<p>Lamu Port, with its open harbour and deep channel, can accommodate big vessels that come with economies of scale to lower freight charges.</p> <p>This is according to players in the shipping industry who have had to contend with a shortage of containers, port congestion and escalating freight rates in recent months.</p> <p>The cost of freight, according to Gilbert Langat CEO Shippers Council of East Africa (SCEA), has increased threefold due to a shortage of containers that are held up in Asian ports after Covid-19 restrictions were relaxed.</p> <p><br /> Mr Langat explained in an interview that a small vessel that can ferry 1,700 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) can command $51,000 (Sh5.6 million) a day in a six to 12-month contract.</p> <p>Conversely, a 4,400-Teu ship can command $100,000 (Sh11.1 million) a day. Ships carrying 6,800 Teas can pocket $111,500 (Sh12.3 million) a day.</p>