The government of Tanzania is making key preparations ahead of a countrywide census of water transport vessels, shipbuilding and ship repair facilities on the Mainland.
The vital exercise, scheduled to commence from October 1 to 30, 2026, will be conducted professionally by the Tanzania Shipping Agencies Corporation (TASAC).
The envisaged survey is aimed at establishing an accurate and comprehensive database to support planning, regulation and the development of Tanzania’s maritime transport sector.
To ensure the exercise is managed professionally, TASAC collaborated with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to organise a special training workshop for prospective census enumerators.
Held in Tanzania’s business capital, Dar es Salaam, the two-day training workshop aimed to equip the enumerators with the necessary knowledge and skills required to collect accurate, reliable and quality data during the exercise.
Speaking during the training on behalf of the TASAC Director General, Mr Nahson Sigalla, the Director of Economic Regulation, said the census is important in helping the government obtain accurate statistics on the number, types, uses and locations of water transport vessels, as well as shipbuilding and ship repair facilities across the country.
He observed that the availability of reliable data would enable the government to establish an accurate database to support the planning and development of Tanzania’s maritime transport sector.
“This training focuses on various key areas, including how to identify and count water transport vessels, collect vessel-related information, use digital tools in data collection, and address challenges that may arise during the census exercise,” Mr Sigalla said.
He urged the participating enumerators to conduct the exercise professionally, with integrity and diligence, while ensuring that the information collected is accurate, complete and complies with established procedures and guidelines.
The census will involve collecting information on water transport vessels, shipbuilders and repairers of ships and other water transport vessels.