Islanders excited as Kalangala gets another passenger vessel

Travellers to and fro the island district of Kalangala have a reason to smile after getting another passenger vessel.

The new vessel, MV NODL Victoria will operate alongside the existing MV Kalangala which the government procured in 2005.

According to Mr Sadala Musoke, the Executive Director of National Oil Distributors Ltd (NODL), a firm that manages MV Kalangala, the new vessel has modern facilities and the capacity to carry 200 passengers.

“It has two decks with the latest state-of-the-art technology. Our clients will receive high-class services only comparable to those offered in a plane,” he said during an interview yesterday.

Mr Musoke said the vessel has various classes of service including first class, second class, VIP, and VIIP whereby passengers will be paying different fares, but slightly higher compared to what MV Kalangala charges.  

Currently, passengers traveling in MV Kalangala VIP pay Shs20, 000, first-class Shs15, 000 and ordinary class pay Shs10, 000. However, the new vessel will not be taking heavy cargo and vehicles as MV Kalangala does and targets mostly tourists and other travelers with light cargo.

He said marine experts from the International Register of Shipping have already inspected the vessel and approved its seaworthiness.

 “We are now waiting for the line ministry to design its route chart, once that is done, we will certainly start operations,” he said.

Because of its advanced technology, Mr Musoke said the new vessel will be able to make several trips daily unlike MV Kalangala which only leaves Entebbe in the afternoon and returns the following day.

“It will be taking less than two hours to sail from Entebbe to Kalangala and will also be used during rescue operations,” he added.

Mr Savoy Pazham Thottathil, a marine surveyor from the International Register of Shipping, said MV NODL Victoria is of catamaran type (with two parallel hulls of equal size) and it is stable and durable.

“Catamarans are very stable and have natural buoyancy, making them unsinkable. So, this vessel has all the safety gadgets in case there is a problem,” he said.

The Secretary Ssese Tourism Development Association, Mr Ibrahim Ssenyonga is upbeat about the new vessel, saying it will help stimulate the tourism sector in the islands.

“We welcome the new vessel. There are many tourism sites on other islands far from Buggala Main Island where the majority of the vessels dock. We urge the operators to consider creating another route to other distant tourism sites of Bukasa and Kyamuswa where tourists fear to go due to unsafe means of transport,” he said.

Whenever MV Kalangala goes for mandatory periodic maintenance, travelers usually find it difficult to connect to Kalangala and some use private vessels like MV Vanessa, MV Natalie, and MV SENCATA, while others who cannot afford higher fares resort to the use of risky canoes.

Uganda’s marine transport has over the years had a number of challenges, with travellers spending more time in transit than necessary.

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