![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/eastleighvoice-co-ke-2026-august-13-151722-600x400.webp\")
John Mathenge, Regional Managing Director, Viaservice Limited and Tito Okuku, Eastern Africa Area Managing Director, Maersk. (Photo\/ Courtesy)<\/p>\n\n Kenyan shippers are set to unlock cash previously tied up in refundable container deposits after Maersk introduced a new financing arrangement allowing customers to release containers without paying the deposits upfront.\n <\/p>\n
\n The move is expected to ease working-capital pressure on importers, particularly businesses handling multiple containers whose cash can remain locked up for weeks or months before empty units are returned and deposits refunded.\n <\/p>\n
\n Under the partnership with Viaservice-Ke, a subsidiary of Switzerland-based Viatrans SA, Maersk customers can now access containers without fronting a deposit.\n <\/p>\n
\n Instead, Viaservice will advance payments for demurrage, damage and total-loss charges on behalf of customers, with the amounts subsequently reimbursed.\n <\/p>\n
\n By removing the need to set aside cash for deposits, the solution is expected to give businesses greater liquidity for day-to-day operations.\n <\/p>\n
\n Traditionally, shipping lines require importers to pay a deposit before releasing a container. That deposit was then refunded once the empty unit was returned.\n <\/p>\n
\n Speaking during the partnership announcement, Viaservice Limited Managing Director John Mathenge said the deal would widen access to digital trade financing for businesses across the logistics chain.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cAt Viaservice, we are committed to providing innovative digital and financial solutions that facilitate trade and support the growth of businesses operating in fast-growing economies. Our partnership with Maersk marks an important milestone in expanding access to digital trade financing solutions and strengthening the logistics ecosystem in the region,\u201d Mathenge said.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cSince introducing the VCS, we have focused on addressing financing challenges faced by freight forwarders and logistics businesses. Through this collaboration, we are extending these benefits to a wider customer base, enabling businesses to improve cash flow, optimise operations, and move cargo more efficiently.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n For Maersk, the partnership comes as Kenya seeks to strengthen its position as a regional trade and logistics hub, with the Port of Mombasa serving markets beyond the country.\n <\/p>\n
John Mathenge, Regional Managing Director, Viaservice Limited and Tito Okuku, Eastern Africa Area Managing Director, Maersk. (Photo\/ Courtesy)<\/p>\n
\n \u201cAs Kenya continues to strengthen its position as a regional trade and logistics hub, our customers require solutions that support working capital management, reduce transaction bottlenecks, and facilitate seamless movement of goods,\u201d said Tito Okuku, Maersk Area Managing Director for Eastern Africa.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThrough our partnership with Viaservice, we are enhancing the value we provide by facilitating access to financing solutions that complement our logistics services and contribute to smoother trade flows.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n The Kenya rollout builds on an existing VCS partnership in Tanzania, with Viatrans SA Managing Director Morgan L\u00e9pinoy saying the arrangement could improve cargo flows across East Africa.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cWelcoming Maersk onto the VCS platform in Kenya marks an important expansion of a partnership already successfully established in Tanzania. Through the Port of Mombasa, a growing share of regional container flows can now benefit from a more efficient alternative to cash deposits,\u201d L\u00e9pinoy said.\n <\/p>\n
\n Under the deal, Maersk and Viaservice will also conduct customer education and stakeholder engagement programmes to drive awareness and uptake of the solution among businesses in the logistics value chain.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kenyan shippers are set to unlock cash previously tied up in refundable container deposits after Maersk introduced a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":145170,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[224],"tags":[438,17428,69241,69239,245,69240,69242],"class_list":["post-145169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-maersk","tag-business","tag-headlines","tag-kenyan-shippers","tag-kenyan-shippers-to-unlock-cash-as-maersk-drops-upfront-container-deposits","tag-maersk","tag-port-of-mombasa","tag-viaservice-limited"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/117088931508588545","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145169\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}