- Ferries were cited by Lloyd’s Register — an international maritime classification society — but are still operating. That includes MV Harambee, ferry from which car slipped into ocean.
- PIC members said it was possible that parties involved were benefiting from the scrap metal extracted during repairs.
Image: FILE
The Kenya Ferry Services management is on the spot for the continued use of three vessels declared by an international maritime body as unseaworthy 12 years ago.
That's half the total number of Likoni ferries — six.
They include the MV Haramabee, from which a car slipped into the ocean on September 29. The passengers, a mother and daughter drowned, creating a national uproar over safety and delayed recovery.
The other two are the MV Nyayo and the MV Kilindini. All three are 30 years old, more than 10 years past their 'use-by' period of safe operation as spelt out in Kenya's maritime policy.
KFS managers led by Managing Director Bakari Gowa were hard-pressed to explain to Parliament's Public Investments Committee why the vessels remain in service.
It emerged at the committee that the ferries were 'technically' decommissioned, having been delisted from the Lloyd’s Register — an international maritime classification society.
This leaves only MV Likoni and MV Kwale — acquired in 2010 — as well as the MV Jambo sourced in 2017 as the only vessels within the internationally allowed period.
Kenya has since withdrawn from Lloyd's Register and applied friendlier local standards.
Furthermore, it was revealed that only one coxswain is qualified to steer the ferries, with the others operating with certificates based on regulations passed in the 1970s.
The situation is likely to persist as there is no training facility for coxswains to attain the expected international qualification.
The committee chaired by Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir further asked why the government has continued to spend millions of shillings to repair the worn-out ferries.
In the past five years alone, the government has spent more than Sh850 million in repairing the six vessels, monies that MPs said could be spent to acquire a new ferry.
Nassir was joined by MPs Gladys Wanga (Homa Bay), Chris Wamalwa (Kiminini), Ibrahim Abdisalan (Mandera North), Paul Katana (Kaloleni), Joash Nyamoko (North Mugirango), Mary Wamaua (Maragua), Hire Mohamed (Lagdera), and Mohamud Sheik (Wajir South)
They cited the mishaps at the crossing channel and failure to advise the KFS board on the situation.
“Now that President Uhuru Kenyatta has cracked the whip by sacking the board, the management should follow suit,” Abdisalan said.
In his defence, Gowa admitted that the three vessels — MVs Harambee, Nyayo and Kilindini — were indeed delisted, after which the country withdrew from the society (Lloyds) and now uses local flags.
He said the current standards are provided for by the Kenya Maritime Authority. Lawmakers said the agency should be held equally culpable for the deaths of the two passengers on September 29.
Regarding the accident, the PIC expressed concern that KMA has continued to licence defective vessels to operate at the crossing channel. Most of the licences expire in February 2020.
“The issue of seaworthiness, prows and pulleys has been flagged by the Auditor General since 2016. We seek to reach a conclusion on where the buck stops,” Nassir said.
“The cost of maintaining a ferry is higher compared to that of acquiring a new one. There must be some underlying issues behind the insistence to continue repairs,” Wamaua said.
“At whose discretion is the period of operation set? What informs the continued use of the vessels after the period [lapsess]? Has anyone alerted the government on this hitch?” Hire asked.
Citing suspected collusion, Nassir’s committee criticised the KFS for its dependence on one contractor — African Marine — to service equipment.
PIC members said it was possible that parties involved were benefiting from the scrap metal extracted during repairs.
Concerning the regulator KMA, lawmakers queried why they only wrote to KFS about the safety concerns after inquiries by Parliament about the safety of the vessels.
The agency wrote to KFS on October 1, stating that the lack of proper prows and pulleys may have led to the deaths of Kighenda and Amanda on September 29.
(Edited by V. Graham)