LaycanDeskDAP and urea freight to East Africa - Jorf Lasfar, Sur, Sohar, Egypt and the US Gulf to Mombasa and Dar es Salaam
Bulk DAP and granular urea on geared Supramax and Handymax tonnage into the Kenyan and Tanzanian subsidy programmes, discharged by grab and bagged on the quay. Kenya and Tanzania took their DAP almost entirely from Saudi Arabia and Kenya's urea mostly from Qatar until transit through the Strait of Hormuz collapsed on 28 February 2026. The replacement tonnes load at Jorf Lasfar for DAP and at Sur and Sohar, the Egyptian plants and the US Gulf for urea, and arrive in Mombasa and Dar es Salaam in bulk for bagging at the port, timed to the long and short rains.
Kenya imported 129,100 tonnes of DAP in 2025, 81 percent of it Saudi, and Tanzania 107,300 tonnes, 79 percent Saudi, with Morocco supplying the rest of both (UN Comtrade). Kenya's 214,500 tonnes of urea were 70 percent Qatari. With the Gulf-inside plants loading only irregularly, the DAP comes from OCP at Jorf Lasfar, which already shipped 25,000 tonnes to Kenya and 22,000 to Tanzania in 2025, and from the US Gulf; urea comes from OMIFCO at Sur, which loads about 2.1 million tonnes a year of granular urea, from SIUCI at Sohar, from Damietta and Abu Qir when Egyptian gas allows, and from the US Gulf. Oman to Mombasa is a week's steaming; Jorf Lasfar and the US Gulf go round the Cape or through Suez and the Red Sea, and the routing is agreed with the owner before the freight is. Mombasa's grain and fertilizer berths 3 and 4 work about 11.5 metres, with the cargo discharged by grab into bagging plants alongside or by conveyor to the silos; Dar es Salaam's berths 1 to 7 were dredged to 14.5 metres. That is why the lane runs on geared Supramax and Handymax ships of 30,000 to 55,000 tonnes rather than Panamaxes.
The buyers buy on a calendar. Kenya's National Cereals and Produce Board runs a two-year consignment framework under the subsidy programme, priced delivered to its depots in 50-kilo bags; the 2026 long-rains lots were 600,000 bags of urea and 1.2 million bags of planting NPK, with no straight DAP lot, so DAP reaches Kenyan farms through the blenders and the trade. Tanzania aggregates its importers' DAP and urea requirements under the Fertilizer Bulk Procurement System, tenders them, and one winner imports for all, with the bulk bagged at Dar es Salaam under TFRA and TBS supervision. Kenya's long rains run from March to May and its short rains from October to December, so the ships that matter arrive in January and February and in August and September. Charterers send the plant and loading berth, product and specification, quantity and tolerance, discharge port with its bagging arrangement and rate, laytime terms, laycan, commission and the tender award or buyer of record; without the producer and the buyer nothing goes to owners.
Load ports
- Jorf Lasfar (OCP DAP)
- Sur (OMIFCO granular urea, about 2.1 Mtpa)
- Sohar (SIUCI granular urea, about 1.2 Mtpa)
- Damietta and Abu Qir (Egyptian urea, gas permitting); US Gulf (DAP and urea)
Discharge ports
- Mombasa (GBHL berths 3 and 4, about 11.5 m; grab to bagging plant or conveyor to silo)
- Dar es Salaam (berths 1–7 dredged to 14.5 m; bulk bagged on the port under TFRA and TBS)
- Kenya 2025: DAP 129,100 t, 81% Saudi; urea 214,500 t, 70% Qatari (UN Comtrade)
- Tanzania 2025: DAP 107,300 t, 79% Saudi (UN Comtrade)
Typical parcels
- DAP 25,000–40,000 t, geared Supramax
- Urea 20,000–35,000 t, Handymax or part-cargo for two ports
- Bagging at discharge into 50 kg bags
- Arrivals timed to Jan–Feb (long rains) and Aug–Sep (short rains)
Ships that carry it
The cargo itself, on Commbril
The cargo from the freight side
Questions charterers and owners ask
Why geared ships and not a Panamax?
Draft and gear. Mombasa's fertilizer and grain berths 3 and 4 work about 11.5 metres, and discharge is by grab into bagging plants alongside, so a geared Supramax or Handymax of 30,000 to 55,000 tonnes fits the berth and brings her own cranes. Dar es Salaam's berths 1 to 7 take 14.5 metres, which lets a full Supramax in, but the bagging rate on the quay still sets the discharge.
Who buys, and how?
In Kenya, the National Cereals and Produce Board buys under a two-year consignment framework for the subsidy programme, delivered to its depots in 50-kilo bags, and the importers and blenders buy the rest. In Tanzania, TFRA aggregates the importers' DAP and urea requirements under the Fertilizer Bulk Procurement System and one tender winner imports for all of them. The award tells us who the charterer is.
When do the ships need to arrive?
Before the rains. Kenya's long rains run from March to May and its short rains from October to December, so planting DAP and top-dressing urea have to be bagged and at the depots weeks earlier: arrivals in January and February, and again in August and September. A ship that misses the window sells into a market that has already planted.
What must I send to get a named ship?
Plant and loading berth, product and specification, quantity and tolerance, discharge port with its bagging arrangement and rate, laytime terms, laycan, the routing you accept (Cape or Suez), commission and the tender award or buyer of record. Geared Supramax and Handymax owners opening in the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea or West Africa send name, IMO number, dwt, gear, open port and dates to desk-a005f1@in.laycandesk.com.