Ferry Services Resume After Stampede

The Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) says that all the four ferries are now in full operations.

The KFS Managing Director Musa Hassan Musa said that both MV Harambee and MV Kwale, which had experienced technical hitches, have been repaired and have fully resumed operations. The other two ferries are MV Kilindini and MV Nyayo.

“Kenya Ferry Services handles more than 300,000 passengers and over 6,000 vehicles crossing the Likoni channel between the island and the South Coast mainland every day using the four ferries and withdrawal of even one ferry could result to a pile up on both sides of the mainland and the island. We however sincerely regret any inconvenience caused by the incident,” he said in a statement.

Kenya Ferry projects daily passenger numbers is expected to reach 500,000 in the next three years.

To address this increase in numbers of passengers, Kenya Ferry is in the process of procuring two new ferries.

CONFUSION, TENSION AND PANIC

The company has already awarded a tender to a Turkish shipyard company, Ozata Tersanececik Ltd for design, build and commission, which is expected to deliver the new ferries by Mid-2016.

Last year, several people were injured while others lost their valuables following a transport glitch that grounded two ferries for more than three hours.

There was confusion, tension and panic after the people surged too close to the sea as they tried to get into the stalled ferries.

Old men, women, and school children were caught up in the stampede and were 'sandwiched' as the commuters tried to make it onto the next ferry after the operations resumed.

In 2012, five people were admitted at Coast Provincial General Hospital, now Coast Referral, after they were injured following a stampede at the same likoni channel.

Police who investigated the incident reported cases of drowning as thousands struggled to board the ferries.

By Maureen Murimi