Port of Kismayo (Dekada Kismaayo)

The short version

Kismayo lies on the Indian Ocean near the mouth of the Jubba River. Its port is the main port of Jubaland and the far south, and one of Somalia's four main ports with Mogadishu, Berbera and Bosaso (Ministry of Commerce and Industry, National Export Development and Promotion Strategy). For all four ports, see Somalia's seaports.

Building the port, 1964 to 1984

• 1964: the modern port was built with United States help, and the former island was joined to the mainland by a causeway (Wikipedia, Port of Kismayo).
• 1966: a CIA handbook described the port as mainly an outlet for bananas and other farm produce, able to take only shallow ships; larger ships were unloaded by small boats offshore. A plan for completion by 1967 provided four protected berths for 10,000-ton ships (same source).
• After 1969: the port served the Somali navy and the Soviet navy (same source).
• 1984: Somalia and the United States refurbished the four-berth wharf of about 630 metres (same source).

Control after 2012

In August 2013 an agreement placed the port under the Juba Interim Administration, with management to pass to the federal government after six months and port revenue set aside for Jubaland (Wikipedia, Port of Kismayo). Disputes over control of the port and its revenue were reported at the time (VOA via GlobalSecurity, 28 May 2013).

Livestock and charcoal

• In June 2016 the port's general manager, Ahmed Haji Adan, said a shipment of 1,200 cattle to the United Arab Emirates was the first livestock shipped from Kismayo in "more than two decades" (Garowe Online, 15 June 2016).
• The Ministry of Commerce and Industry says Mogadishu and Kismayo handle far smaller volumes of livestock than Berbera and Bosaso and lack specialised equipment (National Export Development and Promotion Strategy). See Livestock exports.
• Kismayo was the main exit point for charcoal before the UN ban of 2012; in 2023 the UN Security Council allowed a one-off sale of the stockpiles there. See The charcoal trade.

Jubaland's revenue

In 2025 Jubaland had total revenue and grants of $70 million. Its own revenue was $37 million ($28 million from taxes, $9 million from other sources), and external grants were $33 million. It spent $68 million, $41 million of it on staff pay (Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025). The Central Bank collects trade data by product for the ports of Mogadishu, Bosaso and Kismayo every quarter (same source). See Money of the federal member states.

The UAE agreements and the 2026 dispute

• December 2022: Garowe Online reported that the DP World affiliate running Berbera and Bosaso was "moving to take over" Kismayo port. No terms were reported (Garowe Online, 23 December 2022).
• 12 January 2026: the federal government cancelled all agreements with the United Arab Emirates, including port arrangements at Berbera, Bosaso and Kismayo (Al Jazeera).
• 13 January 2026: Jubaland, with Puntland and Somaliland, rejected the decision, saying Mogadishu had no legal authority to stop agreements the regions had made directly with the UAE (Garowe Online, 13 January 2026).

Sources disagree

• Who controls the port. The 2013 agreement provided for federal management after six months, while Wikipedia lists Jubaland as the port authority (Wikipedia, Port of Kismayo). Jubaland in 2026 described its port agreement as its own to make (Garowe Online, above).
• Terms of any UAE deal. No published source found as of 12 November 2026 gives the date, value or operator of a Kismayo port agreement with the UAE or DP World.