MV Pemba

History
Name	MV Pemba
Operator	Uganda Railways Corporation
Port of registry	Port Bell, Uganda
Route	Port Bell, Uganda – Mwanza, Tanzania on Lake Victoria.
Completed	circa 1984
Status	suspended from service since 2005
General characteristics
Type	train ferry
Installed power	diesel
Propulsion	screw
Capacity	Four tracks with total capacity for 22[1] or 40[2] railway wagons

MV Pemba is a Lake Victoria ferry that was operated by the Uganda Railways Corporation. Registered in Port Bell, Uganda, the ship's regular route was between Port Bell and Mwanza, in Tanzania.[3]

2005 incident

At about 0300 hrs on 8 May 2005 Pemba was en route to Mwanza in Tanzania when her sister ships MV Kaawa and MV Kabalega collided with each other. Pemba received a distress call, put about, and reached the scene of the collision "one and a half hours" later. Kabalega was sinking so Pemba positioned herself alongside, rescued her eight officers and 16 crew and landed them back at Port Bell in Uganda.[3]

It was later established that all three Ugandan vessels; Kaawa, Kabalega and Pemba had no marine insurance at the time of the accident. The insurance policy for the three vessels had expired in December 2004 and had not been renewed. After the collision Kaawa was withdrawn from service for repairs to her bow and Pemba was suspended from service, due to lack of radar and other modern navigational aids.[4][5]

Proposed return to service

In September 2005 Uganda's minister of works, John Nasasira, claimed that structural repairs Kaawa's collision damage and to her sister ship Pemba were almost complete but that USh 3.4 billion (approx. US$1.85 million at that time), was needed "to fully repair and maintain, class and insure the vessels".[6] By October 2009 the two ferries were still out of service but Nasasira claimed the Government would recondition both vessels and would return Pemba to service in 2010 and Kaawa in 2011.[7] As of August 2018, both MV Kaawa and MV Pemba remain unrepaired and out of service.[8]

References

1. Richard Maund (2001). "Passenger Train Services Over Unusual Lines". Avoe05.dsl.pipex.com. Archived from the original (Archived from the original on 26 October 2016) on 2016-10-26. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
2. Michael Wambi (30 May 2008). "Sunken MV Kabalega Ship May Not Be Replaced Soon Says Government". Kampala: Uganda Radio Network. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
3. New Vision (9 May 2005). "MV Kabalega Crewman Narrates Ordeal". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
4. "Uganda Railway Corporation In US$8 Million Loss Following The Sinking of MV Kabalega". Kampala: Uganda Television Network. 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
5. Simon Kasyate and Kabona Esiara (10 May 2005). "Uganda: Sunken Ship Had No Radar, Insurance" (via AllAfrica.com). Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
6. Steven Candia. "Ferry Report Out". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
7. Samuel Balagadde (29 October 2009). "Uganda: Government to Repair Grounded Ships" (via AllAfrica.com). New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
8. Henry Lubulwa (20 August 2018). "Government Plans To Dispose Off Capsized MV Kabaleega". Kampala: Uganda Radio Network. Retrieved 1 May 2020.