Excellent news concerns Kenya's maritime territory and its coastline: the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations agency responsible for the safety of global navigation, has removed Kenya from the red list of nations affected by piracy of the seas. Entry on this list, which for Kenya meant losing a lot of competitiveness, especially for the port of Mombasa, occurred 12 years ago after a series of unpleasant episodes in the territorial waters of the African country, including the assault on an Italian cargo ship with the crew held hostage for more than two months.
In recent days, having ascertained that off the Kenyan coast there has not been an episode of piracy for 4 years, the IMO has decided to bring Kenya back to the list of nations that are not particularly at risk from the threats of piracy, which in the Indian Ocean is particularly Somali, often fed by Arab terrorism.
This decision is not only important in terms of security, but also economically: in fact, it will save Kenya and East Africa millions of shillings in insurance and other security expenses, and could open Kenyan ports (in addition to Mombasa, the Lamu port has been operational for three months) to new trade and business.
The Kenyan government has received commendations from international maritime trade associations for its efforts in recent years to monitor its territories and intensify operations with a view to developing the blue economy.
The redefinition will also benefit other Kenyan port user countries, such as Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, which currently depend on the port of Mombasa for their exports and imports.
The decrease in insurance costs will also positively affect the lowering of freight prices and therefore the competitiveness of products, increasing their demand.