifest issued for the movement out of Kenya. Electronic cargo tracking is applied on the road leg. Your clearing agent arranges all of it.

Mombasa anchors the Northern Corridor toward Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan. Dar es Salaam anchors the Central Corridor toward Zambia, Malawi, Burundi and the DRC copper belt. Which is better depends entirely on where your cargo is finally going, not on the ports themselves.

The standard gauge railway runs container trains from Mombasa to the Nairobi inland container depot, which is often faster than road for Nairobi-bound cargo. Whether it suits your shipment is a question for your clearing agent, who arranges the inland leg.

No. We deliver the container to the port of discharge and provide the documentation your agent needs. The transit movement, guarantee and inland transport are arranged by your clearing agent. We are explicit about that boundary because unexpected inland costs are how shipments go wrong here.

Yes. Construction and infrastructure activity across the region absorbs substantial volumes of used American machinery. We ship containerised, on flat-rack, or by heavy haulage depending on dimensions and weight, with dismantling and securing where the machine requires it.

Yes. Machinery bought at Ritchie Bros., IronPlanet and Purple Wave is regular export work for us. We collect from the auction site anywhere in the USA, arrange dismantling and securing where required, and prepare the machine for ocean transit. Read the equipment guide.

It depends on the machine and on your consignee. KEBS identifies machines and spares imported by registered local manufacturers among the exempted categories, so the importer's status can decide it. Confirm with your clearing agent before booking rather than assuming either way.

Frequently. Agricultural and earth-moving equipment is commonly required to arrive free of soil and plant material because of pest and disease controls. Steam cleaning before loading costs very little against the risk of a machine held at the port for cleaning at your expense.

Both Mombasa and Dar es Salaam handle machinery, though heavy-lift capability varies by terminal and should be confirmed before booking rather than on arrival. For flat-rack and breakbulk cargo the crane capacity and yard equipment at the discharge port matter. We check it when routing.

Yes, and it is usually the efficient thing to do since parts travel far more cheaply in the same container than shipped separately. Everything must be listed on the export filing and declared accurately, so send the full inventory rather than adding items on loading day.

Yes, loaded into containers rather than by roll-on roll-off. Containers protect the vehicle and allow several to share one booking. Whether a specific vehicle can be imported and registered is a matter for your clearing agent, and worth settling before purchase rather than after the container sails.

Typically three or four depending on the vehicles. Sedans and compact SUVs load efficiently while full-size pickup trucks take more room. Because ocean freight is charged on the container, each additional vehicle lowers the cost per unit substantially.

Yes. Full container load commercial cargo from any US origin is routine on this lane, including building materials, industrial goods, spare parts and consumer goods. Tell us the commodity, weight and volume and we will quote it, and flag any conformity requirement we can see.

Consolidation is available on request. For smaller commercial shipments it is often considerably cheaper than paying for a full container you cannot fill. Tell us the volume and weight and we will advise whether consolidation or a 20ft container works out better.

Yes, containerised household effects move on this lane, often for people relocating for work in the region. Everything must be declared accurately, and destination clearance rules for personal effects are handled by your agent. Tell us the full contents at quote stage.

It depends on the US origin, the container size, the commodity, and whether the cargo is a Kenyan import or transit to another country. Because we are a direct NVOCC rather than a broker, the rate you get is the carrier rate rather than a resold one. Get a free quote in 24 to 48 hours.

Often because they exclude the conformity certification, or they have quoted a Kenyan import when your cargo is actually transit, or they are broker quotes that move once booked. Ask what is included and whether they have considered the destination country's requirements.

It scales with distance from the origin to our loading warehouse in New Jersey, Savannah, Houston, or Baltimore. East Coast origins usually position most efficiently for East African sailings. We include the figure in the quote so the number you compare is complete.

Our warehouses in New Jersey, Savannah, Houston and Baltimore all serve this lane. Routings to East Africa commonly involve transshipment, often through Mediterranean or Gulf hubs, so the sailing schedule matters as much as the loading point.

It depends on the US loading port, the carrier's schedule and the transshipment involved, which is usual on this route. Add time for the inland leg if the cargo is transiting onward. We give a concrete timeline for our portion with the quote.

We handle the US side, including the filing in the Automated Export System, known as AES or EEI. You provide the commercial invoice, packing list and ownership documents as applicable. Destination duties, conformity certification and clearance are handled by your clearing agent.

We are the NVOCC. Cassandra Logistics is a federally licensed Ocean Transportation Intermediary under FMC license OTI No. 025125NF, legally Royal Port Container Lines, Inc. DBA Cassandra Logistics. The licence number is public and verifiable with the Federal Maritime Commission before you send anyone money.