President William Ruto will on Monday commission MV Uhuru II, the first ship to be locally constructed at the Kisumu Shipyard.
The ship will start sailing on Monday.
This happens at a time the government is planning to revive maritime trade and promote blue economy activities in Lake Victoria.
MV Uhuru II is a cargo ship, equipped with a range of advanced systems that are essential for its safe and efficient operation.
From its hull structure and piping systems to its engines, electrical equipment, and firefighting system, every aspect of the ship has been carefully designed and constructed to ensure it is able to meet the demanding needs of commercial shipping.
The 100-metre vessel can carry up to 22 wagons and an estimated capacity of 2 million litres of crude oil per trip.
The Sh2.4 billion vessel with a capacity of 1,800 tonnes, was being built by Kenyan agencies, including the KDF, in partnership with Dutch firm Damen Shipyards.
This is the first ship to be locally constructed and assembled, which is a milestone as Kenya positions herself to tap into the potential of lake transport and the blue economy.
The ship was constructed to complement MV Uhuru I in meeting an emergent increase in demand for transportation of goods through the lake by regional countries.
MV Uhuru I was constructed in 1966 and ferries mainly petroleum products to Uganda. It has a capacity of 1,260 tonnes.
According to the Kenya Shipyard Limited, assembling the ship locally has saved the Kenyan taxpayers Sh1.3 billion, an amount that would have been spent on imports.
Completion of MV Uhuru II will bring the total Kenya vessel capacity at the Port of Kisumu to above 3,060 tonnes.
In January this year, the President while visiting Kisumu said the government is committed to exploiting the full potential of the Kisumu port.
President Ruto said the port has the potential to change the economic fortunes of the East African region.
On August 2, 2022, retired President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned the Kisumu Shipyard Limited at Kisumu Pier.
During that period, he also oversaw the floatation of the MV Uhuru II ship, which was nearing completion.
Five months ago, Energy CS Davis Chirchir said the government is building three more ships to be deployed in oil transportation via Lake Victoria to Uganda through the Kisumu oil jetty.
He said there is need to increase the shipping of oil to Uganda as it helps get more trucks off the road and reduce costs of transportation.
The CS, who led members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy on a tour of the facility, said the facility has done five trips, with 20 million litres shipped to Uganda since the jetty started operations early this year.