Best Practices

Newsletter 17

Humble Beginning, Promising Future

About four decades have passed since Maritime and Transit Services Enterprise had been established as a company to render port and port related services in the country.   It is believed that Maritime and Transit Services had existed long before it was instituted as a service rendering organization. The pioneer company that exists today however was legally established as a share company on 13^th of April 1968. 

Maritime Services have developed together with the development of import and export trade and the institution took a more developed form as more and more services became vital for the growing economy of the country.  The enterprise's major activities were Stevedoring and Freight Forwarding when it was initially commencing to serve this international trading activity.   A  significant amount of ships with loads of various items arriving at port were harbored and the loading off their cargoes were carried out using various port equipment.  These were import goods of various types such as agricultural, industrial and commercial products that were necessary to enhance the diverse economic activities of the country.  On the other hand, export items were also handled at port so that they could be forwarded to their proper destinations with all the proper precautions taken care of.   

As these activities of Stevedoring and Freight Forwarding intensified at port, the activities of the company became more diversified and it began to involve more parties to the business.  Mean while the Imperial Regime wanted to consolidate major transit activities and the company became a corporation in 1983 in accordance with the regulation number 81/1983. Hence maritime and transit services were streamlined in a coordinated line to create a seemingly strong sector providing  port and port related services under the policy of planned economy. 

Later on the name Maritime and Transit Services Enterprise was given to the company in 1994 as per regulation number 190/1994 of the Council of Ministers of Transitional Government and the enterprise began to be led by board of directors under Public Enterprises Supervising Authority. Today the enterprise has assumed international status, eighty percent of its activities being carried out at Djibouti port.   

 Many hurdles had to be tackled to carry out a huge service as a maritime industry at the port of Djibouti.  After the relationships with the Eritrean Government plunged into an all time low, the enterprise had to shift all its resources at the port of Assab and create a service indispensably needed for the growing import and export trade of the new market economy.  There were challenges of creating efficient services examining all the pros-and cons of creating a service industry at a foreign port.  

The enterprise played a great role both locally and internationally in creating a trade outlet and a transit line for Ethiopia's import and export trade by availing port and port related services.  It works with a dependable capacity, now, having sufficient cargo handling equipment, heavy-duty machinery, truck, truck-trailers and its own-networked offices.  

The enterprise has set a vision to expand its services both in the country and abroad to become one of the best companies in the world working in the sector.  Under its guiding vision, it has delineated specific tasks corresponding to its missions and strives for their fulfillment.  These mainly include the improvement of its performance of discharging cargoes from ships, freight forwarding and shipping agency services.  Apart from its core activities, the enterprise has been playing a significant role in building ties the country forge with its neighbors as its services cross the limits of boundaries in international trade. 

The main activity of the enterprise is basically carried out at sea port and the operation covers all the supply chain line of import and export cargoes from the port to inland destinations.   To facilitate this long chain of movement of cargoes the enterprise's various branch offices are opened at major cities of the country. These include offices at Djibouti port, Kombolcha, Dire Dawa, Nazreth, Mekelle, Moyalle and operational offices at Addis Ababa. The main head office is centered at the city of Addis Ababa. 

The enterprise is committed to the country's market led agricultural policy that forces on the agricultural developmental activities in rural Ethiopia.  It facilitates transportation of agricultural, industrial, commercial and other imported resources used as input in the developmental activities.  Export products such as coffee, hide and leather, cereals, pulses, and others are also properly handled so that they could arrive at their destination with all their standard qualities intact. 

The Enterprise has a capacity to provide a cargo discharging and handling services for 5-7 thousand tons of bulk and 3 thousand tons of general cargoes per day. It provides clearing and forwarding services for 2 million tons of import and 400,000 tons export cargoes per year.   It has built a capacity to provide a shipping agency service for 950 ships per year.  In this regard the enterprise excels all other transit organizations working in Ethiopia and at Djibouti   port both in terms of material and financial resources and in providing a dependable service.   

Efforts were made to extend the maritime services. Apart from Djibouti port, the port of Berbera in Somaliland and the Port of Sudan and other transit stations and cargo terminals are studied to look for further port and port related facilities that meet the growing service demands of the developing international trade of the country.  In this regard, the enterprise has provided expert counseling on technical, operational and market assessment and study taskforces and has provided enlightening insights to government policy makers that professionally highlight the current challenges of the country's maritime and transit transport and cargo handling facilities.  It is hoped that significant results will be achieved that bolster efficient port facilities for import and export activities of the country. 

The Maritime and Transit Service industry thus has developed by far than it  was   before  and  the  Enterprise  has progressed with the growing economy.  To bring about radical transformations, the enterprise has undergone   corporate reforms and is implementing various programs and projects that are part of this all rounded reform. By implementing quality management system, it is striving to be certified by the international standard organization (ISO).  It is now in a dependable capacity to efficiently deal with big challenges and is developing further to ensure a safe, economical and value adding port services for the country.   

Although Ethiopia is a land locked country, the development of Maritime and Transit services industry creates every opportunity that a country needs to its international trade out-let and global connection. In this regard, the developing Ethiopian Maritime and Transit Industry is promising to bring about tangible results and is playing a pivotal role in fostering development endeavors across the nation.