Disaster-in-waiting at Likoni channel as ferries stall with worrying frequency

• Old vessels break down regularly and the new ones won’t arrive until March

Commuters and cyclists removed their shoes and walked in water to board a ferry at Likoni on Thursday morning.

The prows of ferries at the channel in Mombasa have collapsed and cannot land at the required position on the ramp. Besides putting commuters boarding the ferries at risk, the broken prows also pose an even greater danger when the vessel is crossing the channel.

On Thursday, there was a near-stampede as scores of people scrambled to board one of the ferries, MV Mtongwe, although its prow was broken and they scrambled through the water.

Some were mothers with children on their backs, others school children and cyclists who carried their bikes shoulder high. One of them was a disabled man on a tricycle, who depended on the kindness of strangers to push him onto the ferry as it was about to leave the mainland side of the channel.

The scramble started after MV Mtongwe arrived late on the island after developing mechanical problems midstream.

Some of the people who boarded the ferry arrived at their places of work late while others lost their shoes in the confusion.

Besides MV Mtongwe, only MV Harambee and MV Pwani are operational. MV Nyayo and MV Kilindini were withdrawn for service two weeks ago.

However, one week after the acting managing director of Kenya Ferry Service (KFS), Mr Isaac Kamau, said that they had received spare parts worth Sh11 million to repair MV Nyayo and MV Kilindini, the two vessels are still docked at the KFS jetty with no repairs going on.

In the past three months four ferries operating at the Likoni channel have been experiencing regular breakdowns as a result of serious mechanical problems.

The breakdowns have led to massive congestion of human and vehicular traffic on both the island and the mainland sides of the channel. In a day, ferries can stall more than five times especially during busy morning and evening hours.

This week alone, ferries have drifted three times and Kenya Ports Authority sent tugboats to pull the ferries to the Kenya Ferry Services jetty for repairs.

The ferries either drift towards Mama Ngina or to the port side until engineers rectify the problems and get them back on course.

Withdrawn

MV Kilindini has totally been withdrawn indefinitely following engine-related problems straining other vessels, which apart from MV Nyayo, are low capacity carriers.

KFS has promised to bring two ferries soon to replace the four old ones currently operating at the channel.

The parastatal is to import the ferries from Germany. Last month, there were fears that about Sh560 million could have been lost in the deal. The ferries were to have arrived in Kenya on December 1, but they are not expected until March.

Over 180,000 passengers and 3,000 motorists use the channel every day.

—Additional reporting by Philip Muyanga