2 Likoni ferries withdrawn due to mechanical hitch

Passengers aboard MV Kwale along the Likoni Channel crossing. The vessel in May developed mechanical problems while crossing the channel with hundreds of commuters on board. [PHOTO: MAARUFU MOHAMED/STANDARD]

A transport crisis looms large across the Likoni channel after the Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) withdrew two ferries following mechanical breakdowns.

MV Nyayo and MV Harambee have been withdrawn for repair after they developed hitches fostering fears of crowding on the remaining vessels.

With the withdrawal, only three ferries are now in service, operating between Mombasa Island and the South Coast.

Over 300,000 passengers and 6,000 vehicles use the ferries across the channel every day.

“We would like to inform the public that two of our ferries, MV Harambee and MV Nyayo, are currently undergoing routine maintenance and are thus out of service,” the KFS statement read in part.

“As such some kind of crisis in the form of a little jam logs for both passengers and vehicles will be experienced until the damaged vessels are restored.”

The statement said that only MV Kwale, MV Likoni and MV Kilindini are currently in operation.

There is no mention of Mv Harambee’s immediate future.

The statement issued last evening further said: “We are happy to report that the two ferries: MV Kwale and MV Kilindini are in full operation and that MV Nyayo is expected to resume operation once it has been repaired.”

KFS Managing Director Hassan Musa said the two ferries developed mechanical problems occasioning their withdrawal.

“We withdrew the two ferries to undergo urgent repairs. I am happy that MV Nyayo is now mechanically sound and can resume operations,” Mr Musa said.

Until late 2012, KFS operated seven ferries but it decommissioned MV Mvita and MV Pwani because they had become too old.

To address the surge in passenger numbers, KFS is in the process of procuring two new ferries at a cost of Sh1.3 billion.

new vessels

The firm has awarded a tender to a Turkish shipyard company, Ozata Tersanececik Ltd, for design, build and commission the vessels that are expected to be delivered by mid 2016.

Three weeks ago, the National Assembly committee on Infrastructure and Transport toured the Likoni Channel and recommended that two new vessels be procured urgently to avert a transport crisis.

Committee Chairman Maina Kamanda said the committee would push for the procurement of a new ferry every financial year until there are enough vessels at the channel.

Ferries at the Likoni Channel have either been breaking down frequently due to old age or being overworked following the shortage of the vessels.

KFS was established in 1989 by the Government and has played a pivotal role in linking the island to the mainland south of Mombasa.

Unlike the northern side of Mombasa that is linked by bridges at Nyali, Mtwapa, Kilifi and Sabaki, South Coast depends solely on the ferries.

The daily ferry passenger number is estimated to clock 500,000 in the next three years if the current trend continues.

“We have seen a huge surge in passenger numbers, growing two-fold in the past five years. In 2011 we handled on average 150,000 passengers daily,” said Musa.

Meanwhile, KFS is in the process of setting up an express cable car service at Likoni crossing that will link Mombasa Island and the south mainland.

The Sh3.6 billion Likoni Cable Car project is expected to reduce jams, and at the same time boost tourism in the south coast by providing a complimentary pedestrian crossing for Likoni Channel and help address problems of delays.