By Andrew Irumba
Spy Uganda website on Monday reported that the Uganda Police Marine Unit has rescued sailors who had gotten stranded on Lake Victoria after their boat, MV Vanessa had run out of fuel.
Kampala Metropolitan Police Deputy police Spokesperson Luke Oweyesigire had revealed in a statement that police summoned the Captain and management of MV Vanessa to record a statement as to why they set sail well knowing the vessel didn’t have enough fuel.
Well, after being grilled, the management of Nyanza Evergreen Waterways, which operates MV Vanessa and other water supply vessels, have since released a statement, which reads thus in part;On Sunday 8th December, at 3:20 Pm, our Vessel, MV Vanessa, set sail for Entebbe Waterfront Beach with 48 passengers.
The travel time from Kalanngala to Entebbe is approximately 80 Minutes.The Vessel had encountered bad weather in the form of stormy winds and rain during the course of the two trips taken prior to the event.
As a result of the events MV Vanessa ran out of fuel before it could dock at Entebbe Waterfront Beach Club. As soon as this happened, the Captain informed those on board and immediately sent out communication for refueling to be done.
Within 30 minutes a speedboat was dispatched to refuel MV Vanessa. The MV Vanessa was stationery for approximately 45 minutes during which time the lives of passengers on board were not at risk. The MV Vanessa eventually docked at Entebbe Waterfront Beach at 5:15PM. We would like to thank all the passengers on board for the calmness exhibited during unfortunate episode and regret any inconveniences caused.
Following the incident, two teams from the Ministry of Works and Transport and the Uganda Police Marine carried out inspection of the MV Vanessa on December 9, 2019 and confirmed the MV Vanessa is Seaworthy.
We have made changes in our operations to ensure that such incident doesn’t reoccur.
We reiterate our commitment to adhere to the highest safety standards in Maritime transport.”
