ARNOLAC has its origins in the fleet managed by the Belgian Compagnie des Grands Lacs (C.G.L.).

In 1965 the fleet was shared equally between the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Zaïrois (S.N.C.Z.)

[1] (A joint commission was set up to examine the ownership of Global Port Services Burundi in October 2021.

The commission recommended an inquiry into how 18 boats transferred from the Kingdom of Belgium to Burundi had been acquired by ARNOLAC.

They were still being held in Kigoma, with cargo that included 3,000 tons of fertilizer and a shipment of grain sent by the World Food Program.

The Burundian company Buceco had begun to manufacture cement, eliminating demand for imports, and Zambia banned export of corn.

ARNOLAC had boats that could carry 500 cubic metres (18,000 cu ft) of fuel from Kigoma to Bujumbura in six to twelve hours.

[7] As of 2024, shipping on Lake Tanganyika was dominated by companies based in Burundi, including ARNOLAC, BATRALAC and RAD Marine.