- For the one-and-half month, Kenyans will be treated to the fun of touring the expansive vessel and exploring other amenities.
- Visitors to MV Logos Hope will pay an entrance fee of Sh50. The vessel will be open to the public from Tuesdays to Sundays between 1 pm and 7 pm daily.
Image: HANDOUT
Thousands of Kenyans will have an opportunity to board the world’s largest floating bookfair, MV Logos Hope, which is expected to dock in Mombasa on Tuesday morning.
The vessel dubbed, ‘the floating library’ will dock at the Mbaraki Wharf next to the Likoni crossing channel with a selection of over 5,000 different titles of books.
The ship will open its doors to the public to select books of their choice from the wide array of genres including science, sports, hobbies, language, faith, cookery arts and purchase medicine.
It will dock at Mbaraki Wharf for 45 days.
For the one-and-half month, Kenyans will be treated to the fun of touring the expansive vessel and exploring other amenities like the Visitors’ Experience Deck and Welcome Area which introduces the vessel through a short movie and interactive displays.
The International Café in the vessels has a variety of snacks, ice creams and drinks.
MV Logos Hope is a sister vessel to MV Doulos, which docked in Mombasa in 2005 and thousands of Kenyans were welcomed on board.
Visitors to MV Logos Hope will pay an entrance fee of Sh50. The vessel will be open to the public from Tuesdays to Sundays between 1pm and 7pm daily.
In a statement to newsrooms, Kenya Ports Authority managing director Captain William Ruto hailed the anticipated arrival of the vessel terming it significant not only for the port of Mombasa, but the country at large.
He noted that the ship’s visit implied that Kenya is making progress towards reclaiming her position as a cruise hub in the Indian Ocean cruise circuit.
“As a port authority, we have made significant strides to improve cruise reception facilities, notably completion of a modern cruise terminal, a dredged channel, improved security and safety standards in compliance with the International Ship and Port Security code,” he said.
MV Logos Hope’s visit to Kenya has been organised in partnership with KPA, Inchcape, the Mombasa County government and Kenya Tourism Board.
“We wish to thank all partners who have worked tirelessly to ensure a successful voyage to Mombasa by MV Logos Hope,” he said.
Sailing under the Malta flag, MV Logos Hope has a length overall of 132.5 meters, a width of 20.8, a draft of 5.2 meters and a carrying capacity of 12,519 gross tons.
Onboard the vessel are 350 passengers of 65 different nationalities.
MV Logos Hope was built 50 years ago as a passenger car ferry and was first named Gustav Vasa sailing North Atlantic routes.
In 1983, the ship changed hands to the Smyril Line and was renamed Norröna, sailing between the Faroe Islands and Denmark.
By 2004, the previous GBA Ships (Good Book for All) had raised sufficient funds to acquire the vessel and MV Logos Hope underwent extensive renovations for her new role.
Kenya Ports Authority has developed a modern cruise terminal that has significantly boosted Kenya’s capacity and competitiveness for cruise tourism in the continent.
The state-of-the-art cruise terminal is built to modern standards complete with various amenities including duty-free shops, restaurants, conference facilities, passenger baggage areas, and offices for key stakeholders in the industry.
In the recent cruise tourism circuit season that ended in April this year, the Port of Mombasa received four vessel calls carrying over 4,000 passengers.
The famous Cruise Liner World Odyssey, also known as Semester at Sea, operates the World’s floating campus and was among the cruise liners that docked at the Port of Mombasa.