Safaris, Beaches and sunny weather are the images one might have in mind first when hearing Dar es Salaam, but the city is also home to the largest seaport in Tanzania.
With over 5 million inhabitants, the African city of Dar es Salaam (which means “port of peace” in Arabic) – or “Dar,” for short – is the largest city and has the largest seaport in Tanzania. The main source of income for Tanzanians is fishing: Around 190,000 people make a living directly from fishing, and 4 million do so indirectly.
The city benefits from the fishing industry thanks to its geographically favorable location directly on the Indian Ocean, and it also serves as a transhipment center for goods of all kinds. The top export goods to Europe are coffee, tea, tobacco, sugar, cotton, fur, leather, yarns and seeds. In recent years, Tanzania’s economy has been particularly boosted by its new reform-oriented government and investments in public infrastructure. On top of that, East Africa’s import and export figures are skyrocketing. With annual growth rates of approximately 6 percent, the region tops the list on the African continent.
In April 2018, Hapag-Lloyd launched the East Africa Service (EAS), its first dedicated service to East Africa, which also benefits hinterland locations. The weekly service sails from Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) to Mombasa (Kenya), and from there to Dar es Salaam and directly back to Jeddah. After a successful start, this service is being expanded with a weekly connection to and from Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Khor Fakkan, Jebel Ali, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam. The EAS2 service will replace the current EAS service and directly link the Arabian Gulf and the west coast of India with East Africa.
