Captains were asleep
May 09, 2005
THE captains of the two Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) ferries involved in the Sunday mishap were not on duty at the time of the accident.
By Steven Candia & Henry Mukasa
THE captains of the two Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) ferries involved in the Sunday mishap were not on duty at the time of the accident.
Both MV Kaawa and the ill-fated MV Kabalega were under the command of junior officers as Albert Ocaya and Gerald Katumwa were sleeping.
MV Kabalega sunk in Lake Victoria after it collided with MV Kaawa near Kuye Island as the vessels travelled from Mwanza to Kampala and from Kampala to Mwanza respectively.
The details emerged yesterday after works minister John Nasasira and URC directors visited the Luzira-based Port Bell pier, to investigate the cause of the accident.
The captains told Nasasira that the failure to stick to the right route and poor navigation caused the accident.
Nasasira learnt that MV Kaawa was commanded by the second officer, Kariisa, while MV Kabalega was under W. Mugisha, the acting third officer.
Ocaya said, “It was the second officer on duty and I was not on the bridge, but I told him that in case he runs into difficulty, he should inform me which he did not do.â€
Ocaya said the ferries were out of the right route. He, however, quickly added that the accident was also due to poor navigation.
“Kabalega was hit on the starboard side while Kaawa was knocked on the boat,†he said.
However, Katumwa said he had retired to his cabin and had left the vessel in the charge of an assistant.
At the end of his brief explanation, he extricated himself and his crew of any wrong-doing, accusing the MV Kaawa crew of “unnecessary alterations of course.â€
“The ships were passing each other clearly, then at the last moment, there was unnecessary alterations of course by the ship.
Kaawa changed course towards Kabalega at the last moment but in an attempt to avert collision Kabalega swerved to the left but it was too late,†he said.
As Nasasira inspected the MV Kaawa, the song, My Heart Will Go On, by Celine Dion, a sound track in the Titanic movie, blared from loud speakers of the public address system.
The MV Kaawa was badly damaged on the left hand side of the deck. Nasasira said the damage can be fixed.
A strong smell of fuel hang over the pier and a thick layer of fuel floated on the surface of the water body, producing a spectrum of colours.
THE captains of the two Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) ferries involved in the Sunday mishap were not on duty at the time of the accident.
Both MV Kaawa and the ill-fated MV Kabalega were under the command of junior officers as Albert Ocaya and Gerald Katumwa were sleeping.
MV Kabalega sunk in Lake Victoria after it collided with MV Kaawa near Kuye Island as the vessels travelled from Mwanza to Kampala and from Kampala to Mwanza respectively.
The details emerged yesterday after works minister John Nasasira and URC directors visited the Luzira-based Port Bell pier, to investigate the cause of the accident.
The captains told Nasasira that the failure to stick to the right route and poor navigation caused the accident.
Nasasira learnt that MV Kaawa was commanded by the second officer, Kariisa, while MV Kabalega was under W. Mugisha, the acting third officer.
Ocaya said, “It was the second officer on duty and I was not on the bridge, but I told him that in case he runs into difficulty, he should inform me which he did not do.â€
Ocaya said the ferries were out of the right route. He, however, quickly added that the accident was also due to poor navigation.
“Kabalega was hit on the starboard side while Kaawa was knocked on the boat,†he said.
However, Katumwa said he had retired to his cabin and had left the vessel in the charge of an assistant.
At the end of his brief explanation, he extricated himself and his crew of any wrong-doing, accusing the MV Kaawa crew of “unnecessary alterations of course.â€
“The ships were passing each other clearly, then at the last moment, there was unnecessary alterations of course by the ship.
Kaawa changed course towards Kabalega at the last moment but in an attempt to avert collision Kabalega swerved to the left but it was too late,†he said.
As Nasasira inspected the MV Kaawa, the song, My Heart Will Go On, by Celine Dion, a sound track in the Titanic movie, blared from loud speakers of the public address system.
The MV Kaawa was badly damaged on the left hand side of the deck. Nasasira said the damage can be fixed.
A strong smell of fuel hang over the pier and a thick layer of fuel floated on the surface of the water body, producing a spectrum of colours.