Ship carrying Dangote Refinery machinery docks in Lamu ahead of groundbreaking

A ship carrying project cargo for the proposed East Africa Refinery has docked at the Port of Lamu, days before the facility’s planned groundbreaking ceremony.

The vessel, MV Da Yang, arrived at Lamu Port on Saturday, September 26, 2026, carrying cargo linked to the refinery project.

Abdishukri Osman, the Principal Operations Officer at Lamu Port, confirmed the arrival in a post on X, saying the vessel had brought project cargo for the East Africa Refinery.

“Lamu Port Receives Ship Carrying Project Cargo For East Africa Refinery Ahead Of The Groundbreaking Ceremony Scheduled For Wednesday 30th September 2026,” he posted.

The arrival comes four days before the planned groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, September 30, 2026.

The docking of MV Da Yang comes as preparations intensify for the launch of the proposed refinery, which is being developed with the involvement of Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote.

The project cargo is expected to support preparations for the construction of the refinery, although details of the specific machinery aboard the vessel were not provided by the Lamu Port official in his announcement.

The arrival also comes as President William Ruto begins an eight-day working tour of the Coast region, with the refinery groundbreaking expected to be a key event during his visit to Lamu.

Ruto is expected to lead the groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, marking the planned start of construction of the multibillion-dollar facility.

Ruto tours Dangote refinery

The shipment arrived a day after Ruto toured Dangote’s existing petroleum refinery in Lagos, Nigeria, on Friday, September 25, 2026.

The president was hosted by Dangote during the visit, which came days before the planned groundbreaking of the Kenyan project.

The Dangote refinery in Lagos has a processing capacity of about 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, matching the proposed capacity of the Lamu refinery.

The Lagos visit followed discussions Ruto held with Dangote and Africa Finance Corporation Chief Executive Officer Samaila Zubairu in New York earlier in the week on preparations for the Lamu project.

The proposed East Africa Refinery has been valued at between $15 billion and $17 billion, with recent reports putting the project cost at about Ksh2.2 trillion.

The facility is planned to have a capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day and is expected to process crude from Kenya’s Lokichar oilfields in Turkana as well as other sources in the region.

The refinery is also expected to supply refined petroleum products to markets in East and Central Africa.

The arrival of MV Da Yang comes as Lamu prepares for Wednesday’s ceremony, which is expected to bring together government officials, Dangote Group representatives and other stakeholders involved in the project.