The Kenya Ports Authority expects 51 vessels to call at the ports of Mombasa and Lamu between 19 and 31 October 2026, according to its shipping schedule dated 19 October. Mombasa accounts for 41 of the arrivals, while Lamu is projected to handle 10.

Six oil tankers are among the vessels due within the fortnight, carrying more than 231,000 tonnes of petrol, diesel and other petroleum products. The Mombasa list also includes 26 container ships, seven conventional cargo vessels and two car carriers. Lamu’s projected traffic is nine container ships and one general cargo vessel.

The tanker arrivals matter for pump prices and industrial supply. M.T. Bellatrix, a medium-range tanker, is in transit with more than 21,000 tonnes of Shell V-Power premium petrol destined for Vivo Energy Kenya, which will discharge the cargo at the Shimanzi Oil Terminal. Vivo Energy is the exclusive importer and distributor of Shell V-Power in Kenya and runs more than 350 service stations nationally. After discharge in Mombasa, the company stores the fuel and moves it inland, transporting V-Power exclusively from Shimanzi to Nairobi using Kenya Railways Corporation rail tankers.

Three other tankers are headed for Kipevu Oil Terminal II. M.T. Torm Sublime is carrying 85,000 tonnes of gasoil, while M.T. Maria is bringing 40,000 tonnes of the same product. M.T. Pis Rinjani is in transit with 85,000 tonnes of motor gasoline.

A separate vessel, M.T. Bow Lynx, is due at Shimanzi Oil Terminal with 4,900 tonnes of base oil. The schedule does not specify whether the base oil or the Shell V-Power cargo is counted within the 231,000-tonne figure reported for the four main petroleum cargoes.

The arrivals are scheduled against a volatile global fuel backdrop. The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority’s latest monthly review raised Nairobi’s maximum petrol price by KSh 12.93 per litre to KSh 226.96. Diesel went up by KSh 9.90 to KSh 227.76, and kerosene by KSh 28.49 to KSh 219.87.

Earlier this week, EPRA’s chief executive told Parliament that two petroleum tankers bound for Kenya were struck by drones in the Strait of Hormuz, damaging their propulsion systems and leaving them unable to sail independently. The exact date of the attacks was not given.

Brent crude climbed to a five-month high of $111.24 per barrel, and the International Energy Agency has warned that renewed hostilities have set back the recovery of Middle Eastern oil supply. Brent futures are up 13 per cent since the start of September. The IEA also reported that combined diesel net exports from the Middle East and Russia fell by more than 60 per cent year-on-year, while Houthi attacks have intensified along the Bab el-Mandeb shipping route.

The Kenya Ports Authority said it had not recorded any disruptions to the current vessel arrival schedule.