MV Sigulu ferry ready to sail

JINJA. The construction of MV Sigulu Ferry at Masese Landing Site in Walukuba-Masese Division in Jinja Municipality is complete.
The ferry that has taken 10 months to be completed, was funded by government at Shs16b. The Danish firm, JGH Marine, was the contractor, while Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) oversaw its works.
Speaking last Friday during a floating exercise of the ferry, Mr Richard Paskins, the JGH director of operations, said: “Completion of the ferry shows what can be achieved when two people cooperate in a professional manner.”

Mr Paskins was, however, quick to note that the works came with a lot of challenges which should be avoided in future.
“It cost a lot more money than expected and has eaten into our cash. The profit was to take care of our overheads. It is not Unra’s fault and they have got a fantastic vessel for what they paid for.
“Anyone in Europe would love to have this vessel but many companies would have walked away from constructing it. We couldn’t walk away (from construction) because we are a big company and our reputation is good,” Mr Paskins said.

The MV Sigulu will connect Sigulu and Lolwe islands in Lake Victoria to Lugala mainland in Namayingo District and it will be transported there for formal commissioning, according to Mr Herbert Mutyaba, the head of ferry services at Unra.
“The vessel will carry up to 300 passengers, the biggest number so far on this lake, it’s going to be the first vessel to take vehicles to Lolwe Island; Lolwe Island is going to be opened up,” Mr Mutyaba said.
In December last year, a 20-man delegation from Namayingo District, while on a site tour of the ferry, said they have endured poor service delivery.

Mr James Ouma Wandera, the district secretary for health and education, said expectant mothers have been making a 20-kilometre boat expedition to Kenya to give birth and immunise their children.
“They sail to Kenya and back at Shs30,000 and after giving birth, make another trip to immunise the child,” he said.
Mr Wandera said Ugandan mothers, who do not have Kenyan national identity cards, have to part with KShs500 (Shs15,000) to have their children immunised despite the service being free in Uganda.
“Those who cannot afford the fees are denied immunisation which directly impacts on the child and psychologically on its mother,” he said.

Sigulu is the only sub-county in Namayingo with a health centre III while Lolwe and Bukana sub-counties have health centre IIs that are not well equipped according to the district officials.
The abrasive Sigulu terrain, Mr Wandera said, has posed a challenge to the education sector, making it difficult to transfer a teacher there from other areas.

Mr David Bwire, the Namayingo councillor for People with Disabilities (PWDs), said being lifted into a canoe with a wheelchair has been his most enduring challenge.
“We are grateful for this ferry because we shall be able to ride to the deck and even take up good seats on the ferry when it is complete,” he said.
With 98 per cent of the works on the ferry done, Mr Mutyaba added, 25 staff are set to be recruited ahead of full operations in November.
He added that the landing sites where the ferry will dock are being developed.

Safety measures
Mr George Mwebembezi, the JGH Uganda country representative, said the Plimsoll line and draft mark are safety measures on load to be carried safely on the ship.
“Each of those lines indicate the extent of loading and how to manage the tonnage aboard a vessel. The landing craft is safe for passengers and cargo, every technical detail was calculated and well implemented,” Mr Mwebembezi said.

Main features on the ferry

• Consists of the main deck, first tier deck, second tier deck and the wheel house.
• The main deck will carry the largest number of passengers and cargo including cars, the second tier deck will have an emergency health facility while the first tier deck is a limited space with seats, a restaurant and staircase down to the engine room.
• The wheel house or bridge is the top most compartment in which the captain and his crew sit.
• Additionally, the ferry, which is made from marine grade steel, weighs 300 tonnes, is 42 metres long, 11 metres wide and 2.5 metres deep. It will carry a maximum of 300 passengers, 15 cars at a speed of up to 10 knots. (12.96 kph)
• The ferry also has three engines although it will be able to run on two while one is off. This is to offer continued service during maintenance of the other engine.
• Last Friday’s exercise was meant to, for the first time, get the vessel off the ground and into the water by slowly rolling it across seven 12-metre long highly inflated balloons, each weighing 80 pounds, on which it sat.

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