URC ship was not insured
UGANDA Railways Corporation (URC) may be forced to write off the sunken MV Kabalega as the ship did not have any insurance cover, managing director Daudi Murungi said yesterday.
BY HENRY MUKASA, STEPHEN
CANDIA AND CHARLES BWOGI
UGANDA Railways Corporation (URC) may be forced to write off the sunken MV Kabalega as the ship did not have any insurance cover, managing director Daudi Murungi said yesterday.
On Sunday, the Port Bell-bound Kabalega sank to the bottom of Lake Victoria after a collision with another ship, the MV Kaawa, which was bound for the Tanzanian port of Mwanza.
“The insurance cover for the ship expired last year and the renewal of the licence delayed,†Murungi said.
He said the ship was last insured in January 2004 but the licence was not renewed when it expired last December because of a “technicality†that the board was sorting out with the insurer.
The ship, valued at $8m (about sh15b), will cost about $25m (about sh45b) to replace, which the corporation does not have, sources said.
The 840 tonnes of wheat cargo belonging to Azam Bakhresa Grain Milling was not insured.
Yesterday, the Government halted the operations of other vessels, MV Pamba and MV Kaawa (awaiting repair) until their insurance cover has been renewed.
“We are not going to allow these ones to venture without insurance,†works, housing and communications minister John Nasasira said yesterday.
Nasasira was flanked by Murungi and board chairman Paul Etiang at a press conference at the Port Bell pier.
Asked whether Kabalega was insured, Etiang said, “At the time of the accident, it was not under insurance cover.â€
Etiang’s statement seems to confirm reports that the UK based Alexander Forbes insured the fleet but when Lloyds of London sent an agent to examine the ships, it said they were unsafe to insure.
URC will lose about sh720m for the 20 days Kaawa will be grounded.
The ferry makes 10-11 trips between Port Bell and Mwanza monthly.
Nasasira said divers from Kenya Ports Authority had been dispatched to assess the damage on Kabalega. Alpha Logistics Tanzania will establish the possibility of recovering the wreckage at about sh30.6m. “There after a decision on whether it makes economic sense for the vessel to be retrieved will be made.â€
Nasasira dismissed reports that the ferry sunk with military equipment.
CANDIA AND CHARLES BWOGI
UGANDA Railways Corporation (URC) may be forced to write off the sunken MV Kabalega as the ship did not have any insurance cover, managing director Daudi Murungi said yesterday.
On Sunday, the Port Bell-bound Kabalega sank to the bottom of Lake Victoria after a collision with another ship, the MV Kaawa, which was bound for the Tanzanian port of Mwanza.
“The insurance cover for the ship expired last year and the renewal of the licence delayed,†Murungi said.
He said the ship was last insured in January 2004 but the licence was not renewed when it expired last December because of a “technicality†that the board was sorting out with the insurer.
The ship, valued at $8m (about sh15b), will cost about $25m (about sh45b) to replace, which the corporation does not have, sources said.
The 840 tonnes of wheat cargo belonging to Azam Bakhresa Grain Milling was not insured.
Yesterday, the Government halted the operations of other vessels, MV Pamba and MV Kaawa (awaiting repair) until their insurance cover has been renewed.
“We are not going to allow these ones to venture without insurance,†works, housing and communications minister John Nasasira said yesterday.
Nasasira was flanked by Murungi and board chairman Paul Etiang at a press conference at the Port Bell pier.
Asked whether Kabalega was insured, Etiang said, “At the time of the accident, it was not under insurance cover.â€
Etiang’s statement seems to confirm reports that the UK based Alexander Forbes insured the fleet but when Lloyds of London sent an agent to examine the ships, it said they were unsafe to insure.
URC will lose about sh720m for the 20 days Kaawa will be grounded.
The ferry makes 10-11 trips between Port Bell and Mwanza monthly.
Nasasira said divers from Kenya Ports Authority had been dispatched to assess the damage on Kabalega. Alpha Logistics Tanzania will establish the possibility of recovering the wreckage at about sh30.6m. “There after a decision on whether it makes economic sense for the vessel to be retrieved will be made.â€
Nasasira dismissed reports that the ferry sunk with military equipment.