The arrival of the new MV Safari has failed to inspire hope among ferry users that it will solve the issues experienced at the crossing channel.
Users maintain that the best solution to stop the problems commuters and motorists go through at the Likoni crossing channel is the construction of a bridge.
Delvis Njue, a frequent ferry user, on Sunday told the Star he stopped crossing to the Mombasa island about a year ago because of the bad experiences he has had with the ferries.
“After being taken to Florida by strong winds, I realised one day we might be taken to Somali by sea because of the faults of the vessels. So I stopped,” Njue said.
He is the chair of Tubonge Youth Initiative, an organisation that tries to correct the wayward youth in Likoni and reform then into responsible citizens.
Njue said he would rather do his shopping in Ukunda unless some urgent issues that cannot be done elsewhere force him to cross to Mombasa town.
“The only solution there is a bridge. The Dongo Kundu project will also help but it is taking too long,” he said.
MV Safari docked at the Mbaraki Wharf at around 4.30pm on Saturday.
Kenya Ferry Services managing director Bakari Goa said the new vessel will boost ferry services at the crossing channel especially with the coronavirus-forced social distancing and curfew.
Although it has a capacity of 1,500 people and 64 vehicles, the new vessel will only carry 1,000 people per trip.
This will greatly improve efficiency at the crossing channel with commuters rushing to beat the 7pm-5am curfew time.
“We will, however, not start operations with MV Safari until we inspect it and ensure it is in order and then fumigate it. This will take about a week,” Goa said.
The crew that came with the vessel are in quarantine until they get results of tests done on them before they are allowed to mingle with others.
Built by Turkey’s Ozata Shipyard, the vessel can go to a maximum speed of eight knots across the over 500 metre-channel.
This is about a seven-minute trip, just like MV Jambo, which arrived in Mombasa on August 2017.
MV Jambo and MV Safari were procured at Sh2 billion.
The construction of MV Safari stalled after a rival firm went to court to stop its construction citing unseaworthiness of MV Jambo.
The court eventually dismissed the case.
It took at least 27 days for the vessel to arrive in Mombasa from Turkey.
On Sunday, Muslims for Human Rights monitoring, evaluation and communication officer Ernest Cornel said the vessel has come at a right time to ease the congestion at the channel with regard to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, Cornel said in the long run, the services may still remain the same.
He argued that the ramps at the Likoni crossing channel are the same and can only accommodate two ferries at a time.
“This means even if you add another ferry, it will still have to wait in queue for the four others to load and offload,” Cornel said.
Muhuri advises that one ferry is taken permanently to Mtongwe to ease the congestion at the Likoni crossing channel.
“The Mtongwe ferry will reduce the number of commuters at the Likoni channel because all port employees and Mtongwe residents will use it to cross,” Cornel, who is also a certified professional mediator, said.
Salim Chengo, however, believes with better manpower, the services at the Likoni channel will improve significantly.
“What is needed at the ferry is just better management. The employees there today are not serious with their work. I believe these ferries can adequately serve us if well managed,” he said. He has been using the ferries daily for over 30 years.
Njue said maintenance of the ferries also has to be more regular to prevent the frequent need for repair.
“Another problem is that these ferries are overworked before they are serviced. This should change,” he said.
Edited by R.Wamochie