• Consultancy firm said the two ferries' safety could not be guranteed
• Petition has cost country an extra Sh300 million for delays
Image: lameck baraza
A court petition seeking to stop the building of new ferries has been thrown out.
The petition filed by Bornriz Surveyors Marine Insurance was struck out by High Couty judge Erick Ogola in Mombasa on Tuesday for lacking merit.
This means a ferry that was under construction can now be completed. The Turkey builders are already demanding for extra Sh300 million for the delays caused by the petition.
Bornriz, which was contracted by Kenya Ferry Services to do consultancy work, wanted the court to stop the building of two new ferries.
In a petition filed in 2017, Bornriz cited safety.
The marine surveyors wanted KFS barred from offloading and using one of the ferries which had been delivered to Kenya.
The High Court declined to issue the orders and allowed the offloading and use of the ferry.
The court however suspended the construction of the second ferry until hearing and determination of the suit.
In a short judgement on Tuesday, Ogola said the petitioner did not prove his case and therefore the court could not allow the petition.
This is a reprieve for thousands of ferry users who have been waiting for the new ferry, MV Safari, for close to two years.
At least 30,000 commuters and 3,000 motorists use the Likoni crossing ferry and Mtongwe channel every day.
The new ferry is expected to be delivered soon as its construction had been approved by the Court of Appeal after KFS successfully challenged the suspension of the construction by the High Court.
Judges Alnashir Visram, Wanjiru Karanja and Martha Koome said the government stood to make losses after spending an extra Sh290 million to fast track the construction of the additional ferry due to high demand at the channel.
The judges dismissed claims that MV Safari’s safety could not be guaranteed as MV Jambo’s was in doubt.
He said the safety of MV Safari could not be determined by the failure of another ferry, which, in fact, the High Court had allowed to be used.
The appellate bench said the court erred in implying the safety was in doubt yet it had not been inspected by experts.
The judges noted that the bone of contention between KFS and Bonriz Surveyors Marine Insurance was termination of the contract to offer consultancy services.
The contract was terminated by the management after it discovered the company had presented wrong information. which was used to award the tender.
The three-judge bench said Bonriz should have filed for damages instead of filing to stop the entire project.