Uganda's Shipping Future: Diversifying Beyond Mombasa
Uganda's access to global shipping could become less dependent on a single corridor as Tanzania expands Dar es Salaam Port and the two countries move ahead with plans for a rail link to the Indian Ocean.
The starting point is lopsided. Uganda barely uses Tanzanian ports.
Transit traffic through Dar es Salaam rose 17% to 14.61 million tonnes in 2025/26, while total cargo increased 21.5% to 33.71 million tonnes, according to Tanzania government figures.
Strongest growth came from DRC, whose cargo rose 30% to 7.77 million tonnes, more than half of all transit traffic. Rwanda was next, up 24% to 2.18 million tonnes.
Uganda is a footnote. In 2025, Tanzanian ports handled about 47,600 tonnes of Ugandan cargo.
Mombasa handled 10.91 million tonnes, more than 200 times as much, and Uganda accounted for about two-thirds of all Mombasa's transit cargo, according to Kenya figures.
For Uganda, significance of Dar es Salaam's growth lies in possibility of second, competitive route.
Why cargo stayed north
Gap comes down to distance and cost. By road, Dar es Salaam is about 1,715km from Kampala, against about 1,150km from Mombasa.
In 2018, a Kampala logistics firm put cost of trucking container from Dar es Salaam to Kampala at about $4,800, compared with $2,700 from Mombasa.
Rules already allow choice. Uganda Revenue Authority recognises both Dar es Salaam and Mombasa as first points of entry under East African Community Single Customs Territory.
The rail link
Physical connection could deepen. Uganda and Tanzania signed framework agreement on March 13, 2026 for Isaka-Lusahunga-Murongo/Kikagati-Mpondwe Standard Gauge Railway.
Line would start at Isaka, on Tanzania's Dar es Salaam-Mwanza SGR, cross into Uganda at Kikagati and run through Mbarara, Bihanga and Kasese to Mpondwe on border with DRC.
Two features stand out. Route bypasses Kampala, serving western Uganda directly, while cargo for capital would still need road or lake connections. It is also as much about Congo as Uganda. With DRC already supplying over half of Dar es Salaam's transit cargo, Uganda could gain as transit country.
Project is some way off. Tanzanian line it would join is unfinished. Isaka-Mwanza section was 68% complete in February 2026, and financing for Makutupora-Isaka was signed only in April. Tanzania targets 2028 for full Dar-Mwanza line. No cost or financing for Ugandan section published, and Uganda's priority remains Malaba-Kampala line to Kenya.
Where diversification is happening
More immediate link runs across Lake Victoria. Since January 2025, MV Mpungu, operated by Grindrod, has carried up to 1,000 tonnes of containerised cargo, about 21 trailers, between Mwanza and Port Bell near Kampala. Crossing takes about 18 hours, against three to four days by road.
Tanzania added MV New Mwanza, which carries passengers, cargo and trucks, in January 2026. Once railway reaches Mwanza, rail-and-lake route from Dar to Kampala becomes realistic.
Fuel is where Uganda moved furthest. About 95% of petroleum products, roughly 2.96 billion litres a year, still come through Mombasa and Kenya Pipeline Company.
But after 2024 dispute with Kenya over Uganda National Oil Company import arrangements, Uganda began trucking fuel from Dar es Salaam. In February 2026, Presidents Museveni and Samia agreed to fast-track refined-products pipeline to Tanga.
In August, national oil companies of both countries signed non-binding agreement with Vitol for energy hub at Tanga.
Faster at waterfront
At coast, change is taking place at Dar es Salaam Terminal 1. DP World has operated berths zero to seven since April 2024 under 30-year concession. By April 2026, about $123m had been deployed.
Terminal 1 handled 44,001 TEUs in May, rising to 48,793 in August. In May 2024, its first full month under DP World, it handled 13,779 TEUs.
Company says discharge times for comparable cargo operations have fallen by more than 90%, from above 300 hours to below 28 hours.
Tanzanian officials say average container vessel turnaround, including time at anchor, has fallen from about 30 days to six. Number of ships waiting to berth fell from 35 in April 2024 to 17 in April 2026.
Northern Corridor is not standing still. Mombasa handled record 45.45 million tonnes in 2025. Kenya began building Naivasha-Kisumu-Malaba railway extension in July 2026. Uganda is assembling financing for its €2.7b Malaba-Kampala line, including €650.75m approved by Islamic Development Bank.
Uganda already operates one-stop border post with Tanzania at Mutukula. Benchmark is Northern Corridor, where trucks from Mombasa to Kampala averaged about 109 hours in 2023.
Dar es Salaam does not have to replace Mombasa to become important. A credible second route gives businesses another option when congestion or cost changes affect one corridor.
