Cargo stuck at the port with no clearing agent is a genuinely stressful situation — your goods have arrived, storage charges are already running, and you either never engaged an agent, or the one you had has fallen through. The good news: this is fixable, and fixable faster than you might think, provided you move with urgency and engage someone properly licensed right now.

Why Every Hour Matters Right Now

Free storage days at both Mombasa Port and JKIA are limited, and once they expire, storage and demurrage charges accumulate daily depending on the facility, container size, and how long the delay has already run. This cost compounds the longer cargo sits uncleared, which means the single most effective thing you can do right now is engage a properly licensed agent immediately, not research extensively or wait for a better option to appear.

What You Need to Have Ready Immediately

To get a new agent moving on your shipment as fast as possible, have these ready to hand over:

Bill of Lading or Airway Bill
Commercial invoice and packing list
Certificate of Origin, now mandatory for every import
Your KRA PIN

The more complete this package is when you first contact a new agent, the faster they can actually start working, rather than spending the first precious hours chasing down missing paperwork.

What a New Agent Needs to Do First

A properly licensed agent stepping into an already-delayed situation should immediately:

Confirm exactly where your shipment currently stands in the clearance process — has anything been lodged already, or is this starting from scratch?
Identify what’s actually been holding it up, if a previous agent or process attempt was already underway
Lodge or correct the customs declaration as quickly as the current documentation allows
Give you an honest, realistic timeline for resolution, not a vague reassurance

If You Already Had an Agent Who’s Now Unresponsive

If this situation involves an agent you’d already engaged who’s gone silent, you have additional, specific options worth pursuing in parallel — including formal complaint channels through KRA and KIFWA. But don’t let pursuing that process delay engaging a new, properly licensed agent to actually move your cargo — the two can happen simultaneously.

Don’t Let Urgency Lead to a Bad Choice

It’s tempting, under genuine time pressure, to engage whoever responds fastest without the usual diligence. Resist this specifically around this: get a written cost estimate before committing, even if it’s delivered quickly rather than after days of back-and-forth. An agent who can’t produce a clear cost breakdown under urgency is exactly the kind of situation that turns one bad day into a worse week.

What Happens Once You Engage the Right Agent

With complete documentation and a properly licensed, responsive agent working your shipment, most straightforward delays resolve within days, not weeks. The cost of the days already lost is sunk, but every additional day from this point forward is genuinely within your control once the right agent is engaged and actively working your file.

At Clearon Logistics, we specifically handle urgent, already-delayed shipments — stepping in quickly, confirming your documentation, and moving your clearance forward without the delay of extensive onboarding. We’ll give you an honest assessment of where your shipment stands and what it will take to resolve, immediately.

Cargo stuck at Mombasa Port or JKIA right now? Talk to Clearon Logistics today — we can start working on your shipment immediately.

Frequently Asked Questions

How quickly can a new clearing agent take over an already-delayed shipment? Often within the same day, provided you have your core documentation ready — Bill of Lading, invoice, packing list, Certificate of Origin, and KRA PIN — the faster you hand this over, the faster a properly licensed agent can begin acting.

What if I don’t know exactly where my shipment currently stands in the clearance process? A properly licensed agent can check this directly with the port or airport authority and KRA on your behalf — this is one of the first things a competent agent should do when taking over an urgent, already-delayed shipment.

Can I switch to a new agent if my previous one is unresponsive but still technically engaged? Often yes, depending on your documentation and the shipment’s current stage — this is worth confirming directly with a new agent, who can advise on what’s needed to formally transition the file.