The Kenya Ports Authority KPA has denied doing business with missing businesswoman Ann Njeri who had claimed to have imported 100,000 metric tons of diesel valued at Sh17 billion into the country.

Addressing the media at the KPA headquarters in Mombasa Monday afternoon, KPA board chairman Benjamin Tayari noted that there were a lot of disparities in the alleged original bill of lading circulated widely purporting to the cargo imported by the businesswoman, as opposed to what they had in their possession.

According to the bill of lading shared online, Njeri through her company Anns import and Export Limited imported the cargo from Azerbaijan which was loaded at the port of Jedda in Saudi Arabia aboard vessel MT Haigui on October 9 and arrived at the port of Mombasa on October 11.

Tayari however said that it was impossible for a vessel to travel from Jedda to Mombasa in two days adding that Njeri’s company was not even in the list of consignees as stated in the original manifest that KPA has.

“Information available to us show that the vessel loaded her cargo of 93,460 metric tons of gas oil under four bills of lading between September 26 and 28 at Yanbui-Samref terminal in Saudi Arabia and departed for Jeddah arriving on September 29 for cargo dropping and sampling before departing for Mombasa on September 30,” said Tayari.

The vessel he said tendered her notice of readiness and called on the port of Mombasa on October 11 under the agency of Sturrock Shipping Kenya limited.

The ship Tayari said according to their manifest berthed at the port on November 4.

“Out of the manifested 93,460 metric tons of gas oil, 49,091.724 of it was destined to Kenya with the shipper being MS Aramco nominated by the ministry of energy and petroleum,” Tayari said.

The remaining 44,368.763metric tons was transit cargo destined for Uganda, South Sudan and the Democratic republic of Congo.

The vessel commenced discharge on November 5 according to the consignees and the respective portion of bulk cargo as listed in manifest submitted by ship agent and KPA confirmed that Anns Import and Enterprises limited was not one of manifested consignees.

"Unlike bill of lading, the document is signed by stated shipper and not the master of the vessel, the cargo said to be manifested in the bill of lading is 100,000kgs equivalent to 84,000 metric tons only which is approximately 0.09 percent of the total product carried by the vessel.”

“Further the duration from Jeddah to Mombasa was 10 days and therefore it is impracticable for the vessel to have loaded in Jeddah on 9 October 9 yet she arrived in Mombasa on October 11, just after two days which is impossible,” he said.

Other anomalies observed in the purported bill of lading he said is that the origin of cargo is indicated Azerbaijan Republic loaded at Jeddah which he said was contrary to the origin which was Yanbui-Samref terminal in Saudi Arabia before heading to the port of Jedda.

The product he said is indicated as diesel which is contrary to the cargo indicated as gas oil cleared by the Kenya Bureau of Statistics under pre import inspection.

"Further copies of the vessel ownership in KPA possessions do not indicate Anns Import and Export Limited Enterprise as the owner of the vessel. The copies circulating out there are false, we have all the original documents,” he said.

For all fuel imports in Kenya, Tayari said that KPA and all agencies involved are required to adhere to existing Government-to-Government arrangements.

This therefore means that KPA counterchecks manifest submitted to confirm that the shipper is duly appointed by the ministry of energy and petroleum and those consignees are licensed by energy and petroleum regulatory authority and nominated by appointed international oil marketer.

KPA managing director Captain William Ruto said that Njeri was not their client and has never visited KPA offices in Mombasa.

"The said woman has never visited KPA, we don’t know her and she has never lodged any complain with us. We only read about this issue on social media,” said Ruto.

He added that, “Some of the allegations being peddled cannot withstand anywhere. How can someone claims to be the owner of the vessel, yet she has no document to prove that, it is not adding up.”