Lake Victoria ferry to resume sailing

Cargo ferry, MV Uhuru, which is currently abandoned at Kisumu Port. The Rift Valley Railways is repairing the vessel to have it back in business in six months. [photo: COLLINS ODUOR/Standard]

 

Lake Victoria’s giant cargo ferry, MV Uhuru, which was grounded in 2006 over technical hitches and lack of business, is being repaired and could sail again in six months.

Rift Valley Railways (RVR) has pumped in an additional Sh20 million to overhaul the 1,000-tonne cargo carrier to have it back in operation.

On top of renovations to have it plying the Kisumu-Mwanza-Port Bell route again, adjustments are being made to expand its shipment capacity. These include installation of cranes at the port to load cargo onto the vessel and eliminating wagons that added dead weight, thus limiting room for cargo.

“We have bought all the machinery parts and equipment needed to repair the vessel and the engineers have told us that once works begin, MV Uhuru should be ready for voyage by the end of April next year,” said RVR group chief executive officer Isaiah Okoth.

Okoth said the money they have spent in salvaging the ferry, which made about Sh17 million per month at the height of its operations, would soon pay off. Repair works began in 2009, three years after it was withdrawn from business.

“It costs Sh20 million to Sh30 million to repair the boat, it would cost over Sh700 million to buy a new one. MV Uhuru is still in good shape and we are sure its return will be a game-changer in maritime trade in this region,” Okoth said.

He said when it returns, the vessel will no longer be carrying wagons whose 15-20 tonne weight eat into shipment capacity.

“There will be cranes to stack containers onto the ship. We want to get rid of dead weight and maximise space so as to widen economies of scale as much as we can,” he said.

The ferry’s planned return coincides with government plans to revive the old Nairobi-Kisumu metre gauge railway and the current Kisumu pier to complement the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and the planned Sh14 billion modern Kisumu port.

The CEO said the current pier is set to undergo a series of upgrades. His sentiments are shared by Transport and Infrastructure Principal Secretary Wilson Irungu.

“The port still has business and will play a key role in the envisaged expansion. We are working with the RVR to ensure the current port is revamped to set the pace for the new port and complement it,” Irungu said.

As part of wider plans to boost stake in maritime trade in the region, the berths will be dredged and modern cargo handling equipment installed to serve larger vessels like MV Uhuru.

The concessionaire has already sponsored captains and chief engineers for a course in Standards of Training, Certification and Watch Keeping at the Dar es Salaam Maritime Institute as part of wider plans to revive the ferry services on the shared lake.

Inherited

RVR inherited the vessel from the Kenya Railways Corporation in 2006, but the two firms could not agree on who should pay for the vessel’s insurance and after it expired, it was not renewed as RVR was also struggling with its rail business.

The withdrawal of MV Uhuru opened the door for smaller privately-owned cargo vessels, but these have not been able to meet the demand for shipping of cargo.