MV PACIFIC EXPRESSE HIJACKED AND SET ON FIRE

MV PACIFIC EXPRESSE HIJACKED AND SET ON FIRE

Zanzibar Ferry Disaster

At least 192 people have reportedly been killed after a ferry carrying 600 passengers sank off the Tanzanian coast
The boat, MV Spice Islanders, sank in an area of deep sea after leaving the mainland port of Dar es Salaam.
It was travelling between Zanzibar's main island, Unguja, and Pemba, both popular tourist destinations.
Hundreds of passengers are still missing, many of them children.
Survivor Yahya Hussein, 15, said: "I realised something strange on the movement of the ship. It was like zigzag or dizziness.

"After I noticed that I jumped to the rear side of ship and few minutes later the ship went lopsided."

He said there were many children on the ship.

Another survivor Mwita Massoud said that after the ship began to list, water rushed through the main cabin and stopped the engines.

Many potential passengers had refused to board because it was so overloaded.

Mohammed Aboud Mohammed, the minister for state in the vice president's office, said about 230 people had been rescued so far.

"We appeal for calm to the public," he added.

"The government is doing its best it can to handle the situation. There is no need to panic."

Thousands of residents mobbed the docks of Stone Town on Zanzibar waiting for news, with many of those present expressing anger that the ship had been allowed to leave the port so overloaded.

Some survivors have been brought to shore in fishing vessels, while others have clung to debris in the sea, waiting for assistance.

Authorities are struggling to cope and have asked for foreign help.

In 2006, another ship capsized at the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, claiming hundreds of lives.

kenyan ferry m.v kwale rams adocked ship mv seawind at mbaraki wharf

m.v kwale dented adocked ship mv seawind at mbaraki wharf

Mv kwale rammed a docked ship and narrowly missed colliding with another one, sparking panic among passengers on Likoni Channel on Thursday.

The 1.30pm incident occurred as Mv Kwale was returning to the island from the mainland south.

The ferry was about to land at the ramp when the coxswain lost control of the vessel and it started to drift back into the deep waters.

The vessel has a capacity of 1,550 passengers and 60 vehicles.

After ramming the Monrovian registered ship, Mv Sea Wind, the ferry hurtled down the channel where it nearly collided with a ship dredging the channel.

The incident left passengers deeply shaken.

There was a near stampede when it landed and several passengers were injured after hitting the railings as they disembarked from the vessel.

The impact left a dent on the ship, while the ferry’s railings and roofing were damaged and life rafts destroyed.

Business came to a standstill at the island matatu terminus and Mama Ngina Drive as residents followed the incident fearing that the worst could happen.

KFS managing director Musa Hassan Musa said.“We cannot say anything for now until thorough investigations are done to ascertain why the ferry hit the docked ship” he noted.

Director General at Kenya Maritime Authority

Director General at Kenya Maritime Authority

NANCY KARIGITHU is the Director General at Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA). She has consulted for the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and is the first person from the East and Southern Africa to sit on the board of the World Maritime University in Sweden. She spoke EUGENE OMILO about her exciting career and life

My years in high school can explain why I have always been at the centre of a male dominated industry. My school, Kamuiru Secondary School in Kirinyaga, was being changed from a mixed to a boys’-only school. I happened to be in the class with the last batch of girls.

My role model then was lawyer Effie Majisu (later on Effie Owuor), who was one of the leading lights in my home district. Martha Karua too was one of the people who inspired me to pursue a career in law at the University of Nairobi.

Nancy with her husband Charles and their sons. [Photo: maxwell agwanda/ standard]

My first job was as a legal assistant at Kiambo & Company Advocates in Mombasa. Later I worked at the Attorney General’s chambers in Mombasa as a State Counsel for three years. When my contract expired in 1990, I joined KENYA Ports Authority as a senior legal officer.

My appointment at KPA was a turning point in my life. It is here that I was introduced to the maritime industry. Ever since I learnt to make a paper boat as a little girl in Standard Two, I had developed a fascination with marine life. After that, I always wanted to visit and probably work at the Coast. 

I was an in-house lawyer delivering legal service to the ports authority and its subsidiaries and rose to the rank of acting Assistant Corporation Secretary. During this time I studied for a Master’s degree in Maritime Law at the International Maritime Law Institute in Malta, Italy.

Private practice

In 1995, I resigned from KPA to venture into private practice. I established Karigithu & Company Advocates.

Leaving KPA to start building a reputation of my own was a challenge. When you work with a successful organisation, people view you with awe and tend to respect you more than when you are on your own.

My family supported me through it all and the company gained its feet.

When the decision to move back to public service came in 2005, I had a confidence crisis. I was convinced my departure would see my legal firm crumble. The financial prospects too disturbed me as I was doing a lot of consultancy on maritime issues, assisting several African countries set up maritime administrations as a partner at South Africa based Burport Maritime Consultancy, and the returns were irresistible. But there are some experiences that money alone cannot buy.

Looking back, I can say taking over as Director General at KMA and being part of the effort that put our maritime industry in a position where it can get international recognition has been worth the sacrifice.

I was humbled last year when Kenya eventually got into IMO’s White List. Former KPA Managing Director Brown Ondego recognised my effort and told me I had achieved a fete that had been elusive to him in six years.

