New ferry steers into trouble, again

Fear gripped hundreds of commuters on Wednesday when one of the new ferries drifted away and knocked two vessels that were docked at an engineering firm’s jetty.

The ferry, Mv Likoni, developed mechanical problems just as it was about to dock and drifted away, courtesy of the strong waves.

During the 5am incident, two motor tankers belonging to Southern Engineering Company (Seco) were damaged.

Called for help

A witness, Mr Juma Karisa, said the vessel was about to dock at the Island side when the incident occurred. Commuters were aboard the ferry at the time, he added

“The coxswain could not control the vessel, which drifted away past the Kilindini dock as commuters called for help,” Mr Karisa said.

According to a Seco officer, who requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media, one of their vessels was badly damaged.

Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) communications and marketing manager Elizabeth Wachira confirmed the incident and said that the ferry was also damaged.

Ms Wachira said the coxswain had been summoned to record a statement over the incident.

She also said that KFS officials are investigating the incident to determine the loss caused by the ferry after it knocked the two vessels at the Seco jetty.