Kenya is intensifying its maritime security cooperation with several international partners, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Italy. The strategy aims to strengthen the protection of trade routes between the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, in a context of piracy and attacks against commercial shipping in the region.

The recent presence of two British Royal Navy ships at Mombasa, the HMS Dragon and the RFA Lyme Bay, is part of this enhanced cooperation between Nairobi and London. Their stopover is part of the Kenya-United Kingdom strategic partnership for the period 2025-2030, which includes maritime safety issues.

Since the beginning of the year, Mombasa has also hosted Italian naval vessels as part of an anti-piracy mission, as well as French vessels participating in military cooperation between the two countries.

This cooperation comes at a time when maritime safety is a direct issue for external trade and regional logistics.

The port of Mombasa serves the Kenyan market but is also a gateway and exit for several countries in East and Central Africa, including Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In 2025, the port handled a record 45.45 million tons of goods, of which 15.88 million tons were destined for neighbouring countries, while containerized traffic reached 2.11 million TEUs.

Kenya is also seeking to strengthen monitoring and information-sharing mechanisms to address the risks to navigation in the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.

In particular, the country participates in cooperative arrangements with international maritime security organizations and uses the Indo-Pacific Regional Information Sharing (IORIS) platform to facilitate the exchange of information and coordination of responses to incidents.

However, the stake exceeds the only port of Mombasa. The development of the port of Lamu, the country's second-largest maritime platform, is also part of this development of regional trade routes.

According to data from the Kenya Ports Authority, the port had welcomed 167 vessels since the beginning of the year, compared with less than 50 in the same period in 2025.

In an environment marked by disruptions in navigation in the Middle East and the Red Sea, securing maritime corridors thus appears to be an increasing component of Kenya's trade and logistics policy.