When I took up my current post at KMA, the regulatory function in the industry was done by KPA yet their core business was not focused on regulation. We were not at par with technological advancements in the industry and with various IMO conventions. I am glad we have come from far.

One of my lowest moments was when we were doing the Merchant Shipping Bill. I used to constantly travel back and forth from Mombasa to Nairobi and sometimes things did not work out well. The Bill had lapsed many times with the effect being many setbacks in the industry. However it was successfully passed into an Act.

I am inspired by Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

I am stubborn to a cause, almost tenacious. If I have a problem, I will stop at nothing to have it fixed. But if I realise I am beaten, I do eat humble pie.

I am not a party animal; I value privacy. If you ask me, the best way to spend my quality time is to be at home with my family. There isn’t enough time for that, though.

Simplicity

I am a conservative dresser. My colours are black, grey and navy blue. I remember showing up to work in a flowery dress when I got my first job and my employer was mad at me. Today, my wardrobe is practical and I wear my clothes for a long time.

My mother used to say that if there was an urgent errand, I should be the person to carry it out since I never took a lot of time to dress up. You won’t find me wasting a lot of time in front of a mirror applying makeup. There is no much time for that.  Not that I am rough, though.

My hairdo too is simple and realistic. I can’t sit for three hours in a salon to have my hair done; I’d rather spend the time with my family.

I eat simply. I like traditional vegetables and African dishes. Occasionally, I step out and try something different with my family. Mostly, we try out Chinese or Japanese cuisine.

You will normally see me in my kitchen on Sundays. I also try as much to teach my sons to cook.

I pray often because I believe God is central to what I do. The biggest thing I thank Him for is for the man I married. He has given me wings that enabled me to fly to where I am. Sometimes I feel he has lifted me up, just like in Mary Stevenson’s poem Footprints in the Sand.

To unwind, I go to the gym or try out aerobics, jogging or swimming. I am not very consistent with my exercising routine, though.

I am also into reading. When I land into a good book, I have to control myself not to read it the whole night. My latest discovery is Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie. I loved her books Half of a Yellow Sun and Purple Hibiscus. I also read the Bible consistently.

I am the founding chairperson of Association of Women managers in the Maritime Sector in East and Southern Africa (Womesa), and my aim is to encourage policy makers to look at women as able or better managers so that the few women who are already there do not stick out. The society should believe in the fact that women, too, have a lot to offer in nation building.

I wish to inspire the girl child to look at the maritime sector as a career of choice and explore the opportunities that it has to offer.

Womesa was officially launched on December 5, 2007 in Kenya under the auspices of the IMO’s Integration of Women in the Maritime Sector (IWMS), a programme that seeks to empower women in the male dominated maritime sector.

Ship Classification Societies

a marchant ship is requasted to insure against maritime risk,they requier some asssurance that any particular vessel is structurally fit to undertake a proposed voyage. A systems of classification has been formulated over a period of more than 200 years. in this period reliable organisation have been created for the initial and continuing inspection of ships so that classificaton may be assessed and maintained.
Recent amendment to the requirements of the International Convention for (SOLAS) have raquird ships to which that convention applies to be designed, constructed and maintaned in complaince with the structural, mechanical and electrical requirements of a classification societywhich is recognised by the flag administartion or with applicable national strandards of the administration which provide an equivalent level of safety. In general flag administration  recognise specific classification societies for this purpose rather than maintaining such national standards.
The 10 major classification societies that claim to class some ninety-for percent of all commercial tonnage involved in international trade world wide are members of  the International Association of Classification Societies(IACS). These members are-
American Bureau of Shipping(ABS) of USA
Bureau Veritas (BV) of France
China Classification Society(CCS) of China
Det Norske Veritas (DNV) of Norway
Germanischer

fortune while dregging port of mombasa

middle phase dregging on the way

 www.kpa.co.ke

Van Oord is carrying out the deepening work over 18 months and will remove about 7M m3 of material and removal of non bio digradable object started on monday 12.09.2011 they hav currently removed tyre, fenders, containers and old wrecks.
Von oord hav found vessel and containers under the sea bed of Mombasa port speculated been in the channel for over a decade.

A 15m-deep basin will be created in front of a new container berth, with Mombasa’s access channel dredged to the same depth – 1.5m deeper than at present – and widened to 300m at its narrowest point. The dredging major told DPC: “An important challenge is co-ordination with the harbour authorities in order not to disturb [vessel] traffic”.

Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) said that the contract to build the container terminal was awarded to Japan’s Toyo Corp and signed on 5 July. Meanwhile, a new cargo berth, number 19, is to be built by China Roads and Bridge Corp.

“As with other ports, increased cargo volumes and the advent of bigger box ships prompted Mombasa’s push for a deeper draught, a wider turning basin and longer quays,” KPA managing director Gichiri Ndua said. “Mombasa container terminal will be extended by 160m to provide a total quay length of 760m that can berth three container vessels that are 235m long.

“In the meantime, we’ve instituted pertinent measures to ensure sustained quality service. These include automation of key port services, improved security, embracement of a 24/7 work schedule, use of private container freight stations, and continued staff training.”