MV Kalangala resumes operations
A refurbished MV Kalangala docking at Nakiwogo pier after undergoing annual mandatory servicing on May 8,2018. Photo by Eve Muganga
What you need to know:
- Currently, government is in final stages of procuring another vessel which will only carry passengers from Entebbe to Kalangala.
- The new vessel which is expected in the country later this year, will be spending less than 2 hours to sail from Nakiwogo in Entebbe to Kalangala Islands because it is faster, according to Mr Musoke.
ENTEBBE- Travellers from Entebbe to the island district of Kalangala have breathed a sigh of relief after the managers of MV Kalangala resumed operations of the vessel.
The vessel’s return caused excitement among staff and travellers who were anxiously waiting for it at Nakiwogo pier, Entebbe.
MV Kalangala, which is the only vessel plying the Kalangala–Entebbe route, halted services on April 4, to undergo the annual mandatory intermediate docking survey at Port Bell- Luzira dry docking site.
According to Mr Sadala Musoke, the chief executive officer of Nation Oil Distributors Ltd, a firm that manages the vessel, MV Kalangala has been given a new look.
“I want to assure our clients who regularly use this vessel that it’s now 100 percent in good condition. Some people think that we had taken it away because it had a problem. We had taken it for the mandatory annual repairs to meet international maritime safety requirements,” he said at Nakiwogo pier.
The vessel was expected to resume operations on April 26, but this was not possible as engineers and surveyors were still fixing it.
The MV Kalangala vessel can carry 150 passengers and 12 vehicles.
It plies only two routes from Kalangala, starting at 8:30 am to Nakiwogo in Entebbe where it docks at 11am. At 2pm, it sets off from Entebbe and reaches Kalangala at 5 pm.
“By the way, in MV Kalangala’s history, this has been shortest period it has been away on service because everything was done from here,” Mr Musoke said.
“Previously, this vessel used to spend a year in Mwanza, Tanzania and we were spending colossal sums of money to facilitate our team there as well paying fees for service and docking.’’
The dry docking site at Luzira has been existing for over 30 years, but it was unutilized because government was taking vessels to Mwanza, Tanzania, for dry docking.
This would cost tax payers up to Shs2 billion for each vessel or ferry to be serviced in Mwanza.
Ms Rebecca Nansamba, the Banga-Nakiwogo councillor said the absence of the vessel had affected business in the area.
MV Kalangala was built in 2005.
Currently, government is in final stages of procuring another vessel which will only carry passengers from Entebbe to Kalangala.
The new vessel which is expected in the country later this year, will be spending less than 2 hours to sail from Nakiwogo in Entebbe to Kalangala Islands because it is faster, according to Mr Musoke.
