Tanzanian coastal and inland ports and shipping: crises and policy options

This paper explores the current state of coastal and inland shipping in Tanzania. It provides an overview of the state of ports and shipping in Tanzania, and the reasons underlying the present crisis of competitiveness in terms of both global pressures and national and regional dynamics. Problems of competitiveness are at least partially due to under-investment, management failures, skills shortfalls and difficulties in interfacing with the railway network. Less easy to resolve structural problems include the great imbalance between imports and exports, heightened regional competition and ongoing political instability in the Great Lakes region.